Poisoning Spring Dragon of Cherchel

Overview

A dragon settles in a spring above Cherchel and has children living with him. When the young dragons emerge from the cave to play, children from the town attack them and kill four. Their father retaliates by putting poison into the water. Those inhabitants who drink it die; survivors seek Solomon’s help. The monster therefore begins as the parent of murdered young, although his revenge strikes the water supply and kills townspeople beyond the original attackers.

Solomon comes with the survivors after placing a slaughtered cock’s head on his own. He assures the dragon that it will be safe while that head remains upon him. Trusting this qualified promise, the dragon rests its head on the saddle’s pommel and is drawn out of its hole. On reaching the Metidja, Solomon kills it. The narration then says the dragon cuts off the horse’s tail before the king escapes to Hammam Righa. Solomon orders djinns to heat water and washes off the dragon’s blood. This final bath belongs to the narrative’s geographic aftermath; the dragon’s last attack and the washing are retained rather than ending the account at its removal from the spring.

The edition’s notes distinguish the tale’s action from additional place traditions. Note 26 places the dragon’s cavern on the road from Milianah to Cherchel and locates its reported killing near Lake Halloula and the site of the later Tombeau de la Chrétienne. These are Basset’s recorded geographic identifications, supplementing the main account’s broader Metidja setting. Note 27 separately reports Solomon’s baths at Hammam Rirha as heated by deaf and mute spirits, and says a similar tradition applies to Hammam Meskhoutine and a hot spring near Mascara. That note broadens the bath tradition; it does not move the Cherchel dragon to all three places or identify those spirits as its offspring. The dragon’s cave, poisoned spring, removal and blood-cleansing aftermath consequently remain one linked narrative, with the additional bath parallels labeled as editorially reported traditions.

Origins & earliest records

René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (Paris, 1887), no. 14, Salomon et le dragon, complete pp. 29–30. Source note 25, p. 152, names Si Moh’ammed Abdi as the contributor who dictated the Berber text at Cherchel in 1884. Preface xiv supplies the wider Smian-family collection context.

Records & interpretation

Complete French episode checked against actual original-edition page images: DjVu pages 67–68, printed pp. 29–30. Title page confirms 1887 despite Archive series metadata’s generic 1881 date. Preface xiv inspected in original pixels for collection context. Original source notes 25–27 inspected in DjVu page 190, printed p. 152: named 1884 contributor, specific cavern/killing sites, and separately reported spirit-heated bath parallels. Earlier transcriptions and Mornand’s La vie arabe pp. 65–66 are bibliographic leads, not independently inspected additional witnesses.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Contes populaires berbères

   René Basset, collector, French translator and editor; Si Moh’ammed Abdi, contributing narrator · 1887

   Complete no. 14, pp. 29–30; source notes 25–27, p. 152; preface xiv.

Family & connections

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References

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

1. Primary collected narrative; original facsimile inspectedOriginal edition, Solomon and the dragon, pp. 29–30Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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