The Mythology and Folklore Database
L46 - Head down.




79 Myths, Legends and Folktales
78 Unique Narratives for Motif L46
45 Cultures & Traditions where L46 is told
107 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif L46


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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 walks, climbs or descends upside down, or sees the world turned upside down.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
D4A97.14%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.
J5896.77%Characters shoot arrows (darts) that stick into each other and form a chain. They usually climb up the chain to the upper world.
F5396.14%An unattractive man marries, but hides his face. When he is seen, the marriage is dissolved.
F5195.82%Someone under cover of night/incognito approaches a person of the opposite sex. The marriage partner deliberately (to determine who it is) or accidentally (thereby exposing the visitor) makes a mark on his/her body (clothing). See motif A31.
A595.55%The Moon is male, the Sun is also male or (rarely) has no gender.
M1195.49%The character gives others food extracted from his or someone else's body or contaminated with bodily secretions, without revealing the source of the food.
J5995.24%To reach the sky, one must shoot an arrow that will pierce the vault of heaven. See motif J58; see motif J59A: a man flies after or on an arrow (without the motif of an arrow piercing the vault of heaven).
I6694.95%The Milky Way is ash or smouldering embers.
K1094.89%A monstrous bird (bat) attacks people, heroes engage in battle with it. See motifs K10A – K10G.
F18A94.44%The penis of a male character is much longer than normal or becomes so. During intercourse, it usually crawls towards the woman like a snake. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are included, not anecdotes).

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 45 traditions: Efe Pygmies, Kango (Mbuti) Pygmies, Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Trans-New Guinea and unclassified Papuan groups of Irian Jaya: Mejprat, Arandai-Bintuni, Inanwatan-Berau, Papua of Gelvink (Cenderawasih) Bay, Kamoró, Marind Anim, Sawi, Mafore; Korowai; Kwerba; Momina, Eipo, Yale, Awyu, Melanesians of the islands of Massim District ( =Milke Bay Province) to the east of New Guinea: Dobu, Rossel, Fergusson, Goodenough, Murua (Woodlark), Trobrian Islands, d'Entrecasteau Islands, Ontong Java, Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuria, Nicobarese, Lepcha, Finns, Western Sami, Western Ukrainians, Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Udmurt, Forest Nenets, Southern Selkups, Ainu, Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu, Inland Tlingit, Tahltan, North Alaskan Inupiat, Iglulik, Lenape (Delaware), Plains Ojibwa, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Nez Perce, Quileute, Chemakum (Hoh), Quinault, Kalapuya, Lower Chinook (Chinook proper), Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Kekchi; Mopan, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Amahuaca, Cashinahua, Sharanahua, Yaminahua, Yawanahua, Capanahua), Chacobo, Parintintin; Villa Bella (tribal affiliation unknown), Suruí, Gaviâo, Zoro, Arua, Cinta Larga, Kayabi, Nambikwara, Paresi, Caraja, Mocovi; Kechua of Santiago del Estero with probable Guaikuruan substratum; Abipon, Lisu, Lolo (incl. Bai), Achang, Yi, Axi, Nasu, Jino, Taungyo, Egypt


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