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

Overview

Ogunfunminire has grown too old to continue hunting, the occupation from which he takes pleasure. A magician supplies two pots containing different charms. Using the first, he changes into the serpent called a boa-constrictor in the English chapter and enters the forest to hunt. At night the second charm returns him to human form.

The routine continues secretly until his family discovers it. His son reacts with horror and overturns both pots while the hunter is away. Returning as a serpent, Ogunfunminire searches around his home for remnants of the restoring charm for several days, but finds none. He eventually disappears into the forest and is never seen again by the family. The narrative makes the loss of the second charm decisive; the English animal label is retained as the edition’s wording without treating it as an African zoological identification.

Alternating human and serpent formsTwo distinct transformation charmsPermanent separation after charms destroyed
01

Origins & earliest records

M. I. Ogumefu’s Yoruba Legends attributes its narratives to Yoruba country in southern Nigeria. The preface says songs are abbreviated; it gives no named storyteller or dated field interview for this episode. Its Christian editorial judgments are distinct from the selected narrative.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected chapter read in the digitized edition: XXIII, The Boa-Constrictor, pp. 42–43

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Yoruba Legends

    M. I. Ogumefu · 1929

    XXIII, The Boa-Constrictor, pp. 42–43; preface for collection attribution and abbreviated songs.

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. Collected narrative; digitized historical editionOgumefu — XXIII, The Boa-Constrictor, pp. 42–43Research 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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