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Overview

In Renel’s Tanala Iafolavitra adultère, Ifaranimahery meets a pregnant woman while setting out on an expedition. He proposes that her future child become his brother if a boy or his wife if a girl. The mother agrees. After a girl is born, he visits, declares her his wife, kills an ox and provides clothing before departing again. The story moves forward until the girl is of marriageable age. Still waiting for the absent man, she asks why nobody seeks to marry her. Her mother explains the earlier agreement and says Ifaranimahery has been trading far away for years.

The young woman eventually leaves to seek another marriage. King Indrianonibe refuses after hearing of the prior claim, despite being attracted to her. Iafolavitra accepts, invoking a proverb about the uselessness of a distant fire. When Ifaranimahery learns that another man has taken the woman, he prepares to recover her. Iafolavitra assembles his people for war. The decisive extraordinary action is precise: men who throw their spears at Ifaranimahery fall dead as soon as he looks at them. The surviving opponents flee. Iafolavitra is defeated and killed, and Ifaranimahery receives both the kingdom and the woman.

The closing sentence explains reluctance to take another man’s wife through this conflict. The woman’s wish to leave the long absence, and the agreement made before she could participate, remain part of the narrated circumstances. The lethal glance appears only in the battle passage; the story does not equip Ifaranimahery with an animal disguise or explain the origin of that ability. His shared last-born-style name is insufficient to identify him with a differently located hero in another collected tale.

Human warriorLong absence tradingKills spear-throwers by lookingSurviving attackers fleeAcquires defeated king’s kingdom
01

Origins & earliest records

Renel 1910, second volume, tale 68, pp. 32–34. Collection locality is supplied by the heading; individual contributor unnamed.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale 68, pp. 32–34, including the ending and associated notes, read from the retained official digitized text.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Contes de Madagascar, deuxième partie: Fables et fabliaux

    Charles Renel, editor and translator; Malagasy collection intermediaries · 1910

    Tale 68, pp. 32–34: Complete Tanala marriage-conflict account, birth agreement, adult woman’s departure, lethal battle gaze and final explanatory sentence.

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. Historical collected French narrativeRenel 1910, tale 68Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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