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

Overview

A jackal feeds on a lion’s kills and grows proud. He first demands the title Jackal-artificer (Nari nayidē), then Small Lion and finally Great Lion. The lion makes the last title conditional on a lion’s roar. Approaching a tusked elephant, the jackal produces only his ordinary yelp and is kicked to death. His successive names are social claims within the fable, not bodily transformations or separate beings. Parker attributes the tale to a Tom-tom Beater of the North-western Province and compares two Jātaka accounts without establishing direct descent from either.

Speaking jackal whose assumed titles exceed his abilities
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. 56, The Proud Jackal, p. 316 and comparison

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. 56. No. 56, The Proud Jackal, p. 316 and comparison

Complete tale and any attached comparative notes/footnotes read. Specific teller attribution retained; animal intention, speech, titles and bluffs distinguished from enacted magic. No individual narrator name supplied.

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. 56, The Proud Jackal, p. 316 and comparisonResearch 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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