A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
In the North-western Province encounter of tale 16, a black-appearing Yakā wrestles a separated hunter. After his companions fire, the being shakes bushes, breaks trees and blocks their escape, then blinds one companion by spitting into his eye. The survivor later experiences possession, and the narrative describes spells and offerings used to end it.
Tale 17 gives different circumstances: a tree-dwelling Yakā promises food to a man who threatens its home by clearing land. A second Yakā proposes to kill the man but mistakes an ordinary request for a knife and pineapple for a threat to eat it. Both thereafter supply provisions. This comic vulnerability contrasts with the violent forest encounter.
In tale 73, attributed to a Kinnarā narrator, a monk controls a Yakā and obtains seven years of work. The demon quickly levels islands in Galgamuwa tank but is delayed by an engineered task involving a slippery tree trunk. When freed from that delay, it pursues the monk and throws a bill-hook. These witnesses preserve differing local roles instead of flattening all Yakās into a single temperament.
No. 22 gives a guardian who initially threatens a wandering prince as prey. The prince wins a promise of help by preparing food from ingredients the Yakā supplies. When he asks the way to the guarded Kulē-bakā garden, the spirit leaps, falls and beats his head in frustration, saying that he would have eaten the visitor had he known the request earlier. Nevertheless he gives the directions because of his promise. This obligation-bound encounter differs from both violent forest pursuit and simple gullibility in the other witnesses.
The Prince and the Yakā, No. 15, gives a former man-eater a sustained role as a grateful helper. A five-year-old prince releases it from an iron house after it begs for mercy. Threatened with death by his father for doing so, the prince escapes, is robbed by a companion and eventually becomes a shepherd. Following a stolen sheep through a snake-hole, he reaches the freed Yakā’s underground residence. The being recognizes him after a dream, returns the sheep and supplies clothes, a horse, a sword and instructions for rescuing three princesses. On successive nights the prince kills three other Yakās. The helper also equips him for the final assembly, where the severed tongues and the princesses’ rings expose the impostor claiming his victories. The prince marries the princesses and receives the kingdom. His living benefactor is distinct from the three defeated attackers, and the snake-hole describes an entrance, not the helper’s animal form.
Origins & earliest records
Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker
Records & interpretation
Actual hosted 1910 text and named tale sections directly read. Complete No. 22 and all notes additionally read. Root independently read the complete No. 15, pp. 137–145, and its comparative notes. The helper, three attackers and impostor remain separate; Jātaka traits quoted in the notes are not imported into this tale.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I
Nos. 15–17 and 73, pp. 137–149 and 375–377; attribution and narrative variations preserved. Additional complete witness: No. 22, pp. 173–179.
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
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I
Volume I (1910). Nos. 15–17 and 73, pp. 137–149 and 375–377; No. 22, pp. 173–179
Actual translated tale read with identified volume and section; no creature illustration asserted. Entire No. 22 and notes read: promise-bound male guardian and protective Yaksani mother are separate roles. Reviewed corrections checked, no approved correction row for this ID.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — Nos. 15–17 and 73, pp. 137–149 and 375–377Research access: 2026-10-05
- Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, No. 22, The Kulē-bakā Flowers, pp. 173–179Research access: 2026-10-05
- Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, No. 15, The Prince and the Yakā, pp. 137–145Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.