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

Overview

In the main tale, the daughter of an unfavored wife asks her father to obtain the son of the king of Agaddez. After the request is relayed, the prince promises to come on Friday. While the town sleeps, he alights on the girl's roof, enters and lands on her bed. She offers scent and kola nuts. Wherever he spits there is silver, which she stores in cooking pots. Repeated visits fill the household's vessels. Jealous women secretly put needles in the bed during the girl's absence. The prince arrives, is pierced and dies. His father punishes the girl's parents but spares her and gives her a place in his compound.

The appended variant names the visitor Ba-Komi, associated with the girl's request for nothing, and names the girl Lahidi. Here a rival sister puts thorns on the roof. The injured visitor leaves rather than dying, giving only one garment instead of his usual abundant gifts. Lahidi disguises herself, overhears the Jipillima and restores him. The visitor later comes intending revenge, but recognizes her account and the ring received by the disguised healer as evidence that she saved him. Marriage ends that variant. The fatal main episode and recoverable wound in the named comparison are retained as alternative endings, not combined into an invented death and resurrection.

Nocturnal roof entrySilver produced by spittingSecret royal visitsFatal needle trap in main taleBa-Komi named comparisonRecovery and marriage in variant
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Origins & earliest records

Contents credit Mohamma (M.) for tale 44. Agaddez is the prince's stated narrative affiliation, not confirmation of a historical ruler or a collection site in Niger. Ba-Komi is retained as a named comparator rather than automatically an identical historical person.

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Records & interpretation

Complete selected source episode and ending read. Complete tale 44 main pp. 278-280 and appended Ba-Komi/Lahidi variant pp. 280-283.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs

    A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Complete tale 44 main pp. 278-280 and appended Ba-Komi/Lahidi variant pp. 280-283.

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. Digitized collected primary narrative with collector commentaryTremearne 1913 - selected narrative and commentaryResearch 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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