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

Overview

Three young men repeatedly travel to another town seeking women to accompany them home. Three female spirits living along the road plan to kill them and adorn themselves as attractive women. The travelers welcome the apparent good fortune, sit with them and lean against their thighs. When the eldest man stretches his leg, it touches a woman's foot and discovers a horse-like hoof. Fear replaces his confidence, but he conceals the discovery long enough to send his younger companions away on supposed errands, privately warning each not to return.

Left alone with the three pursuers, he pretends to be uncomfortable with heat, removes his outer robe and trousers and rolls them into a compact bundle. He then suddenly runs, carrying his clothes rather than letting them hamper his escape. The women chase him to his home fence and seize his foot as he attempts to jump inside. With his head hanging into the compound, he claims that they have caught a post rather than his foot. They release it, allowing him to fall safely inside and reach the house; the spirits leave without their intended victim.

Human female disguiseHorse-like hoofCollective pursuitDeceived into releasing prey
01

Origins & earliest records

Tale 90 is credited Umoru Gombe in Tremearne's narrator key. The selected witness is the second edition 1913; a precise narration date is not supplied.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete main tale 90, printed pp. 418-420, directly read; main narrative distinguished from comparative variants.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs

    Umoru Gombe, storyteller; A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Second edition; tale 90, pp. 418-420.

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 narrativeHausa Superstitions and Customs - tale 90Research 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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