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

Overview

Obu, called Obe in the running narrative, serves a woman who has been exposed by her daughter-in-law. The younger woman discovers a nocturnal gathering of people, ghosts, baboons and other animals, sees them killed and revived, then leaves them dead until the village can witness their restoration by daylight. She returns to her parents, but the angry mother-in-law orders Obu to fetch her back.

The creature approaches audibly while the household remains unable to wake. It enters the reed enclosure, takes the woman and puts her inside its ear, carrying her to the mistress’s company. After she is beaten there, it returns her home in the same way. This abduction happens repeatedly despite attempts by her father and successive doctors to protect her. The text describes the carrier’s great size and frightening strength but gives no specific animal species or additional body plan.

A final doctor organizes men along the approach and at the enclosure. This time they remain alert as Obu arrives and follow it with their spears. When it enters, they attack; it repeatedly tries to jump over the enclosure and is brought down, then killed. The woman is saved. The mistress comes next morning asking for its skin, but the villagers refuse and report her conduct to her chief, who expels her.

Very large fabulous animalCarries a person inside its earNocturnal abductionAudible approachLeaping attempted escapeKilled in village ambush
01

Origins & earliest records

Jacottet’s bilingual XL preserves Obu in its heading and Obe in the narrative. His p. 269 note says the narrator noticed the discrepancy but could not explain it, and identifies the creature as a very large fabulous animal serving the witch. No individual teller is named in the inspected episode.

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Records & interpretation

XL, Obu, complete bilingual pp. 266–275; English pp. 266, 268, 270, 272, 274. Name discrepancy and fabulous-animal gloss p. 269; ear transport p. 270; fatal ambush and mistress’s expulsion p. 274.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I

    Édouard Jacottet, collector and translator; J. C. Smith, English text assistance · 1908

    XL, Obu, complete bilingual pp. 266–275; English pp. 266, 268, 270, 272, 274. Name discrepancy and fabulous-animal gloss p. 269; ear transport p. 270; fatal ambush and mistress’s expulsion p. 274.

  2. 02

    The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume I

    Unnamed Sesotho narrative contributor; Édouard Jacottet, editor and translator; J. C. Smith, English text correction · 1908

    The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume I, Morija: Sesuto Book Depot; London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1908, actual title-page OCR. Full preface and introduction xxii method statement read; complete XL–XLII, bilingual pp.266–285, English narratives and complete explanatory notes independently read. Facing Sesotho placement inspected without independent translation.

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.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I

The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume I, Morija: Sesuto Book Depot; London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1908, actual title-page OCR. Full preface and introduction xxii method statement read; complete XL–XLII, bilingual pp.266–285, English narratives and complete explanatory notes independently read. Facing Sesotho placement inspected without independent translation.

  1. A huge fabulous animal carries a young woman in its ear to repeated punishments, until her village kills it.

    XL, Obu, complete bilingual pp.266–275; English pp.266/268/270/272/274; name note p.269

The narrator explicitly acknowledged the unexplained Obu title versus obe narrative discrepancy. The note calls it a very large fabulous animal in the witch’s service, not an identified real species. No invented external-ear physiology, parentage or revival follows its death. Specific narrator not identified from the volume-level contributor list; English correction credited to J. C. Smith.

References

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

  1. Collected Se-Suto text with English translation and notesJacottet — complete Obu taleResearch 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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