The Mythology and Folklore Database
D4C - Obtaining summer.
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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
Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners.Berezkin category: Fire and Laughter
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
D4 has 22 other sub-motifsD4a. Fire is stolen from its original owner, returned to people by the thief, or (the motif of theft is not expressed) brought with difficulty from a distant place. D4a1. A certain character possesses fire or steals it. His attention is attracted or distracted by singing, music, dancing, unusual gifts, indecent or strange behaviour, offers of sex, food and/or alcohol. D4aa. Moths try to steal the fire that humans possess. D4b. Those who stole or asked for fire and/or those who received fire are punished by the deity. D4c. Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners. D4c1. Animal-people come to steal summer from its owners. One of them, in the guise of an elk or caribou, distracts the owners' attention or floats a log or stump down the river, which the owners of summer mistake for an elk and rush after. D4d. The opossum obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. D4e. The thief or giver of fire, light or sun is a coyote or fox (indicated in square brackets). See motif 4A. D4e1. The thief or giver of fire, light or sun is the dog. See motif 4A. D4f. Once in the fire, the beaver (in North America) or fish (in South America) scatters and/or carries the fire away from its original owners. See motif D4A. D4g. Hummingbird steals, finds or spreads fire. See motif D4A. D4h. The swallow obtains fire for people. See motif D4A. D4h1. A small songbird (redstart, robin, wren) obtains fire for humans. D4i. The beaver obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. D4j. The thief, the thief's assistant, or the owner of fire is a rabbit, a hare, or (ofaye) a guinea pig. See motif D4A. D4k. The deer obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. D4l. The first fire is brought down to earth from the sky; the first ancestors go to the sky and bring back fire or warmth. See motif D4A. D4m. The thief comes to the owners of fire or light. They feast or dance. He joins them and steals their valuables when the moment is right. See motif D4A. D4n. A boy or (among the Kutené) a woman cries, demanding the absent elements - summer, fire, rain. See motif D4A (demand for summer). D4o. In order to steal fire from its owner, the character pretends to be wet and cold, and after receiving permission to dry off, runs away, bringing fire to the people. D4p. 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. D4q. The fly rubs its legs together and produces fire. D4q1. The bat participates in obtaining fire. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of D4's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| L9B | 98.98% | The sharp elbows or (rarely) knees of the character resemble knives or awls. |
| C6B | 98.44% | The desired object is brought up from the bottom by a muskrat (rarely a beaver or otter). |
| M69 | 97.99% | character is attracted by the inside of a large animal's skull (small animals or insects are dancing or feasting inside, or eating some meat); he sticks his head inside , it gets stuck. |
| M93A | 97.47% | The character punishes a part of his body (burns his ass, breaks his eyes) for not sounding the alarm. See Motive M93; cf. Motive M142. |
| J19B | 96.90% | An evil spirit kills a woman by burning through her body. |
| M53 | 96.55% | The character invites others to gather around him, focusing on an activity (usually dancing with their eyes closed or lowered), and then kills the crowd (usually one at a time). |
| M93 | 96.54% | When falling asleep or going to do something else, the character tells a certain part of his body to wake him up in case of danger. The organ did not give a signal or the character himself did not listen to it, as a result, the misfortune happened. |
| M97 | 96.50% | Blinded or far from the target, the character walks, bumping into trees of various species and asking everyone a question or request. He eventually achieves his goal. |
| A38A | 96.26% | The sun is caught in a loop made of a woman's pubic hair. |
| M66 | 96.25% | After eating certain foods frivolously or rubbing his body with his spine, the character suffers from itching, diarrhea, or an irrepressible eruption of intestinal gases. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 16 traditions: Nganasans, Chipewyan, Tagish, Inland Tlingit, Micmac, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Naskapi, Montagnais, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Arikara, Gros Ventre, Plains Ojibwa, Crow, Shuswap, Yellowknife