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Overview

In Gachina the net-maker’s Mahistruba, a ruined mariner repeatedly meets a large serpent beside the sea and leaves it unharmed. The creature begins speaking, directs the purchase of a ship and the recruitment of twelve strong sailors, and provides payment. It enters a chest carried in the hold. During the voyage it predicts a terrible storm and directs a marksman to kill a large black bird passing overhead at midnight. The bird’s death brings immediate calm.

At a later port, the serpent sends a swift runner to obtain a steel, a flint and a tinder-box from a red-eyed old woman on a small mountain. She pursues him after each theft and wounds him, but the serpent repeatedly provides medicine and predicts recovery by the following day. Once the objects are aboard, it directs cannon fire and predicts the crew’s arrest. The local king has forbidden such noise while mourning his missing son. When he inspects the ship before the planned execution, he finds that son restored.

The prince explains that the old woman enchanted him into a serpent for seven years. The mariner’s repeated willingness to spare him prompted his trust and the rescue plan. The released crew receives lasting rewards and the captain keeps his ship. The account supplies no serpent colour, wings or venomous attack, and the black bird is not explicitly named as the old woman in another form.

Seven-year serpent enchantmentSpeech and financial aidStorm predictionProvision of healingDirected recovery of three objectsRestoration as the king’s son
01

Origins & earliest records

Wentworth Webster, Basque Legends, Mahistruba, the Master Mariner, pp. 100–106. Named narrator: Gachina, the net-maker.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete attributed historical tale locates the action and its ending. Appearance and identity are limited to what this specific witness states.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Basque Legends: Mahistruba, the Master Mariner, pp. 100–106

    Gachina, the net-maker; collected and translated by Wentworth Webster · 1879, second edition

    Full selected tale read; final identity reveal and outcomes retained.

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. Primary historical collected narrativeWebster: Mahistruba, the Master MarinerResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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