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

Overview

A jackal eats its way into a dead elephant, but the drying hide closes the opening behind it. Hearing a passing drummer, it claims to be a Dēvatāwā guarding treasure and promises riches if the man breaks open his drum, fills it with water and pours water on the carcass. As the hide softens, the jackal escapes, leaving the drummer with a ruined instrument and no treasure.

Parker attributes the main account to a Washerman of the North-western Province and prints another village’s version involving several drummers bound for a Buddhist observance. The divine identity is an explicit fraud, while the jackal’s speech and planning belong to the animal tale. Parker’s appended caste stereotypes and anecdote do not establish the intelligence or character of any community.

Speaking trickster who claims divine treasure to escape an elephant carcassVersion-specific collected narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and all its printed variants/comparative notes read; relevant introduction passages on collection and translation directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

    H. Parker (collector and translator) · 1910

    No. 39, The Jackal Dēvatāwā, pp. 249–253 including variant and notes

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.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

Volume I. No. 39, The Jackal Dēvatāwā, pp. 249–253 including variant and notes

Complete tale and attached variant/comparative notes read. Occupational narrator attributions retained without caste judgments; false deity claim distinguished from actual divine identity; flour effigy not animated.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — No. 39, The Jackal Dēvatāwā, pp. 249–253 including variant and notesResearch 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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