A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Swynnerton names Safeyd as the king of giants from Kôh Kâf. Visiting human lands, he sees Prince Bairâm hunting and becomes enamoured of him. He changes into a horse with snow-white skin and a thunderous neigh, allows himself to be caught and ridden, then carries the prince to his mountain palace. There he gives Bairâm rich clothing, attendants and every comfort, while remaining strongly attached to him.
Before attending his brother’s wedding, Safeyd entrusts Bairâm with the key to a secluded garden. There the prince captures the fairy Ghulâb Bâno by hiding her clothes. Although she is one of Safeyd’s wives, the giant permits their relationship out of love for Bairâm. He also makes invisible dancers visible to the prince by giving him antimony attributed to King Solomon. No particular size or monstrous anatomy is described beyond his giant identity and great chains around his waist.
When Ghulâb Bâno’s parents imprison her for marrying a mortal, Safeyd provides an invisibility cap, the antimony and a hair from his own body. Burning that hair summons giant forces who rescue the lovers; it later brings an army against the usurper of Bairâm’s human kingdom. When the prince again loses contact with the fairy, Safeyd personally retrieves him and reunites them. The giant’s same-sex attachment is explicit in the narration, but a marriage or sexual encounter between the men is not described. He ends as their helper rather than being slain as an obstacle.
Origins & earliest records
Upper Indus Panjabi tales in Charles Swynnerton’s English collection
Records & interpretation
Complete tale and footnotes read; key original printed pages visually checked.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Indian Nights’ Entertainment; or, Folk-Tales from the Upper Indus
LXXXII, Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride, pp.342–347; one footnote
Family, evolution & connections
Ghulâb Bâno, the dove-form fairy bride
Ghulâb Bâno is expressly one of Safeyd’s wives before he permits her relationship with Bairâm. The later human marriage is not evidence that the original giant–fairy marriage never occurred.
Unnamed brother of Safeyd
Safeyd leaves for his brother’s wedding on p. 343. The brother’s name, parents and bride are not supplied; no wider giant dynasty is reconstructed.
Primary records and illustrations
Charles Swynnerton, Indian Nights’ Entertainment (1892)
1892 edition. LXXXII, Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride, pp.342–347; one footnote
Full swynnerton1892-ch82.txt including complete ending/footnote read. Original pages342/344/347/351/355/364 viewed and retained as swynnerton1892-pNNN.png. Distinct actors and transformations not merged.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical primary English translationCornell scan of Swynnerton (1892), LXXXII, Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride, pp.342–347; one footnoteResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
