Madjitâtâ of Ouargla

Overview

After the ogre has swallowed seven sons and married their sister Mamza, their mother asks God for another son, even one like a chameleon. She receives a very small boy, whose size is compared with a donkey’s head, and names him Madjitâtâ. The narrative describes a boy rather than transforming him into the animal named in the prayer. During a quarrel with an old woman at the fountain, he hears that an ogre has devoured his seven brothers and sister. Her statement about the sister differs from the preceding narrative, in which Mamza remains alive in the ogre’s house.

Madjitâtâ returns home pretending to have a fever and requests soup. He takes his mother’s hand and holds it in the hot food until she promises to tell the missing family’s history, then releases it. After hearing the account he obtains an iron club from a smith and goes to the ogre’s house. Mamza initially denies having any brother left, but he explains his birth and identifies himself. Although she hides him, he announces his presence when the ogre detects a human smell. He refuses the offered meal and accompanies the ogre outside to wrestle.

The small boy brings down the ogre with one blow to its head. When it requests another, he refuses until it returns the brothers as they were. He cuts its little toe as directed and releases all seven. The ogre repeats its request and dies without a second strike being narrated. Mamza welcomes the red wind that signals its death. Madjitâtâ and the seven brothers collect its wealth and return with their sister; their parents and king rejoice. The king appoints the rescuer vizier, making the family reunion and subsequent public office the printed conclusion.

Origins & earliest records

René Basset, Nouveaux contes berbères (1897), no. 103, Les huit frères, leur sœur et l’ogre, complete printed pp. 96–102. Original note 187, p. 300, identifies Mohammed ben Ahmed b. Sâdemou as communicating the text at Ouargla in 1885. The earlier text and transcription in Basset’s Étude sur la Zénatia du Mzab, pp. 147–152, are a bibliographic lead, not a separately inspected witness.

Records & interpretation

Complete original French episode inspected in DjVu pages 135–141, printed pp. 96–102, with original preface iii–iv and notes 187–190 on printed pp. 300–302. The single delivered blow, repeated request for another blow, release through the toe and actual death are distinguished from the editor’s comparative explanation of second-blow revival.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Nouveaux contes berbères

   René Basset, translator and editor; text communicated by Mohammed ben Ahmed b. Sâdemou · 1897

   No. 103, complete pp. 96–102; note 187, p. 300; comparative notes 188–190, pp. 301–302.

Family, evolution & connections

Mamza, seven brothers and Madjitâtâ — Basset 103

Complete French telling, pp. 96–102; opening couple, later birth and final reunion remain source-specific.

Explicit shared-mother and sibling statements, with seven earlier sons collapsed as a named-count group. The mother and seven earlier sons are unnamed. The opening father is stated for the seven sons and Mamza; the later birth does not separately name Madjitâtâ’s father, so this is a maternal tree. Mamza remains alive despite the old woman’s contradictory claim. No biological chameleon ancestry or ogre offspring is inferred.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary collected narrative; original facsimiles inspectedOriginal edition, complete Ouargla ogre narrative and contributor noteResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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