Devil spouses disguised as a woman and a yak

Overview

Shelton’s fourteenth tale explicitly identifies a beautiful supposed princess and her yak as a married pair of devils who can change form at will. The woman conceals this marriage and becomes wife to seven royal brothers. One brother dies each year until only the youngest remains, dangerously ill. The narrative says his soul is already half eaten and grows stronger when the woman leaves his room. This is the tale’s supernatural explanation of his illness, not a medical claim or an accusation against actual polyandrous families.

The summoned diviner is openly described as a fraud. He brings prayers, a rosary, a hog’s skull and a tsamba torma, but initially mistakes the patient’s improving sleep for approaching death. Trying to escape, he falls from a roof onto the yak’s horns. The frightened devils assume he has deliberately identified them; he overhears their fear of exposure, fire and weapons and uses that information to stage a public confrontation. His success therefore does not establish that his earlier claims of visionary knowledge were true.

Struck three times with the hog’s skull, the yak reveals a hideous male devil. Two upper teeth reach his breast and two lower teeth his forehead. The woman likewise reveals a monstrous face, clawlike hands, a long tongue and teeth like her husband’s. The townspeople kill both and burn their bodies; the surviving prince immediately recovers. No horns, wings, colour or other anatomy is supplied for these revealed forms. The horns belong to the earlier yak disguise.

The ending continues beyond the exorcism: the diviner initially asks only for yak nose-rings and receives goods, but his dissatisfied wife writes a threatening letter implying the illness might return. The prince then grants him half the kingdom. The devils do not revive or cause a second illness; the threat comes from the human couple. Neither devil has a personal name or an original-language designation in this English witness, so the pair is kept distinct from other Tibetan ghosts and the Handre of a different tale.

Origins & earliest records

Tibetan narrated traditions, as mediated by the Shelton collection

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant tale, title-page credits, contents and Flora Beal Shelton’s preface read.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Tibetan Folk Tales

   A. L. Shelton, translator; Flora Beal Shelton, editor · 1925

   Tale 14, pp. 70–75; opening page confirmed against contents, full ending read.

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.

Primary records and illustrations

References

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

1. Historical translated folktaleShelton, Tibetan Folk Tales (1925), tale 14, pp. 70–75Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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