The Mythology and Folklore Database
H54 - Veki Vija, F571.1.
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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
In order for a character's eyes to be (wide) open, their eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) must be raised, propped up, spread apart (rarely: cut off).Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
H54 has 4 other sub-motifsH54. In order for a character's eyes to be (wide) open, their eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) must be raised, propped up, spread apart (rarely: cut off). H54a. A man meets an old man whose face is completely covered with hair or snot. He cuts (wipes) it off and receives a reward for doing so. H54b. The character's gaze brings death (and destruction). H54c. The character's eyelids are crucified so that he cannot close them, or he does so himself on the advice of another. h54d. A character whose eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) are so heavy that he cannot open his eyes without help, possesses enormous power and is dangerous to heroes and people in general. He is often associated with the underworld or with a bygone era. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of H54's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I90 | 98.67% | The character goes towards their goal, following a rolling ball of thread (less often an apple or a ball). |
| N28A | 98.60% | The roots (belt) of mountains or stones are mentioned in myths, riddles, spells, and songs as something that does not really exist. |
| K38F7 | 98.58% | The character acquires wild animals (at least two different species) that serve him like dogs. |
| H46 | 98.50% | A character (usually God) is about to deprive people of their food (most often grain), but does not do so for the sake of the dog (and/or cat; rarely for the sake of birds). Either God gave the ear of corn to the dog, and the man took it for himself. |
| M120A | 98.49% | The character pretends to be a mourner and eats (treats the body disrespectfully) the deceased. |
| K38E | 98.46% | Locations or objects made of three (rarely four) materials of varying degrees of value, but all valued positively (copper, silver, gold; silver, gold, diamonds, etc.) are mentioned. |
| L103B | 98.42% | A girl (boy, children) falls into the hands of a demonic creature. An animal or bird offers to carry her away and runs off. Usually, animals of different species do this, but only the last one manages to escape pursuit. |
| M109 | 98.35% | A zoomorphic character sits down, lowering his tail (penis) so that something edible will stick to it, but as a result he is left without a tail (penis) or dies. Cf. motifs M109A, M109C. |
| M90A1 | 98.33% | It is required to sew clothes from the skin of lice (fleas) or guess the origin of a large animal, a large skin, the contents of the box; the animal (skin) arose from lice (fleas), in the box - louse. |
| I139 | 98.23% | Two (rarely three) men or women are at a distance from each other, but regularly throw or pass something to each other. This is a sign of their unusual size, strength, and agility. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 37 traditions: Algeria Arabs, Niue, Hawaii, Ifaluk, Woleai, Lamutrek, Faraulip Satawal, Elato, Western Fayu, Southern Taiwan: Rukai, Paiwan, Puyuma, Saaroa, Ketangalan, Ireland, Wales, Spain, Spaniards, Basques, France, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Latvians, Finns, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, 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), Uzbek, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Chuvash, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Southern Selkups, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Hopi, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Terek Cossacks