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

Overview

As a child, the unnamed protagonist gives his father’s presents away to friends rather than spending them on himself. When his father grows old, he travels to seek work, marries along the way and leaves his wife temporarily while earning money farther afield. Returning well dressed, he learns that she has married another man. He changes into rough sacks and follows her. On this journey he watches two birds kill and revive one another with leaves from the four directions, and collects their remedy.

His former wife calls for his death when he reaches her new village. While imprisoned he recognizes his guard as a childhood recipient of his gifts. The friend remembers his generosity and learns how to use the leaves. After the execution, the body is left at the shore for the rising tide. The guard retrieves it and fans it throughout the night. Only at dawn does the traveller revive, and the two leave together.

The revived man plays his flute and dances through a country mourning its king’s daughter. Despite objections to his apparent cheerfulness, he obtains permission to approach her body and fans her all night. They emerge together at dawn, surprising the observers. The king gives him a place beside himself, while the faithful friend receives the next rank. The attackers are seized but not killed, and the man leaves his former wife unmolested. He marries the restored princess, receives a country to govern and brings his father to live with him.

Childhood generosityLearns revival by observing birdsExecuted and revived at dawnRevives a royal daughterRewards faithful friendSpares former wife
01

Origins & earliest records

Ngélétchane, a young man of Tembé, is the named contributor. He said he learned the account from his mother, an older woman living inland. Junod separately speculates about external influence; the narrator rejected that interpretation.

02

Records & interpretation

Junod (1897), XXIV La bienfaisance récompensée, complete pp. 270–273; reciprocal bird resurrections p. 271, overnight revival p. 272, royal daughter and final reconciliation p. 273; Ngélétchane and maternal transmission in closing note.

In the literature

“Cependant ils ne furent pas tués.”
Ngélétchane, narrator reporting his mother’s telling; Henri-Alexandre Junod, French translator/collector · Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa
XXIV La bienfaisance récompensée, printed p.273 · Henri-Alexandre Junod (French)

The ending explicitly spares the captured killers.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa

    Ngélétchane, narrator; his unnamed mother, earlier teller; Henri-Alexandre Junod, collector and translator · 1897

    Junod (1897), XXIV La bienfaisance récompensée, complete pp. 270–273; reciprocal bird resurrections p. 271, overnight revival p. 272, royal daughter and final reconciliation p. 273; Ngélétchane and maternal transmission in closing note.

  2. 02

    Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa — XXIV La bienfaisance récompensée

    Ngélétchane, narrator reporting his mother’s telling; Henri-Alexandre Junod, French translator/collector · 1897

    Henri-AlexandreJunod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne:GeorgesBridel1897. Complete FrenchXXIII264–270 andXXIV270–273 read; original264/265/270/271/272/273 visually inspected, including contributor notes264/273. Historical prose only; no songs, invocations, instructions or illustration reused.

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.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa

Henri-AlexandreJunod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne:GeorgesBridel1897. Complete FrenchXXIII264–270 andXXIV270–273 read; original264/265/270/271/272/273 visually inspected, including contributor notes264/273. Historical prose only; no songs, invocations, instructions or illustration reused.

  1. A generous boy spends his father’s gifts on friends. As a young worker he marries, travels to earn money and finds his wife has married elsewhere. Searching in poor clothing, he watches two birds kill and revive each other using four leaves. He keeps the leaves. His former wife demands his death; his jailer recognises the childhood benefactor. After execution, this friend revives him by the sea at dawn. The revived man reaches the king’s mourning capital and revives the king’s daughter after her three-day death. He marries her, receives rank beside the king and a country to govern, summons his father and honours his helpful friend with the third rank. The killers are seized but spared; his former wife is left unharmed.

    XXIV La bienfaisance récompensée, complete printed pp.270–273

The young man actually dies and is revived, then separately revives the king’s daughter. The narrator’s chain through his unnamed mother is retained, while Junod’s proposed foreign influence is conjectural. Resuscitation details are supernatural story events, not medical guidance. The original unnamed father is called to live with him; no invented personal names or marriages for the birds.

References

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

  1. Attributed oral account in French collected primary editionJunod — Ngélétchane’s resurrection narrativeResearch 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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