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

Overview

In the second half of the tale, a woman visits a daughter whose town prohibits a bodily act. The collector prints a starred substitute word, so the actual act is not confidently named here. After the visitor secretly violates the rule near the horses, the affected ground rises and complains. The inhabitants bring out a small and a large magic gourd and make people step across them, saying the objects will seize the offender. The townspeople pass unharmed, but the visiting mother is caught as soon as she raises a leg to cross. The attached gourds sing that they clasp and hold her, and their grip prevents her from sitting.

A Spider character admires the objects' music and says he would like to have them. The woman tells him to commit the same act and deny responsibility. On his challenge to the gourds, they release her and seize him, changing their song to name their new bearer. He dances with delight at first, but soon tires and asks the woman to take them back. When she refuses, he climbs a tree and jumps down, trying to crush them beneath his body. The gourds move aside, he suffers a fatal injury and they return to their original place. Their independent grip, song and evasive movement support an animated-object profile without relying on the deliberately substituted offense word.

Offender detectionGripping attachmentChanging songTransfer between bearersEvasion of destruction
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Origins & earliest records

A. J. N. Tremearne prints this tale in the 1913 second edition of Hausa Superstitions and Customs. Its contents credit B.G., identified in the narrator key as Ba Gu(d)du. The introduction places much collection work in 1908-1909, without dating this particular session. Bracketed explanatory additions and collector comparisons remain distinct from the attributed tale.

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Records & interpretation

Complete primary episode read through its conclusion. Tale 83, The Town Where None Might Go to Sleep, second episode printed pp. 398-401. Preliminary explanation of starred purposeful mistranslations limits identification of the prohibited act.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs

    Ba Gu(d)du, narrator; A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Tale 83, The Town Where None Might Go to Sleep, second episode printed pp. 398-401. Preliminary explanation of starred purposeful mistranslations limits identification of the prohibited act.

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. Digitized collected primary narrative in translationTremearne 1913 second edition - selected complete 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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