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Overview
In Jacottet’s Louyi marriage tale, a leopard sees a beautiful young woman and asks her mother to let him marry her. The mother refuses. The daughter rejects other suitors and insists that she will marry nobody else, so both parents eventually agree. At his home the wife sees an apparently complete human being, including human-looking hair, and does not know she has married an animal. He leaves with a bow to hunt, but on reaching game becomes a leopard.
He returns with his prey and declares that he eats only raw meat. He repeats this behaviour daily, surprising the wife. Someone warns her about the animal marriage; she says she had not known. A large frog then offers to swallow her and carry her to her mother, and she accepts. When they arrive, the mother initially rejects the frog and orders the boys to kill it. They refuse, and the frog releases the daughter. The delighted mother rewards the rescuer with many cattle. The ending supplies neither the leopard’s death nor a further pursuit; the escape and reward complete this particular witness.
Origins & earliest records
Jacottet’s 1901 Textes Louyi prints original-language tales with French translations. Introduction pp. i–ii distinguishes Kaboukou’s 1895 dictation from material supplied by Akaende and Maroumo in June–July 1900. It says individual assignments depend on contents markers; the inspected narrative heading does not independently identify this tale’s teller, so its individual attribution remains unconfirmed.
Records & interpretation
Complete XXIV, Le mariage du léopard, pp. 69–70, and its notes read. Shape-changing husband and rescuing frog retain distinct roles; the collector’s comparisons and speculative ethnonym explanation remain commentary.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Études sur les langues du Haut-Zambèze, III: Textes Louyi
XXIV, Le mariage du léopard, pp. 69–70, complete ending and notes; individual tale credit not yet confirmed.
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.
- Digitized primary collected textJacottet — Louyi leopard marriageResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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