A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In tale 73, jealous companions abandon a beautiful girl in Dodo’s well. Dodo pulls her out on his water bucket and requires her to carry the water home without spilling it. When he offers her the choice of being eaten or becoming his wife, she chooses marriage. He feeds himself with human victims while supplying her with wild animals, and brings home goods taken from travelers. Their child is explicitly described as half-Dodo and half-human; the account does not specify how that mixed parentage appears in individual limbs or features.

Before leaving for the forest one day, Dodo ties a bell around his son’s neck. The mother packs the bell with flour and water so that it cannot ring, gathers her belongings and escapes home. There she kills the child and destroys Dodo’s gifts. An appended L.T.H. ii, 82 comparison instead has a brother rescue the woman; she throws the child into the river during pursuit, and Dodo dives after it, allowing her escape. That different ending remains a comparison rather than the fate of the child in the main sequence.

Human–Dodo parentageBell at neckSilenced bell enables maternal escapeDifferent river ending in appended variant
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Origins & earliest records

The contents attribute tale 73 to Mohamma (M.). Tremearne collected, translated and edited the English witness. His introduction dates most collection work to 1908–1909 at Jemaan Daroro, without giving an exact performance date for this tale.

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Records & interpretation

Complete tale 73, printed pp. 359–360, independently read; main sequence and appended comparison distinguished.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs, second edition

    Mohamma (M.), narrator; A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Tale 73, printed pp. 359–360; narrator key pp. 5–8 and preliminary correction.

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.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Collected primary narrative in translationTremearne 1913 — tale 73Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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