The Mythology and Folklore Database
B3D - Worm excrement.
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Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of Motif
The earth is obtained by a worm; it arises from worm excrement, extracted from the worm.Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature
B3 has 6 other sub-motifsB3. At first, the earth is soft, resembling a swamp. B3a. The waters are primary. The earth is lowered onto the water, appears above the water, grows from a piece of solid substance placed on the surface of the water or liquid mud, from an island in the ocean, is exposed when the waters recede, etc. B3b. Initially, the earth or the world as a whole was small in size, then it grew; fertile soil grew from a small amount of initial substance. See motif B3A (the earth grows from a piece of solid substance thrown onto the surface of the water). B3c. When the creator, having created the land, lies down to rest, the antagonist tries to drown him, dragging him to the edge of the earth. As a result, the earth expands, and the antagonist is unable to reach its edge. B3d. The earth is obtained by a worm; it arises from worm excrement, extracted from the worm. B3e. At first, below the sky there is only air and water or (rarely) swamp, an indefinite abyss. A character descends from the sky, creates or has a support created for him, and the earth grows out of it; the earth is lowered, dropped from the sky; the earth is thrown, placed on the surface of the sea, and grows into land; the earth is brought from somewhere else (not from the underworld) and placed on the waters. (This is a more general motif compared to motif b79a1, "The bird dropped the firmament onto the waters"). B3F. A character in the sky accidentally drops an object. The search for this object in the world below the sky leads to the creation of the earth or a change in its appearance. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of B3's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | 99.57% | There was a time when several, i.e. more than two, suns shone in the sky at the same time. |
| A46 | 99.24% | The sun and moon (Rigveda: only the sun) emerge from the eyes of an anthropomorphic creature. |
| C8 | 99.03% | At the beginning of time or as a result of a catastrophe, the only human couple is a brother and sister (less often a mother and son, father and daughters). They marry and give birth to people. |
| I8H | 99.03% | The earth is supported by a man and a woman in the underworld. |
| K33A3 | 99.03% | A woman, turned into a turtle because of her rival's intrigues, tries to establish contact with her children or husband. |
| K27ZZ2 | 98.92% | Several wives of one man (several sisters) go blind – the older ones in both eyes, and the younger one in one eye. |
| M152D | 98.72% | The elephant and the tiger (lion) engage in combat (usually competing to see who can roar louder). The tiger wins and is about to eat the elephant, but a small animal saves it. |
| A46A | 98.62% | The sun and moon (Rigveda: only the sun) are associated with the eyes of an anthropomorphic being (the motif of their emergence from the eyes of this being may be absent). |
| M130B | 98.61% | A herbivorous animal falls into a hunter's trap. The predator does not want to release it, as it hopes to eat its entrails, but the bird helps it to escape. The hunter tries to kill the bird, but instead kills the predator. |
| A2A | 98.59% | The world was or will be (almost) burned when several suns lit up or will light up simultaneously; or destructive heat (or light) once emanated from one sun. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 12 traditions: Kayan, Bahau, Kenja, Aoheng, Punan (Bukat, Basap, Oloh Ot, etc); "Klemantan", Central islands and Bikol: Vizaya, Mansaká, Bikol, Mangyan, Panayan, Sulod, Cebuano (Cebu), Capiz, Romblomanon, Manuyu, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Bondo, Didayi (Gata'), Gutob (=Gadaba; cf Dravidian-speaking Gadaba), SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf, Mikir (Karbi), Nepali; Tharu, Kirati (Kiranti): Rai (incl Thulung), Limbu, Newar, Chemehuevi, Kofan