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Overview

Gachina’s Master Mariner tale places an old woman with red eyes at a mountain house, spinning beside its entrance. The serpent sends the crew’s fastest runner there on three separate trips for a steel, a flint and a tinder-box. Each time the runner gains access through a different plea and seizes one object. The woman pursues him at a speed matching his extraordinary running, catching him only as he leaps back aboard the ship.

Her attacks tear his clothing and injure his skin, requiring the serpent’s repeated intervention. After the third pursuit she renounces the runner and everyone in the vessel. The final royal reunion identifies her as the enchanter who kept the king’s son a serpent for seven years. The narrative does not say that she dies after the objects are recovered or explicitly identify the earlier storm bird with her. Her red eyes, spinning and pursuit are stated details; a broom, horns or a separate animal form are not supplied.

Red eyesMountain dwellingSpinningGuardianship of three objectsExceptional runningPrince-to-serpent enchantment
01

Origins & earliest records

Wentworth Webster, Basque Legends, Mahistruba, the Master Mariner, pp. 102–106. Named narrator: Gachina, the net-maker.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete attributed historical tale locates the action and its ending. Appearance and identity are limited to what this specific witness states.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Basque Legends: Mahistruba, the Master Mariner, pp. 102–106

    Gachina, the net-maker; collected and translated by Wentworth Webster · 1879, second edition

    Full selected tale read; final identity reveal and outcomes retained.

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. Primary historical collected narrativeWebster: Mahistruba, the Master MarinerResearch 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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