The Mythology and Folklore Database
B3E - The earth fell into the waters.
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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
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").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 |
|---|---|---|
| E5E | 91.56% | People or animals come out from under the ground or descend from the sky. The two-headed creature following them gets stuck in the opening or is not allowed to come out. |
| M3A | 91.06% | The character invites aquatic creatures to count them, and to do this, form a chain; crosses it to the other side or climbs to land. See M3 motif. |
| I44 | 90.72% | A huge serpent encircles, embodies or supports the earth. |
| B79A1 | 90.62% | At the beginning of time, a bird flies and drops pieces of solid ground onto the water, from which land or an island emerges. Sometimes the substrate onto which the piece of solid ground falls is not precisely defined. |
| I81B | 89.09% | During high tide, a certain creature spews seawater or displaces it with its body, and during low tide, it swallows the water or makes room for it (or it is simply reported that the water is either spewed or recedes). |
| M3 | 88.96% | The character crosses a water or air barrier on the backs of chained animals, birds, or fish. |
| K29B | 88.64% | The hero is asked to climb (or is thrown) into a pit, which is immediately filled with earth or into which a pole or stones are lowered, K959,6 (Posthole murder). The hero proves his magical abilities by climbing out of the pit alive. |
| E32 | 88.61% | The first humans or the first woman (progenitor, goddess) are born from trees, emerge from a tree, stump, flower, or reed. |
| I81A | 88.46% | The giant crab causes earthquakes or floods, closes or can close the water outlet. |
| B77A | 88.40% | One or more anthropomorphic characters push the sky away from the earth. See motif B77. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 51 traditions: Tonga, Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Melanesians and Papuans of Bismark Archipelago: New Britain (Paparatava, Lakalai, Kuni, Sulka, Gazelle peninsula), New Ireland, St Matthias Group, Mioko (Melanesians between New Britain and New Ireland), Southern Solomons: southern part of Santa Ysabel (Bughotu), Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, Malaita, Ulawa, Samoa, Rotuma, Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, Yap, Ponape, Ngaik, Mwoakil (Mokil), Kusaie (Kosrae), Marshall Islands, incl Ailinglapalap, Arno, Jaluit, Kili, Lae, Maloelap, Majuro, Ratak, Wotho, Ujae, Jaluit (=Jalooj), Namdrik, Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Kayan, Bahau, Kenja, Aoheng, Punan (Bukat, Basap, Oloh Ot, etc); "Klemantan", Dusun, Murut, Kelabit, Tombonuwo, Bajau, Tidong, Mindanao and Sulu: Blaan (Bilaan), Bagobo, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Hiligáynon, Binukid, Magindaan (=Magindanao: main Muslim population), Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo (Agusan, Ata, Dibabawon, Sarangani, Ilianen), Maranao, Samal, Subanon (=Subanun), Subanen, Tboli, Nicobarese, Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Kashmiri, Lithuanians, Western Ukrainians, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Forest Nenets, Mongols (Khalkha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Evens (Lamuts), Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa, Udeghe, Nanai, Chukchi, Inland Tlingit, Polar Inuit, Haida, Lenape (Delaware), Menominee, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Tuscarora, Pawnee, Plains Ojibwa, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Yokuts, Chemehuevi, Wayana, Aparai, Moseten, Chimane, Kaingang, Xokleng, Sheta, Kodiak, Evens (Lamuts) of Kamchatka, Palau