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

Overview

A young contestant wins a beautiful woman by throwing a small piece of gravel at her basket after the older men have failed. The source says he knows she is Dodo's wife. His father is a hunter who knows the country and can become an elephant, lion or other form. After three weeks of marriage the wife leads the boy into the forest and becomes a Dodo, intending to eat him. The boy first changes into a lion to resist the attack, then into a snake when she threatens to spring again.

The snake form ends her pursuit, and the boy becomes a bird and flies home to describe what happened. His parents warn him against revealing the family's secrets. Tremearne observes that an explanatory scene appears to be missing and suggests that a parent should have interrupted the disclosure before the word for snake was spoken. That suggested scene belongs to collector commentary, so it is not inserted into the boy's remembered actions. Elephant transformation is assigned to the father's general abilities; the child's actually performed sequence remains lion, snake and bird.

Lion transformationSnake transformationBird transformationFlight homeInherited family-secret context
01

Origins & earliest records

The contents attribute this story to M., Mohamma. Tremearne records it in the 1913 second edition and adds explanatory notes and comparisons; the broader collection dates do not date this individual performance.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete primary main episode and relevant separately labeled comparison read. Tale 48 complete main pp. 292-293; proposed missing scene and different Sierra Leone comparison pp. 293-294.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs

    Mohamma, narrator; A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Tale 48 complete main pp. 292-293; proposed missing scene and different Sierra Leone comparison pp. 293-294.

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. Collected primary narrative in translationTremearne 1913 - complete selected taleResearch 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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