The Mythology and Folklore Database
L11 - The turtle bench.
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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
Everyday objects take the form of fish, invertebrates, reptiles, dangerous predators, or objects that transform into these animals under special circumstances.Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K6 | 98.60% | A vine or rope emerges from tears, snot, urine, saliva, and chewed substance. See motif K1A. |
| F19 | 98.24% | After copulating with a frog, a man's penis is crippled (unless otherwise stated: it becomes long, see motif F18A). |
| M9A | 98.24% | A character who eagerly sucks honey from a hollow and/or gets stuck in a hollow turns into a tree frog. See M9 motif. |
| B56 | 98.15% | The crocodile/caiman is left without a tongue after swallowing or losing the fire (which it previously possessed); something associated with heavenly fire (lightning, sunbeams, etc.) emerges from the crocodile's severed tongue. |
| F37 | 98.09% | To summon her lover, the character taps on a calabash placed on the water. |
| I54 | 98.07% | Inside a snake or other aquatic creature are aquatic animals or live fish; an aquatic monster gives birth to fish, is the master of fish; turns into many fish. |
| C13 | 98.06% | During or before the onset of a global catastrophe (flood, darkness) or (surui) at night, household items and/or stones, trees, domestic animals, and cultivated plants turn into wild birds and animals or come to life. |
| J8 | 97.98% | A woman or girl sets out in search of a husband (fiancé, etc.). Bird feathers left on the trail, at a crossroads or near a dwelling mark the right or wrong path. See motif J7. |
| K13B | 97.94% | A man crosses a body of water on the back of a caiman. The caiman bites off his leg. The cripple undergoes a metamorphosis, turning into a constellation or an animal. |
| A1A | 97.33% | Before the sun appeared, the world was lit by a large bird with bright colours (a parrot or toucan). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 40 traditions: Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Dhanwar, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Tanana, Eyak, Yuchi, Alabama, Koasati, Cherokee, Yana, Zuni, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Western Mexico Nahuatl, Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Quiche, Achí, Cakchiquel, Pocomchi, Pocomam, Chontal, Tzotzil, Lacandon, Kekchi; Mopan, Rama, Guatuso, Bribri, Cabecar, Terraba; Chiriqui (AD 800-1500) iconography, Yupa (Yukpa), Wayana, Aparai, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Kandoshi (Murato, Maina); Iquito, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Tariana, Yagua, Tupinamba, Lima dep: Costa and adjacent Sierra (Spanish, Kechua, and Jacaru-speaking communities, mostly in Pachacamac, Cajatambo, Canta, Huarochirí; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Machiguenga, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Suruí, Gaviâo, Zoro, Arua, Cinta Larga, Nambikwara