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

Overview

Three brothers named Le-Vent, Le-Miroir and La-Poudre each ask their father for a separate ship. He sends them overseas with merchandise, and they establish themselves in different districts after a six-month voyage. Each secretly loves the same girl at home. A travelling old woman offers the eldest a worn basket that can accomplish the return journey in a day, the second a mirror revealing distant family members and the youngest a powder that restores life. The apparently worthless purchases each cost ten pounds.

At their appointed meeting on the eldest’s ship, the brothers initially mock one another’s acquisitions, then demonstrate their powers. The youngest restores a shot man and the brothers subsequently revive one another in play. Looking into the mirror, they discover that their beloved has died and is being prepared for burial. The basket brings the ships home before the funeral, and the powder restores her.

Each claims the girl because his own object was essential: one provided timely transport, another discovered the danger and the third restored life. Their quarrel approaches armed conflict until an old man intervenes, acknowledges all three contributions and proposes a test based on being the first to call for their mother. The story stops at that proposed judgement without identifying a winning brother or describing the girl’s choice. Their names correspond to powers acquired through objects, not three separately described elemental bodies.

Three brothers with distinct objectsRapid return voyageRemote viewingPowder restores lifeCooperative rescueUnresolved credit dispute
01

Origins & earliest records

Camilla is credited in the closing note. Junod places this among stories with external elements and describes its local coastal setting, while his proposed identification of the merchants and festival remains editorial interpretation.

02

Records & interpretation

Junod (1897), XXVII Les trois vaisseaux, complete pp. 304–309; three purchases and demonstrated resurrection pp. 305–306, collective rescue pp. 308–309, unresolved closing judgement and Camilla note p. 309.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa

    Chiguyane (Camilla), contributor; Henri-Alexandre Junod, collector and translator · 1897

    Junod (1897), XXVII Les trois vaisseaux, complete pp. 304–309; three purchases and demonstrated resurrection pp. 305–306, collective rescue pp. 308–309, unresolved closing judgement and Camilla note p. 309.

  2. 02

    Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga — XXVII Les trois vaisseaux

    Chiguyane (Camilla), narrator; Henri-Alexandre Junod, French recording/translation · 1897

    Henri-Alexandre Junod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne: Georges Bridel, 1897, Princeton scan. Original French recording/translation; complete selected XXVII–XXX read with their notes, not the whole volume. Original printed306/313/314/319/320 visually checked for excerpts.

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.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa

Henri-Alexandre Junod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne: Georges Bridel, 1897, Princeton scan. Original French recording/translation; complete selected XXVII–XXX read with their notes, not the whole volume. Original printed306/313/314/319/320 visually checked for excerpts.

  1. Three brothers named Le-Vent, Le-Miroir and La-Poudre sail to trade and buy different marvels from an old woman: rapid travel, distant sight and restoration of life. Their combined gifts save the girl all three love. Each claims the marriage, and an old man interrupts their armed dispute. The printed ending breaks off after an abrupt challenge, with no named winning brother.

    XXVII Les trois vaisseaux, complete304–309; narrator note309

Historical collected French rendering with colonial missionary framing, not a transparent modern community account. Printed excerpts checked in original facsimiles; other page boundaries read in retained primary OCR. No song, ritual wording, recipe or image copied.

References

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

  1. Attributed oral account in French collected primary editionJunod — Three Marvel Buyers in Camilla’s Ship 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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