The Mythology and Folklore Database
L5D - The head wants to drink.
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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 rolling head suffers from thirst. See motif L5.Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
L5 has 11 other sub-motifsL5. Describes or depicts a creature in the form of a skull or head without a body. L5A. A rolling head turns into a celestial object that emits or eclipses light (sun, moon, stars, fireball; it is the cause of eclipses). See motif L5. L5B. A rolling head turns into lightning/thunder. See motif L83. L5c. The monster head pursues celestial bodies, people, or attaches itself to someone else's body. See motif L5. L5d. The rolling head suffers from thirst. See motif L5. L5e. The decapitated body of a woman pursues her husband, while her head pursues their children. L5e1. A woman who has become a monster pursues her own children. L5f. Head, face or skull – a woman's husband, fiancé or son; not dangerous to her, brings wealth, saves from hunger, etc. L5g. Only the head remains of one of the sisters. It rolls after the other sister or sisters, or they take it with them; in the end, the head finds a place where it wants to settle. L5h. Two sisters or two brothers find themselves in the demon's house or in front of an obstacle. One of them crawls through a narrow hole. The other gets stuck. The brother or sister pulls him or her by the head, and the head is torn off. L5i. A multitude of rolling heads or skulls try to take a woman away. L5j. The rolling head laughs for no reason. See motif L5. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of L5's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| J15B | 99.97% | While travelling, a woman finds herself in the house of a frog or toad. See motif J15. |
| F29 | 99.94% | A girl (woman) sits on the ground and copulates with a snake, worm or eel that crawls out of the ground towards her. This usually happens when she is busy with housework (cooking, weaving, etc.). |
| M29W | 99.93% | As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, a jaguar (puma, ocelot) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a puma or ocelot; otherwise, a jaguar. |
| F32 | 99.88% | Small children or a single infant, who temporarily transform into adult men and/or emerge from their mother's womb, or a snake living in a woman's womb, climb a tree and help her gather fruit, bark, tree mushrooms, etc.; or a father discovers his daughter's connection with a snake when he climbs a tree to gather fruit for her. |
| B22A | 99.83% | Boys climb a tree to eat fruit and refuse to throw the fruit down to the tapir, who tries to kill the boys. |
| E9K | 99.83% | The husband or wife is the embodiment of honey or a human bee. |
| F84 | 99.83% | A guest or younger brother has sexual intercourse with the wife of the host or older brother. Wanting to demonstrate long abstinence, the character sprinkles ash on the head of his penis or smears it with fruit juice. |
| B24 | 99.65% | People who have entered into conflict or violated a prohibition are transformed into wild boars or peccaries. |
| B63 | 99.65% | Children lie to their mother, pretending to work in the fields. When the deception is revealed, they are left without a harvest and are transformed into atmospheric phenomena or celestial objects. |
| E19 | 99.65% | Narcotic plants arise from the body of a human being torn to pieces by others. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Wanana, Tucano proper, Pira-Tapuya, Arapaso, Tariana, Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Aimara, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje)