The Mythology and Folklore Database
K8AA - Jonah: swallowed by a bird.
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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
A huge bird swallows people. The hero kills it, freeing those who have been swallowed, or, if he himself has been swallowed, he manages to get out alive.Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
K8 has 11 other sub-motifsK8a. The character enters the belly of an aquatic creature or a giant creature whose appearance and habitat are not precisely described. He kills the creature from within (K952) and/or returns to the outside without outside help. Upon emerging from the belly, he often finds himself bald (K921). Cf. motifs I81B (Charybdis) and L110 (Devourer). K8aa. A huge bird swallows people. The hero kills it, freeing those who have been swallowed, or, if he himself has been swallowed, he manages to get out alive. K8b. A raven finds itself in the belly of a whale; the woman inside asks it not to touch a certain organ of the whale (usually the heart) or a burning lamp. The raven breaks the prohibition, the woman disappears, and the whale dies. K8c. The character enters the belly of an ordinary land animal, kills it from within (K952) and/or returns to the outside without outside help. Cf. motif M118. K8c1. A tiny man is first accidentally swallowed by a large herbivore, then carried off by a wolf that began to eat the carcass of this animal. K8c2. The mouse is swallowed by a large land animal and comes out by cutting it open from the inside. K8c3. One (zoomorphic) character refuses to use any part of another's body except the one he uses to kill him. K8c4. A small animal (bird, mouse, porcupine, fox) or (rarely) a tiny human being allows itself to be swallowed by a large ungulate (elk, deer, bison, tapir) in order to rip open its belly (and eat it). K8c5. A zoomorphic character no larger than a fox allows itself to be swallowed by a bear and kills it by tearing it apart from the inside. K8d. The character enters the body of an anthropomorphic creature, kills it from within (K952) and/or returns to the outside without outside help. K8e. The character penetrates inside the creature through the anus. K8f. The swallowed one discovers a living deer in the belly of the monster. See motif K8A. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of K8's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| B2G | 100.00% | The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened. |
| B98B | 100.00% | The Bat comes into conflict with other creatures in connection with someone's death or funeral. |
| B98C | 100.00% | The heavenly deity could have healed the bat's mother or child, but did not do so, and they died. |
| C30B | 100.00% | In response to the claims of an animal or spirit, a person offers to remove their traces from the field or to walk without leaving any traces. The spirit is unable to do so. |
| D13HH | 100.00% | A person visiting another world should not laugh or show surprise when seeing strange things. Those who break this rule will perish or suffer harm. |
| E1B1 | 100.00% | A man who has married an unusual girl is warned that she must not perform certain tasks or eat certain foods. Other members of his household ensure that the young woman breaks the prohibition, and as a result she dies or disappears. |
| E31B | 100.00% | Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him. |
| F73A | 100.00% | The vulva is an unhealed wound on the body of the first women, or the first humans did not copulate because they thought that the vulva was a wound. |
| H1BB | 100.00% | One character refuses to resurrect another's beloved dog, and this conflict is linked to the loss of the ability to resurrect people. |
| H31 | 100.00% | God summons several characters, including man and the heavenly bodies, and makes man mortal and the heavenly bodies immortal. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Malagasy, Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Boa, Komo, (Ba)Nyanga, Mbole, Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Maldives