The Mythology and Folklore Database
F79 - Animal wives, B600.1.
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Motif Summary - Motifs with Simlar Dispersals - Map of Myth Distribution - List of Traditions - Myths |
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 character successively marries various women of non-human nature, but each time (usually, except for the last) he is disappointed.Berezkin category: Gender and sex
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I106 | 97.15% | The Great Bear is one anthropomorphic character, not a group of people. |
| L79 | 92.77% | The girl marries a powerful, benevolent character; his first wife is a monster; he kills her or is satisfied that she has been killed by his new wife. |
| L42A | 92.41% | The cannibal steals fresh corpses from graves. |
| L59 | 91.24% | A woman eats the best food or eats fruit before it is ripe; as punishment, she undergoes metamorphosis. |
| I6A | 90.68% | The male and female of a huge bird carry different types of precipitation (for example, the eagle carries snow, and the eagle carries rain). Or (Buryats of Mongolia) the same bird carries different types of precipitation depending on whether it is angry or not. See motif i6. Traditions associated with Na-Dene languages are highlighted in italics in the list. |
| M16 | 90.34% | The wife or relatives (often the mother) of the sick person do not care for him. He recovers, and those who treated him badly are punished. Cf. motifs F62 and F96. |
| M46B | 90.17% | The character turns into a tiny object or creature, swallowing or touching which a woman (usually a virgin) becomes pregnant and gives birth to a boy. He steals valuables or gets along with a woman. See M46 motif. |
| K10F | 90.14% | The character turns the children of a flying monster into ordinary eagles or owls. |
| K1D | 89.80% | The hero's wife's brothers try to kill him by leaving him on an island. |
| K27Y1 | 89.76% | The character believes or pretends that arrowheads should be made of bark, coal, grass, and similar materials. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 11 traditions: Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Kashmiri, Lepcha, Naskapi, Montagnais, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Comox, Pentlatch, Makiritare (Yecuana), Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Umotina (Umutina)