The Mythology and Folklore Database
B1F - Two brothers: the winner and the loser.
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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 the era of creation, two men have a common origin, are not antagonists, and display their characteristics in a series of episodes. One is intelligent and successful, the other is simple-minded and irresponsible.Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks 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
B1 has 8 other sub-motifsB1. Two anthropomorphic creators compete in the creation of the earth and/or humans. One is or becomes the master of the underworld or is associated with the spirit world, in contrast to the first, who is associated with the human world. B1a. Anthropomorphic characters agree to divide the tiers of the universe among themselves – heaven, earth and the underworld. B1b. Two female progenitors participate in the process of creation. The actions of one bring good, the other evil. B1c. Two creators agree that the older of them (the main creator) will be the one whose object is in a certain state (usually: whose tree or flower grows or blooms earlier). While one was asleep or absent, the other switched the objects and deceitfully achieved primacy. B1d. Two characters are building the world, one works poorly, the other well, so different parts of the universe (or a specific island) have different appearances. B1e. The protagonist of the narrative is one of many (seven or more) brothers with whom he is in conflict, but who are not his irreconcilable enemies. B1f. In the era of creation, two men have a common origin, are not antagonists, and display their characteristics in a series of episodes. One is intelligent and successful, the other is simple-minded and irresponsible. B1g. Four brothers change the world, freeing it from monsters, transforming its inhabitants and obtaining valuable resources (water, fire, cultivated plants, etc.). Usually one of the brothers is the leader, and the others help him. All four often have a common name. B1H. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of B1's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| E21 | 99.89% | A child catches fish (with poison), or fish poison is secreted from his body. Fish or water snakes kill him. Death is avenged. |
| L82 | 99.89% | A person deliberately or accidentally burns his foot in a fire or burns himself completely; he turns into a demonic creature. See motif L9 (man with a sharp foot). |
| M29QQ | 99.89% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| M6 | 99.88% | A young man or girl spends night in the forest. The forest partridge (Tinamus sp.) provides him or her a fire, a shelter and/or a hammock but takes them away and flies away itself when the person does something wrong |
| A28 | 99.87% | The clever sun-man involves the foolish moon in various tricks that the latter is incapable of devising himself. Trying to repeat the sun's actions, the moon suffers a fiasco. Cf. motif B1F. |
| B58 | 99.85% | After the first ancestors steal the original fire, a forest bird the size of a partridge (Penelope sp.; Anhima cornuta; etc.; jacu, paujil) swallows a hot coal. As a result (except for the Andoc), its neck turns red. |
| D4P | 99.85% | The parrot obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. Australian data is not taken into account, as the common origin of the motif in America and Australia is excluded. |
| D6B | 99.85% | The one who is burned turns into a crocodile/caiman. |
| I63 | 99.72% | The Milky Way is the tapir's trail; the tapir can be seen on the Milky Way. |
| C37 | 99.63% | The sloth causes a global catastrophe or saves people from it. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 30 traditions: Yabarana, Sanema, Yanomamo (Yanoama): Yanomam, Yanomami, Wapishana (incl Ataroi); Mapidian; Taruma, Hixkariyana, Karijona, Xipaya, Tupinamba, Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Tenetehara, Tupari, Makurap, Sakirap, Ajuru (Wayoro), Suruí, Gaviâo, Zoro, Arua, Cinta Larga, Mundurucu, Curuaia, Bakairi, Kamayura, Trumai, Kayabi, Bororo, Umotina (Umutina), Caraja, Canela: Ramkokamekra, Apaniekra, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje), Sherente, Kaingang, Xokleng, Kamakan; Kutasho, Chamacoco (Ishir), Mataco, Ofaie, Guarani of Paraguay and Brazil: Caygua, Mbia, Apapocuva, Nyandewa, Chiripa, Puelche