The Mythology and Folklore Database
H6BB - Lost objects.
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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 character is sent to deliver a certain object or substance to people, the possession of which is essential to them. The messenger loses these objects or brings others. Usually, this refers to the ability to be reborn after death. Traditions not related to the explanation of human mortality are marked with an asterisk*.Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 4, Origin of death, diseases and hard life
H6 has 7 other sub-motifsH6a. Mortal humans are contrasted with plants, which regularly shed their bark, bloom in spring after winter dormancy, or reproduce vegetatively. See motif H4. H6b. The elixir of immortality, intended for humans, is not delivered to its destination, but falls on plants, which become evergreen, capable of regeneration or bearing fruit. (Traditions in which the "elixir of immortality" is linked to the motif of false news are marked with an asterisk. Cf. motif B115). H6bb. A character is sent to deliver a certain object or substance to people, the possession of which is essential to them. The messenger loses these objects or brings others. Usually, this refers to the ability to be reborn after death. Traditions not related to the explanation of human mortality are marked with an asterisk*. H6c. The raven (crow, vulture) is associated with death or contrasted with humans as immortal among mortals (sent to bring the elixir of immortality or water that revives the dead; drinks this water himself; teaches people funeral rites; etc.). H6c1. To obtain the desired object, the character grabs the young or the female bird (snake, crab) and promises to release them if the father (mother, male) bird delivers the desired object. H6c2. At the edge of the world lies the land of darkness. Those who want to obtain living water or gold strive to get there. H6c3. Large birds that fly in wedge formations (storks, cranes, swans, geese – German: Zugvögel) are associated with the otherworld (they bring children from there, carry children away to the non-human world, control living and dead water, etc.). H6d. Having obtained a means of ensuring immortality, the character falls asleep or leaves the means unattended. At this time, another character steals the means. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of H6's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| L93B | 96.55% | The hare or rabbit, resorting to cunning, helps the hero or heroine, saving them. |
| H36 | 94.87% | A character is sent to deliver instructions or certain items. The messenger distorts the message, brings the wrong items, loses what he is carrying, delays (and is overtaken by another messenger). This has important consequences for him and for the future lives of the people. |
| M29G | 94.62% | See the motives in square brackets. They include traditions in which the hare/rabbit appears only as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox or jackal) often occurs. |
| M151 | 94.38% | A dangerous character pretends to be dead or absent, or pretends to be an inanimate object. The potential victim says aloud that the deceased (object or place – house, burrow, log, etc.) should do or say something. The character does so, revealing himself. |
| M110 | 93.41% | Upon learning that it is being transported by water to be eaten, the land animal explains to the transporter that it has forgotten on the shore the organ without which the meat is not tasty, which must be used as medicine, etc. The transporter agrees to return for this organ, and the animal runs away. |
| M181A | 93.16% | The character believes that unattainable natural objects are accessible cultural objects. Usually agrees to go after fire upon seeing a red sunset, fireflies, etc. |
| L44B | 92.87% | The blind and deaf (lame) began to live together, helping each other. After being mortally frightened or fighting, both (less often, one of them) got rid of their disabilities. |
| F28A1 | 92.75% | The living penis is a dangerous creature that attacks people. |
| C30D | 92.03% | The character agrees that his locus will be contaminated with excrement, but only on condition that not a drop of urine is spilled. It turns out to be impossible to fulfil this condition. |
| B86 | 90.93% | To reach the sky (the moon, stars, sun), people build a ladder or tower consisting of separate modules (logs, poles, bricks, etc.), but the structure collapses. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 19 traditions: Berbers of southern Tunisia and adjacent part of Libya (Matmata and Ghadames areas), Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Emberre, Mwimbe, Limba, Burmese, Intha, Palaung (De Ang, Deang), Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Lepcha, Ancient Greece, Tajik, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu, Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Kono (=Kone), Wai, Liberia