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Stith Thompson Motif Index
About this index and how to read it
Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature classifies recurring narrative elements in folktales, myths, legends, ballads and related traditional narratives. Each entry below gives Thompson's motif reference and the description recorded in the index.
The index is large, so this browser displays 250 entries per page. You can search by motif reference or by words in the description, restrict the results to one of Thompson's main letter categories, and click motif references mentioned inside descriptions to follow cross-references. Individual motif pages also show any ATU tale types whose concordance explicitly cites that Thompson reference.
All
A
Mythological Motifs
B
Animal Motifs
C
Motifs of Tabu
D
Magic
E
The Dead
F
Marvels
G
Ogres
H
Tests
J
The Wise and the Foolish
K
Deceptions
L
Reversals of Fortune
M
Ordaining the Future
N
Chance and Fate
P
Society
Q
Rewards and Punishments
R
Captives and Fugitives
S
Unnatural Cruelty
T
Sex
U
The Nature of Life
V
Religion
W
Traits of Character
X
Humor
Z
Miscellaneous Groups of Motifs
| Thompson reference | Description ▲ |
|---|---|
| E257 | Ghosts seek firewood to roast man. Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 99. |
| E386.3 | Ghosts summoned by calling them by name. Icelandic: *Boberg; England: Baughman. |
| E383 | Ghosts summoned by sacred book. Irish: O'Suilleabhain 32; Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV 138 No. 107; Finnish: Aarne FFC XXXIII 48 No. 107; Lithuanian: Balys Legends Nos. 597, 601; Korean: Zong in-Sob 205. |
| E421.1.5 | Ghosts visible only to seals. Greenland: Baughman. |
| E421.1.4 | Ghosts visible only to sheep. England: Baughman. |
| E587 | Ghosts walk at certain times. |
| E587.6 | Ghosts walk at full moon. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 198. |
| E587.1 | Ghosts walk at midday. Fb "middag" II 585b. |
| E587.3 | Ghosts walk from curfew to cockcrow. (Cf. E452.) England: Baughman. |
| E587.2 | Ghosts walk on Hallowe'en. (Cf. F211.1.1.1.) Irish myth: Cross; U.S.: Baughman. |
| E578.2 | Ghosts warm themselves around fire. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E538 | Ghoulish ghost objects. |
| E714.9 | Giant's soul in a mole in the hollow of his palm. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E765.3.4 | Girl lives until her cowslip is pulled. England: Baughman. |
| E487 | Glowing beds of dead. Youth in land of dead puts staff into one of the beds. The iron glows and the wood burns. Irish: O'Suilleabhain 63, 102, Beal XXI 324, 333; Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 309 No. 7. |
| E611.5.1 | God reincarnated as cat. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E651 | God reincarnated as dwarf. Hindu: Keith 121 (Vishnu). |
| E652 | God reincarnated as monster. India: Thompson-Balys; Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 792, 934; Chinese: Werner 207. |
| E251.4.4 | God with form and characteristics of vampire. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E695 | Gradual reincarnation—man to tiger. Chinese: Graham. |
| E156 | Gradual resuscitation—one organ at a time. Korean: Zong in-Sob 47. |
| E631.2 | Grass does not grow on murderer's grave. (Cf. H271.) Fb "græs"; England: Baughman. |
| E341.5 | Grateful priest returns to save gambler from devil. Irish: O'Suilleabhain 36. |
| E410.1 | Ground trembles or rumbles when ghost rises from grave. N. A. Indian (California): Gayton and Newman 99. |
| E411.0.1 | Hand of sinner sticks out of grave. *BP II 550. |
| E251.1.2 | Hand of vampire severed by cutting off hand of drawn figure. Penzer IX 27 n. 1. |
| E782.1 | Hands restored. *Type 706; *BP I 295; Fb "hеnd" I 765b; Irish myth: Cross; Spanish Exempla: Keller, Nouvelles de Sens No. 12; Italian: Basile Pentamerone III No. 2; India: Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| E422.0.1 | Hanged man thirsty; demands water to drink. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E366.2 | Hanged man warns youth against visiting sweetheart. Takes youth's place and receives shot meant for him. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3566, Balys Ghosts. |
| E501.5.5.1 | Hare pursued in wild hunt. Plischke 66. |
| E607.3 | Hauling canoe over dead man's body causes return from dead in new form. Maori: Dixon 55. |
| E432.1 | Haunting ghost deceived so that he cannot find road to return. Jellinek Zs. f. Vksk. XIV 323. |
| E783.1 | Head cut off and successfully replaced. *Kittredge Gawain 147ff.; Irish: MacCulloch Celtic 61, *Cross; India: Thompson-Balys; S. A. Indian (Quiché): Alexander Lat. Am. 175; Africa (Angola): Chatelain 113 No. 8, (Bushman): Bleek and Lloyd 10. |
| E431.7.2.1 | Head of beheaded man separated from body (by walking between them) to prevent return. (Cf. E721.1.2.2.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E431.9.1 | Head of corpse thrown on water to prevent return. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| E12.2 | Head of decapitated person is replaced backwards. Later is readjusted. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| E783.6 | Headless body vital. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E422.1.1.4 | Headless ghost carries head under arm. (Cf. F511.0.4.) England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E521.2.2 | Headless ghost of dog. North Carolina: Brown Collection I 682. |
| E521.5.0.1 | Headless ghost of hog. (Cf. E422.1.1.) Fb "svin" III 676b. |
| E521.1.1 | Headless ghost of horse. *Howey 62; *Fb "stud" III 619b, "hest" I 599b, "helhest" I 584b; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| E422.1.1.3.1 | Headless ghost rides horse. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E423.1.1.2.1 | Headless ghostly dog. (Cf. B15.1.1, E422.1.1.) England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E501.4.2.7 | Headless horse in wild hunt. Plischke 30. |
| E783.7 | Headless man lives four (seven) years. (Cf. Q551.8.5.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| E422.1.1 | Headless revenant. *Fb "hoved" I 655b, "hovedløs" IV 223a; Irish myth: Cross; Icelandic: Boberg; Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 300 No. 6, 301 No. 18, 311 No. 46; India: *Thompson-Balys; England, U.S.: *Baughman; North Carolina: Brown Collection I 680, 683, 693. |
| E545.21 | Heads of slain people in magician's house advises hero. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E786 | Heart successfully replaced. *Type 660. |
| E755.1.1 | Heavenly hierarchy. Irish myth: Cross; Jewish: Neuman. Maori: Clark 182. |
| E501.1.8.3 | Hecate as leader of wild hunt. Pauly-Wissowa s.v. "Hekate"; Rohde Psyche II 84. |
| E755.2.4.1 | Hell fires kindled according to sins of sinners. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E752.5 | Hell-hounds accompany soul to lower world. Wimberly 120. |
| E336.1 | Helpful mine ghosts. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E631.3 | Herbs grow from grave of healer. Brouwer Das Volkslied in Deutschland, Frankreich, Belgien und Holland (Groningen, 1930) 196ff.; Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E261.1.3 | Hero attacked by revenant with half a head, carrying man with half a body. (Cf. E461, E422.1.1, F511.0.5.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| E121.1.3.1 | Hero resuscitated by his bride, daughter of king of death. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E501.1.8.1 | Herodias as leader of wild hunt. Zachariae Zs. f. Vksk. XXII (1912) 238 n. 7; Germania XVI (1871) 217; Dunlop-Liebrecht 474 n. 170; Grimm Deutsche Mythologie 599; La Tradition IV 69; *Kloss MLN XXIII 82; *Grunwald Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXX—XXXI 317. |
| E712 | Hidden soul (life). |
| E434.2 | Hiding from ghosts in pulpit. Fb "predikestol" II 882b. |
| E434.1 | Hiding from ghosts under church bell. *Fb "kirkeklokke" II 131a, "gjenganger" I 443b. |
| E501.1.7 | Historic or romantic hero as leader of wild hunt. Plischke 41; RTP XVII 504f. |
| E545.7 | Holy man converses with entombed dead. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E402.2.3 | Hoofbeats of ghost horse. (Cf. E423.1.3, E521.1, E535. 1ff.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E501.4.2.4 | Horse in wild hunt breathes fire. Schweda 25; Schwartz Zs. f. Vksk. VII 235. |
| E411.0.3 | Horse unable to draw evil dead man. McKay Bealoideas III 141; Icelandic: *Boberg; Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV 113 No. 4; Finnish: Aarne FFC XXXIII 39 No. 4; Finnish-Swedish: cf. Wessman 1 Nos. 7—9; U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E501.4.2.5 | Horse with fiery eyes in wild hunt. Schweda 25. |
| E605.8 | Horse-headed men reborn as money-lenders. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E782.4 | Horse's leg cut off and replaced. *Type 753; *BP III 198; *Lowes Romanic Review V 368; Saintyves Saints Successeurs 248—251; Köhler-Bolte I 132, 297 n. 1; Dh II 169; Hoefler Zs. f. Vksk. I 304; Ons Volksleven III 43, V 28, 136f. |
| E481.1.2 | Houses in lower world of dead. (Cf. F163, F220.) Finnish: Holmberg Finno-Ugric 74. |
| E599.12 | Human being transported by a ghost. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E149.1 | Human bone, found in demon's stomach wrapped in silk with bow and arrow, becomes a boy. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E423.1.1.2.2 | Human-headed ghostly dog. (Cf. B25.) England: *Baughman. |
| E694.1 | Hungry ghost reborn as jackal. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E281.1 | Hungry ghosts haunt house seeking food. Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 241. |
| E442.1 | Hunting woman beaten with sticks of rowan-tree and ankles of corpse tied with branches of same tree. Lithuanian: Balys Ghosts. |
| E181.1 | Husband advised how to resuscitate his wife: lift her up and turn her around so her head rests upon the brick which had been under her feet. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E385.1 | Husband ignored or discouraged by ghost wife. N. A. Indian (California): Gayton and Newman 99. |
| E165.2 | Husband resuscitated after wife's nose is cut off and thrown over grave. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E755.2.5 | Icy hell. (Cf. A677, Q567f.) Alphabet No. 662. |
| E481.7 | Icy inferno. (Cf. E481.6.1.) Krappe études 46 n. 2. |
| E593.3 | If no lamp is lighted in a house for a period of fourteen days, ghosts take it for their dwelling. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E489.9 | In land of dead the dead walk on grass without bending it and on mud without sinking. (Cf. F973.2.) Chinese: Graham. |
| E422.1.11.5.1 | Ineradicable bloodstain after bloody tragedy. England, Ireland, U.S.: *Baughman. Danish: Kristensen Danske Sagn IV 267ff. |
| E489.11 | Inhabitants of land of dead have great thirst. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| E32.1 | Insect swallowed by man comes out alive. *Loomis White Magic 66. |
| E470 | Intimate relations of dead and living. |
| E402.1.4 | Invisible ghost jingles chains. (Cf. E231.4.) England, Ireland, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E402.1.5 | Invisible ghost makes rapping or knocking noise. (Cf. F470.) England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E402.1.3 | Invisible ghost plays musical instrument. (Cf. E548.) England, Scotland, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E421.1 | Invisible ghosts. *Tobler 92ff.; N. A. Indian (Tahltan): Teit JAFL XXXII 226; England, Wales: *Baughman; North Carolina: Brown Collection I 681; Jewish: Neuman. |
| E481.2.0.1 | Island of the dead. *Meyer Der irische Totengott und die Toteninsel (Stzb. d. preussischen Akad. d. Wissenschaften XXXII [1919] 537); *Krappe Balor 102; Irish myth: *Cross; Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 72. |
| E692.4 | Jealous woman reborn as chilly. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E750.3 | Journey of soul to world of dead on reindeer. Siberian: Holmberg Siberian 485. |
| E489.7 | Judas Iscariot appears in midst of sea on rock washed alternately by fiery and icy waves. (Cf. Q560.2.3.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E751.7 | Judgment day on Monday. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E434.6 | Keys as protection against revenants. (Cf. D1176.) Wimberly 255. |
| E161 | Killed game revives and flies away. N. A. Indian: Thompson Tales 303 n. 109e; Africa (Angola): Chatelain 159 No. 20. |
| E501.1.1 | King as wild huntsman. (Cf. E501.1.7.) Schweda 38; *Fb "Odins jæger" II 731b; Hartland Science 234, 236; RTP XVII 504f. |
| E155.6 | King eaten every morning: revived daily. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E501.1.7.1 | King Herla as wild huntsman. *Liebrecht 28; Tupper and Ogle Walter Map 18. |
| E481.9 | King of world of dead. (Cf. E481.1.1.) Irish myth: Cross (E481.1.1.1); Icelandic: Boberg; India: Thompson-Balys; Africa (Baholoholo): Einstein 216. |
| E501.2.1 | Knights in wild hunt. Plischke 29. |
| E434.7 | Knives as protection against revenants. (Cf. D1173.) Wimberly 255. |
| E501.2.2 | Ladies in wild hunt. Plischke 29. |
| E489.10 | Land of dead "in Abraham's bosom". Jewish: *Neuman. |
| E481.2 | Land of dead across water. Icelandic: Boberg; Siberian: Holmberg Siberian 486; N. A. Indian (Haida): Swanton JE V 34. |
| E481.6.3 | Land of dead in east. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| E481.1 | Land of dead in lower world. *Krappe Etude 45ff.; **M. Landau Hölle und Fegefeuer in Volksglauben, Dichtung, und Kirchenlehre (Heidelberg, 1909); Krappe Revue Celtique XLIX (1932) 96—102; Icelandic: *Boberg; Greek: Fox 146, Grote I 62; Finnish: Holmberg Finno-Ugric 72; Jewish: *Neuman, Gaster Thespis 183, 187f.; Siberian: Holmberg Siberian 485; Buddhist myth: Malalasekera I 199f.; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 200f.; Tonga: Gifford 183; Melanesia: Wheeler 33, 47; Papua: Ker 81; Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 146, 155; N. A. Indian: *Alexander N. Am. 274 n. 10; S. A. Indian (Metaco): Métraux MAFLS XL 24. |
| E481.6.1 | Land of dead in north. Icelandic: Boberg; Finnish: Holmberg Finno-Ugric 77f.; N. A. Indian (California): Gayton and Newman 101. |
| E481.6 | Land of dead in one of the cardinal directions. |
| E481.8 | Land of dead in sky. India: *Thompson-Balys; Cook Islands: Beckwith Myth 76. |
| E481.6.2 | Land of dead in west. (Cf. A692.1.) Finnish: Holmberg Finno-Ugric 77f.; Irish myth: *Cross; N. A. Indian (California): Gayton and Newman 99. |
| E482 | Land of shades. Everything is done by unseen people. Type 425; Tegethoff 14; *Siuts 218ff.; Ward Catalogue of Romances II 425 (Voyage of St. Brandon); N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 339 n. 221. |
| E485.1 | Land of skeletons. Eskimo (Cumberland Sound): Boas BAM XV 230. |
| E485 | Land of skulls. Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 275. |
| E481 | Land of the dead. *Types 470, 471; *Köhler-Bolte II 224ff.; *Encyc. Rel. and Ethics II 680ff.; **Wiedeman Die Toten und ihre Reiche im Glauben der alten ägypten (Leipzig, 1910); A. Jeremias Hölle und Paradies bei den Babyloniern (Leipzig, 1903); Dickson 94f. n. 78; Feilberg DF X 1; Herbert Catalogue of Romances III 585; Finnish: Kalevala rune 16; India: Thompson-Balys; N. A. Indian: *Alexander N. Am. 274 n. 10; Africa: Werner African 180ff., (Ekoi): Talbot 7, 59, 226, 240, (Benga): Nassau 208 No. 33. |
| E366.1 | Laughing skull advises hero. (Cf. E545.) *Cosquin études 351ff. |
| E443.0.1 | Laying ghost causes great storm. (Cf. D2141.) England: *Baughman. |
| E501.1 | Leader of the Wild Hunt. *Rühlemann passim. |
| E64.1.1.2 | Leaves of life and death. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E714.11 | Life (soul) in entrails. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E765.1.2 | Life bound up with burning brand (torch). Hartland Science 205 (Olger the Dane); Greek: *Frazer Apollodorus I 65 n. 5 (Meleager). |
| E765.3.2 | Life bound up with calabash. As calabash grows, so does girl. Africa (Hottentot): Bleek 55 No. 24. |
| E765.1.1 | Life bound up with candle. When the candle goes out, person dies.—*Krappe in Penzer Ocean of Story VIII 107; Anderson Die Meleagrossage bei den Letten (Philologus N. F. XXXIII [1923]); Icelandic: De la Saussaye 315, *Boberg; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 82 No. 708*A. |
| E765.4 | Life bound up with external event. Death to come when certain thing happens. |
| E765.1 | Life bound up with light (flame). Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "vie"; Fb "lys" II 483ab; Gaster Thespis 275f.; Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| E765.3.0.1 | Life bound up with magic object. When magic object is lost, person dies. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E765.3 | Life bound up with object. *Krappe in Penzer Ocean of Story VIII 107; India: Thompson-Balys; N. A. Indian: Hultkrantz 364. |
| E765.2 | Life bound up with that of animal. Person to live as long as animal lives. *Krappe in Penzer Ocean of Story VIII 107; Irish myth: *Cross (Diarmaid); Italian: Basile Pentamerone IV No. 5; India: *Thompson-Balys; N. A. Indian: Hultkrantz 364—374. |
| E765.3.3 | Life bound up with tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E765 | Life dependent on external object or event. Person's life is mystically connected with something else and comes to an end when that thing is destroyed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E489.2 | Life in land of dead contrary to ours. People grow younger and smaller till they become nothing and are reborn. Finnish: Holmberg Finno-Ugric 73. |
| E711.6 | Life in stick. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E760 | Life Index. Object or animal has mystic connection with person. Changes in one correspond to changes in the other.—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.7.10 | Life token: armor rattles at home when owner is killed away from home. England: Baughman. |
| E761.7.12 | Life token: arrow falls down. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.3.1 | Life token: bamboo stalks grow with joints upside down. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.3.1.1 | Life token: bananas ripen from bottom up. Papua: Ker 61. |
| E761.4.8 | Life token: beads cling together. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.6.4 | Life token: beer foams. (Cf. D1045.) *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 69 n. 5. |
| E761.7.7 | Life token: bird feathers sink in river at hero's death. Kirghiz: Radloff Proben der Volksliteratur der türkischen Stämme Südsiberiens III 85. |
| E761.7.6 | Life token: bird sent each day to tell of hero's condition; when owl comes it will be to announce death. Carib: Alexander Lat. Am. 265. |
| E761.1.5 | Life token: blood boils. French: Cosquin Lorraine No. 5; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| E761.1.6 | Life token: blood changes color. Gaster Exempla 251 No. 373; Russian: Ralston Russian Folk-Tales 102. |
| E761.1.4 | Life token: blood of fish calls out. Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 187. |
| E761.6.3 | Life token: boiling liquid. *Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 270 No. 82. |
| E761.4.6 | Life token: charm dries. Africa (Lamba): Doke MAFLS XX 14 No. 11. |
| E761.1.8 | Life token: cloth becomes bloody. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 3. |
| E761.1.7 | Life token: comb drips blood. Finnish: Kalevala runes 12, 15. |
| E761.5.4 | Life token: cup springs asunder. (Cf. D1171.6.) *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 7. |
| E761.7.15 | Life token: direction dagger points determines if ogress has been killed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.7.5 | Life token: dogs pulling on leash. Cape Verde Islands: Parsons MAFLS XV (1) 123. |
| E761.1.3.1 | Life token: earth, water, or blood in footprint. Earth: dead by disease; water: drowned; blood: killed in battle. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| E761.7.9 | Life token: flaming shield goes out. (Cf. D1101.1.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| E761.3.3 | Life token: fruit falls from tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.1.7.1 | Life token: gloves drip blood. Russian: Ralston Russian Folk-Tales 67. |
| E761.7.8 | Life token: great wind blows. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E761.1.9 | Life token: hero's horse stands in stable in blood up to his knees. Russian: Rambaud La Russie Epique (Paris, 1876) 378. |
| E761.1.2 | Life token: horn fills with blood. Africa (Congo): Weeks 203. |
| E761.4.1 | Life token: knife stuck in tree rusts (becomes bloody). *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 2; *Fb "kniv" II 221a. |
| E761.7.3 | Life token: leaves full from tree. (Cf. D955.) Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 185. |
| E761.7.4 | Life token: light goes out. (Cf. E765.1.) *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 11; Gaster Thespis 275ff. |
| E761.1.12 | Life token: meal ground in mill is the color of blood. England: Baughman. |
| E761.6.6 | Life token: milk becomes agitated in pan at death of relative. (Cf. E761.6.2.) England, U.S.: Baughman. |
| E761.1.10 | Life token: milk becomes bloody. England: Baughman; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.6.2 | Life token: milk becomes red. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 1; England: Baughman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.4.9 | Life token: milk turns dark. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.4.3 | Life token: mirror becomes black (misty). (Cf. D1163.) *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 5; Armenian: Macler contes Arméniens 28; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| E761.7 | Life token: miscellaneous. |
| E761.7.11 | Life token: music box plays by itself as owner awaits burial. U.S.: Baughman. |
| E761.5 | Life token: object breaks (bursts). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.4 | Life token: object darkens or rusts. |
| E761.7.13 | Life token: paddy productive or unproductive. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.4.2 | Life token: picture burns black. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 4. |
| E761.5.1 | Life token: pot breaks. (Cf. D1171.1.) Africa (Basuto): Jacottet 188 No. 27. |
| E761.7.1 | Life token: ring presses finger. (Cf. D1076.) *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 6. |
| E761.4.4 | Life token: ring rusts. English: Child I 201; Italian: Basile Pentamerone III No. 4. |
| E761.5.3 | Life token: ring springs asunder. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 68f. n. 4; Fb "ring" III 60a. |
| E761.7.14 | Life token: rings will exchange places on girls' fingers. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.1.11 | Life token: roof spouts of castle run with blood. England: Baughman. |
| E761.1.7.2 | Life token: scissors (razor, knife) drip blood. Chauvin VII 198; Armenian: Macler Contes Arméniens 28. |
| E761.5.6 | Life token: sheaves prostrate themselves. Jewish: Neuman. |
| E761.4.5 | Life token: silver object turns dark. Russian: Ralston Russian Folk-Tales (London, 1875) 91. |
| E761.7.2 | Life token: spring goes dry. (Cf. D927.) *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 10. |
| E761.2.2 | Life token: staff stuck in ground falls. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 8; Africa (Basuto): Jacottet 220 No. 32. |
| E761.2.1 | Life token: staff stuck in ground shakes. Africa (Basuto): Jacottet 212 No. 31, (Kaffir): Theal 82. |
| E761.2 | Life token: staff stuck in ground. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.5.5 | Life token: stone breaks. (Cf. E711.7.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E761.5.5.1 | Life token: stones prostrate themselves. Jewish: Neuman. |
| E761.4.7 | Life token: sword rusts. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.1.3 | Life token: track fills with blood. *Type 303; Icelandic: Boberg. |
| E761.3 | Life token: tree (flower) fades. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 1; Fb "lilie"; Böckel Psychologie der Volksdichtung 255; *Loomis White Magic 125f.—Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "flétrissement"; French: Sébillot France III 433; India: *Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda; Philippine (Tinguian): Cole 93, 96 n. 3, 97; Papua: Ker 61; Indonesian, Polynesian: Dixon 234 n. 46; Africa (Angola): Chatelain 87 No. 5, (Kaffir): Kidd 225, (Madagascar): Dandouau Contes Populaires de Sakalava 231. |
| E761.3.4 | Life token: trees prostrate themselves. Jewish: Neuman. |
| E761.6 | Life token: troubled liquid. (Cf. D1242.) |
| E761.6.1 | Life token: troubled water. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 1; Italian: Basile Pentamerone No. 9; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.1.1 | Life token: water turns to blood. (Cf. F961.3.1, V211.2.3.2.) Fb "vand" III 1000b.—England: Baughman; Irish myth: *Cross; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E761.6.5 | Life token: wine turns to vinegar. Gaster Exempla 219 No. 156 (155.) |
| E761.5.2 | Life token: zither string breaks. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 70 n. 9. |
| E761 | Life token. (Cf. E760.) Object (animal, person) has mystic connection with the life of a person, so that changes in the life-token indicate changes in the person, usually disaster or death. *Type 303; **Polivka The Life Tokens in Folk-Tales, Custom, and Belief (Národopisny Vestnik Ceskoslovansky XII [Prague, 1917]); *Chauvin V 87 No. 27 n. 1, V 295, VII 98 No. 375 n. 1; Penzer I 130, III 272 n. 1, X 210; Clouston Tales I 169ff.; Jacobs' list s.v. "Life index"; *BP I 545, II 392; *Hartland Legend of Perseus II 1—54; **Nelson The Life-Index, a Hindu Fiction Motif (Studies in Honor of Maurice Bloomfield) 211ff.—Irish myth: Cross; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "danger"; India: *Thompson-Balys; Oceanic (New Hebrides, Torres Straits, New Guinea, Indonesia): Dixon 133 n. 5; N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 317 n. 149, *Hultkrantz 338—340, (California): Gayton and Newman 69; S. A. Indian (Quiché): Alexander Lat. Am. 173; Africa (Kaffir): Theal 81, (Basuto): Jacottet 212, 218 Nos. 31, 32. |
| E765.1.3 | Life-lights in lower world. Each light mystically connected with the life of a person. When light is extinguished, person dies. *Type 332; BP I 377ff., *388. |
| E761.3.2 | Lifen token: fruit decays on tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E752.10.2 | Light must be kept burning by corpse to keep evil spirits away. England: Baughman. |
| E386.5 | Light remark about what person would do if ghost appeared causes ghost to appear. (Cf. C10, C13.) England: Baughman. |
| E631.1.1 | Lily from grave. Fb "lilie" II 427b, "sjæl" III 214b; BP III 461; English: Child I 143; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E431.5 | Limbs of dead fettered to prevent return. Von Trauwitz-Hellweg Urmensch und Totenglaube. 134ff.; Meyer Germanen 102; Wimberly 254; England: *Baughman; Africa: Frobenius Atlantis I 15f. |
| E31 | Limbs of dead voluntarily reassemble and revive. *Köhler-Bolte I 130; Gaster Thespis 300; Jewish: Neuman; N. A. Indian (California): Gayton and Newman 92. |
| E782 | Limbs successfully replaced. Africa (Basuto): Jacottet 248 No. 36. |
| E603 | Limited number of souls in world necessitates reincarnation. India: Thompson-Balys. E700. The soul. |
| E422.1.9 | Living corpse returns every night, shows gradual wasting away of body. U.S.: Baughman. |
| E463 | Living man in dead man's shroud. Refuses to let corpse return to grave before he tells how to resuscitate woman living man has killed. Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV 114 No. 7; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3543. |
| E596 | Living person in service of a dead man. BP I 214. |
| E501.15.5 | Living smith must repair wagon belonging to wild hunt. Plischke 36. |
| E330 | Locations haunted by non-malevolent dead. (Cf. E270—E284 for locations haunted by malevolent ghosts.). |
| E599.11 | Locked doors open at touch of ghosts. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E752.7 | Lost soul gnawed by worms. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E752.4 | Lost soul in raven feathers. Fb "ravn" III 22a. |
| E755.2.3 | Lost soul to serve as porter in hell for seven years. Köhler-Bolte I 320; Wimberly 416, 426. |
| E752 | Lost souls. Hdwb. d. Abergl. s.v. "Arme Seelen"; Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E419.6 | Lovers buried apart found in one grave each morning. (Cf. E631.0.1.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| E337.3 | Lovers' tragedy re-enacted. (Cf. E334.5.) England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| E421.3 | Luminous ghosts. (Cf. E530.1, E742.) Tobler 83f.; Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 334b s.v. "Geister"; New York: Jones JAFL LVII 240. |
| E721.3.1 | Madness from spirit leaving body: comes back with cough. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E434 | Magic protection against revenants. Irish myth: Cross. |
| E411.9 | Magician who has sold his soul to the devil hires his servant to bury him properly: the coffin bursts. (Cf. E261.2.1.) Lithuanian: Balys Ghosts. |
| E290 | Malevolent return from the dead—miscellaneous. |
| E200 | Malevolent return from the dead. *Fb "spøgelse" III 520b; *Carrington and Nandor Haunted People (New York, 1951); English: Child IV 416, V 303b; U.S. (New York State): *L. C. Jones JAFL LVII 237ff., New York History XXIV 177ff., Spooks of the Valley (Boston, 1948); (Pennsylvania): Balys MWF II 47—52; Icelandic: *Boberg; Norwegian: *Solheim Register 17; India: Thompson-Balys; Easter Island: Métraux Ethnology 316; Eskimo (Greenland): Rasmussen III 64. |
| E279 | Malevolent revenants—miscellaneous. |
| E181.1.1 | Man advised how to resuscitate his mother: break waternuts on her head: she would revive and live one year for each nut broken. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E261.3 | Man attacked on Christmas night by dancing ghosts. Finnish: Swedish Wessman 6 No. 46. |
| E601.1 | Man by magic sees his wives in their former incarnations as dog and sow. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E322.5 | Man carries his dead wife with him. *Jellinek Zs. f. Vksk. XIV 323f. |
| E545.13 | Man converses with dead. Jewish: Neuman. |
| E765.4.7 | Man dies when tortoise shell is dug up. Tonga: Gifford 52. |
| E167 | Man given ability to return to life if killed. Eskimo (Greenland): Rasmussen II 301. |
| E163 | Man kept alive by consecrated sword. (Cf. D1081, E765.3.0.1.) Irish: Plummer clxxxv, *Cross. |
| E456 | Man raises corpses and gets their shrouds, then "lays" them again. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E605.1.2 | Man reborn as woman. India: Thompson-Balys; Korean: Zong in-Sob 76. |
| E611.5 | Man reincarnated as cat. Fb "sjæl" III 214a. |
| E605.7 | Man reincarnated as child. (Cf. E607.2.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E611.6 | Man reincarnated as dog. (Cf. D141.) Fb "sjæl" III 214a; India: *Thompson-Balys; Buddhist myth: Malalasekera I 267, 827; Korean: Zong in-Sob 92; Eskimo (Greenland): Rasmussen I 115. |
| E611.4 | Man reincarnated as goat. (Cf. D134.) *Type 510, 511; *BP I 187, III 60ff.; India: Thompson-Balys; Africa (Angola): Chatelain 53 No. 2. |
| E611.3 | Man reincarnated as swine. Fb "svin" III 676a, "sjæl" III 214a; India: *Thompson-Balys; Buddhist myth: Malalasekera I 423, 1031; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 189, 199. |
| E611.3.1 | Man reincarnated as wild boar. Irish myth: Cross; India: Thompson-Balys; Hindu: Keith 121 (Vishnu). |
| E121.1.3 | Man sent back to earth by Death, for it is not yet his time to die. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E322.9 | Man talks to dead wife in grave. Eskimo (Greenland): Rink 453. |
| E791 | Man who forgets to count himself dies immediately after. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E564 | Man who has died and returned to life becomes diviner. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E416 | Man who removes landmarks cannot rest in grave. (Cf. E345.1.) Kuhn Sagen aus Westfalen I 40f. No. 34, 118 No. 127, 177 No. 187; Sikes British Goblins (London, 1880) 149; Hoffman JAFL II 33; Frahm Am Urquell II 202; Kristensen Danske Sagn V (1897) 404ff., (1934) 308ff. |
| E765.3.5 | Man's magic contains his life essence. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 541. |
| E489.4 | Man's spirit in land of dead prophesies his own future death. India: Thompson-Balys. |
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