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

Overview

An elderly childless couple has tried consulting ombiasy and bathing with ody without success. In a dream, an unnamed being tells the man to cut bamboo until he finds what they desire. After prolonged cutting he discovers a lively little boy inside a stem. His wife obtains help to produce milk and nurses him. She tells the neighbouring women that a Zanahary has given him to her. The child grows rapidly, is indulged as divinely given and becomes quarrelsome. His miraculous discovery is narrated directly; his specific divine parentage is voiced through the household’s explanation.

As an adult Tambolo refuses the local women selected for him and wants Faranaomby, already married to the violent Ramohamina. He dismisses warnings about her husband and travels to her house. The pair separately faint and revive in each other’s presence, then agree to become husband and wife. Ramohamina mutilates relatives who warn him, finally believing his little sister. He finds the lovers and sets fire to the house. Tambolo makes heavy rain come and extinguish it, while thunder frightens the surrounding household. These weather effects are the episode’s clearest supernatural combat power.

The rivals agree to exchange spear throws. Tambolo deflects Ramohamina’s throw so that its shaft breaks in five pieces, then drives his own spear through the man’s chest and back and into a small mango tree behind him. After killing his rival he marries Faranaomby and offers the gathered villagers a choice between fighting him and becoming his enslaved people. They submit, and he leads the entire village, including Ramohamina’s family, away with him. His father celebrates by slaughtering cattle, whose bodies form his entrance path. The conclusion makes him a great king; it does not erase the violence or enslavement accompanying that success.

Discovery inside bambooRapid growthRain extinguishing firePowerful spear throwConquest and enslavement
01

Origins & earliest records

Renel 1910, tale 29, pp. 161–167, with regional/local heading. Introduction V–VIII explains teacher-mediated collection and French translation; no individual narrator is named for this episode.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale 29, pp. 161–167, heading and explanatory notes read in retained primary text. Each participant’s actions and the complete ending remain separately attributed.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Contes de Madagascar, première partie: Contes merveilleux

    Charles Renel, editor and translator; Malagasy collection intermediaries · 1910

    Tale 29, pp. 161–167, complete, with local heading; introduction V–VIII source chain.

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. Historical collected French narrativeRenel 1910, tale 29Research 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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