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

Overview

In the Bara account collected at Ankazoabo, Ramaroanaka leaves to catch peopeo, glossed in the edition as a large kind of crayfish. She tells her children to remain at home. One nevertheless follows and calls for his mother along the path. A distant answering voice makes him believe she is nearby. He runs towards it until he reaches dense forest and confronts a large, stocky fosa with red eyes. The creature continues answering his calls, seizes him and carries him away on its back. The little child still mistakes the replies for his mother’s voice even during the journey.

The fosa lives in a cave. At first it half-buries the child in sand while leaving to collect food, intending to fatten him before eating him. It brings honey, fruit, fish and other foods eaten by humans, going out in the morning and returning at night. Over time Ikotokely becomes accustomed to his captor, and the fosa stops burying him during these absences. The boy plays near the cave and frequently climbs a high rock beside it. From there he can see his home village. His repeated lament describes his siblings tending livestock and his parents’ domestic work; the printed song is part of the captive child’s speech, rather than a spell performed by the creature.

The ending reports that Ikotokely eventually escapes and reaches his village safely. His parents, who believed him dead, rejoice. It does not supply the method of escape or a confrontation that kills the fosa. The narrator closes by addressing children and treating the captivity as a warning. This red-eyed cave dweller is therefore kept distinct from Renel’s five fosa husbands, whose temporary human appearance, marriages and pursuit belong to another tale and locality.

Large stocky bodyRed eyesAnswers a child’s callsCave dwellingCaptive half-buried in sandFattens prey with varied foodChild escapes alive
01

Origins & earliest records

Renel 1910, second volume, tale 69, pp. 35–37. The heading supplies the collection locality; the individual contributor is not named.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale 69, pp. 35–37, including the ending and associated notes, read from the retained official digitized text.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Contes de Madagascar, deuxième partie: Fables et fabliaux

    Charles Renel, editor and translator; Malagasy collection intermediaries · 1910

    Tale 69, pp. 35–37: Complete Bara child-capture narrative, physical description, cave captivity and safe return; closing warning and peopeo note 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. Historical collected French narrativeRenel 1910, tale 69Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

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