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Overview
A girl fleeing the uprooted gawo tree reaches a lizard who is weaving. He asks her to wait and continues his shuttle rhythm even as the pursuer approaches. Unlike the agricultural workers who sent her onward, he offers protection, on condition that she marry him if he saves her. When the tree claims the girl as its entrusted possession, the lizard refuses and answers the monster's challenge. The enraged tree swallows him. He emerges through its eyes, and after further captures comes through the ears and breast. The last exit is through the navel, which kills the tree.
The defender takes the girl home and waits at her family's door, where the narration describes a man sitting. She refuses the marriage promise. Her father offers the daughter of his other wife instead, and she agrees. The rescuer is then identified as a chief's son and arranges substantial gifts and a wedding. A later visit to his family's fields reveals his royal status to the first girl, who had mistaken another man for an analogous disguised prince. The text establishes the lizard rescuer and human royal identity, but gives no separate spell, curse or narrated removal of a skin explaining the change.
Origins & earliest records
Malam Shaihu supplied written Hausa material, sometimes translated from Arabic manuscripts; Rattray transliterated and translated it into English. The author note dates the manuscript collection to 1907–1911.
Records & interpretation
Complete tale 21 independently read through p 326; weaving, four survivable swallowings, navel defeat and actual royal marriage explicit.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Hausa Folk-Lore, Customs, Proverbs, etc., VolumeI
Complete tale 21 pp 312-326; rescuer confrontation 318-322, chief's son and wedding 324, later recognition 326.
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.
- Bilingual manuscript tale; digitized primary OCRRattray/Shaihu 1913 - gawo and maidenResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
