The Mythology and Folklore Database
L23E - Transformations of the captured man.
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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 man captures a male character. Trying to free himself, the latter transforms into various substances or animals.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
L23 has 5 other sub-motifsL23. Trying to free himself, the captured character successively transforms into various substances, materials or animals, or (Urarina, Setebo) orders various dangerous animals to successively attack the person who captured him. (In some cases, only one variant of transformation is mentioned, but in the same context as in typical variants with a series of transformations). L23a. In an attempt to free himself, the captured character sequentially changes his appearance, in particular turning into fire (and water). L23b. Trying to free himself, the captured character sequentially changes his appearance. The last transformation is into a spindle. L23c. Trying to free himself, the captured character sequentially changes his appearance. The last transformation is a small wooden object (usually a spindle). When this object is broken in half, the character permanently regains his human form. L23d. A man captures a desirable woman. Trying to free herself, she transforms into various substances, materials, animals or (urarina, setebo) orders various dangerous animals to attack the man who captured her. L23e. A man captures a male character. Trying to free himself, the latter transforms into various substances or animals. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of L23's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K74 | 93.82% | Of two or more characters, each one stays at home or goes to fetch fire for cooking or brings food to the house. Each time, a certain character appears who eats the food and/or defeats the one who stayed behind or came to fetch fire. |
| H7 | 93.39% | Death (as well as illness and old age) is a special character, distinct from the lord of the underworld. It takes away a person's soul or otherwise causes their death. |
| K56 | 93.30% | One of the girls, young women or young girls (wives of one man) meets a character who is able to reward and punish. She behaves correctly and receives a reward. Another (others) tries to repeat everything, but behaves incorrectly and is punished (rarely: not rewarded). |
| L19B1 | 92.81% | Describes or depicts a monster (usually a reptile) with seven heads (except in cases where snakes with an increasing number of heads are described sequentially and "seven" is not the largest number). |
| M169 | 92.74% | In the presence of an authoritative figure, one of the subordinates plots against another. The latter says that the problem can be solved by maiming the former (usually using a part of his body as medicine). The schemer is killed or maimed. |
| M124 | 92.41% | The character buries the tail (head, ears) of a domestic animal, claiming that it has fallen into the ground. Usually, he asks others to pull on the tail (head), and when it "breaks off," he accuses others of stealing the animal. |
| M156 | 92.05% | A dangerous animal (rarely: a spirit) is about to kill a human or another animal – usually the one who freed it from a trap. A third character acts as a judge and saves the human – most often by luring the ungrateful back into the trap. |
| M154 | 91.96% | A man who has learned the language of animals laughs when he hears them talking. His wife or mother-in-law (rarely someone else) demands that he explain what is going on. The man is ready to comply with his wife's demand, even though he knows he will die if he reveals the secret. Usually, he hears the domestic animals condemning their master's stupidity and decides not to say anything. |
| K33 | 91.90% | When a malevolent woman pushes another woman into a body of water (a well), the latter drowns or loses her human form, but manages to return to the world of humans. Cf. motif k32m |
| K37 | 91.83% | In order to return or obtain a wife, son or husband (in Africa also a domestic animal or object), a person must identify her or him among several identical people or animals (objects). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: Dinka, Atuot, Nuer, Mangbetu (Ngbetu), Mangbutu, Moru, Madi, Lugbara, Lendu (=Bale), Papua-NewGuinea Highland Papuans:Trans New Guinea & unclassified:Chimbu,Gimi,KaugelHuli,Gadsup,Kuman,Kutubu,Foi (Foe),Kyaka,Kamano (Kafe),Mawatta,Kukukuku (=Anga,=Sambia;Manki,Nauti,Ejuti),Baruya,Kewa,Tembregak,Menya,Melpa,Wiru,Pondoma, Ot Danum, Ngadju, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Ancient Greece, Western Ukrainians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Mordvins, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians