A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Ten daughters of Maçingué hear a bird advertising the happy inhabitants of the Man with the Great Cutlass’s village and follow it. Their youngest sister, troubled by a skin condition, insists on accompanying them despite her sisters’ blows and demands that she turn back. She also argues for a narrow path when they reach a crossroads, but the others choose the broad road. At evening the man receives them warmly into a trading hut filled with elephant tusks and cloth and prepares their sleeping places.
During the night he returns repeatedly with his cutlass and sharpening stone, asking whether the girls are asleep. The youngest remains awake and quietly warns her sisters while pretending aloud to be troubled by mosquitoes. He responds by covering her with more cloth and leaving. Once her sisters understand, they arrange elephant tusks beneath the bedding, take other cloth with them and hide outside the enclosure. The host finally attacks the apparent sleepers, calls to his wife to prepare the old pot and mistakes the resistant tusks for elephant-like bones.
The girls flee through the night. At dawn a frog shelters all ten in its belly and disguises its fullness with vegetables. The man follows, questions the frog and accepts its explanation when it spits out some of that food. He departs without finding them. The frog then sends a bird ahead, releases and washes the sisters and brings them back to their father. The account ends with their joyful reunion and honour for the youngest; it does not narrate the host’s destruction.
Origins & earliest records
Junod’s note attached to the tale’s closing formula names Timoteo Mandlati, who wrote the account as transmitted by his ancestors. The note is printed on p. 151 alongside the opening of the following story; that placement does not make it the following tale’s credit. Comparative footnotes remain Junod’s commentary.
Records & interpretation
Junod (1897), VIII L’Homme-au-grand-Coutelas, complete pp. 144–150; lure and reception pp. 144–145, nocturnal attempts and substituted tusks pp. 146–148, frog shelter and reunion pp. 149–150. Timoteo Mandlati written-contribution note p. 151, attached to the closing formula.
In the literature
“frappa de son sabre à grands coups”
VIII L’Homme-au-grand-Coutelas, printed p.148 · Henri-Alexandre Junod (French)
The host attacks the substituted bed, believing the girls still asleep.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa
Junod (1897), VIII L’Homme-au-grand-Coutelas, complete pp. 144–150; lure and reception pp. 144–145, nocturnal attempts and substituted tusks pp. 146–148, frog shelter and reunion pp. 149–150. Timoteo Mandlati written-contribution note p. 151, attached to the closing formula.
- 02
Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa — VIII L’Homme-au-grand-Coutelas
Henri-AlexandreJunod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne:GeorgesBridel1897. CompleteVIII144–150 plus151 conclusion/commentary andIX151–158 read. Original148–151/157/158 checked visually. ClosingVIII151 superscript1 names TimoteoMandlati as writer of inherited tale; separateIX158 superscript1 identifies Camilla. Songs and closing formula not excerpted.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa
Henri-AlexandreJunod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne:GeorgesBridel1897. CompleteVIII144–150 plus151 conclusion/commentary andIX151–158 read. Original148–151/157/158 checked visually. ClosingVIII151 superscript1 names TimoteoMandlati as writer of inherited tale; separateIX158 superscript1 identifies Camilla. Songs and closing formula not excerpted.
- Ten daughters of Maçingué follow a singing bird despite their youngest, skin-afflicted sister’s objections. They take the broad road against her advice. The wealthy cutlass-bearing host welcomes them among his ivory and cloth, but repeatedly sharpens a blade at night. The waking youngest delays him, warns her sisters and helps them substitute ivory under coverings. He hacks the substituted bed and calls for a cooking pot, believing the girls killed. They flee until dawn, when a frog agrees to swallow and conceal all ten beneath swallowed vegetables. The pursuer is deceived and leaves. The frog sends a bird messenger, then releases, washes and adorns the girls for return. Their father rewards the frog with an ox; the sisters honour and carry the youngest rescuer.
VIII L’Homme-au-grand-Coutelas, complete printed pp.144–150, conclusion and contributor note151
The threatening host is not shown successfully killing or eating the girls, and his failed bed attack is retained. Timoteo Mandlati attribution belongs to the closingVIII formula footnote151, not followingPitiIX. Moringui is Junod’s probable synonym for Maçingué, not an independently established alternate parent. Colonial comparative commentary remains attributed; chants/formula omitted.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Attributed oral account in French collected primary editionJunod — Man with the Great Cutlass in JunodResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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