A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
An unjust town headman wishes for horns to frighten the people, and two horns immediately grow. He threatens the barber with death if the secret is revealed. Unable to bear it, the barber whispers into a hole beneath bamboo and fills it again; the bamboo subsequently announces the secret to passers-by. The horns grow to a foot long. Councilmen force their way into the house and kill the headman after seeing them. Their claim that the horns make him no better than an animal is the tale’s rationale for the killing, not a judgment about human worth adopted here.
Cole compares the story to Midas and proposes Spanish transmission. She suggests carabao horns as the local substitution, but the tale itself does not identify their species. That speculative anatomy and a fully proven transmission chain are therefore not asserted. The bamboo’s speech is narrated, without an explanation that the barber’s soul or a deity inhabits it.
Origins & earliest records
Philippines; Ilocano account as grouped by Cole
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant story, collection preface, regional introduction and attached notes directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Philippine Folk Tales
Ilocano, The Presidente who had Horns, pp. 181–182 and notes 3–4
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.
Primary records and illustrations
Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1916)
Ilocano section. Ilocano, The Presidente who had Horns, pp. 181–182 and notes 3–4
Complete tale and attached notes read. Exact source-specific identities, narrative ending and limits retained. Earlier recordings credited by Cole have not been independently inspected for this entry.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected narrative and editorial notesCole, Philippine Folk Tales (1916), Ilocano, The Presidente who had Horns, pp. 181–182 and notes 3–4Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.