The Mythology and Folklore Database
M156A - Answering 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 dangerous animal is about to kill a human or another animal that helped it. The predator and its prey agree to ask passers-by (people walking or sailing by) which of them is right. Among those who respond are inanimate objects (most often trees).Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 9, Identification of protagonists of the stories with particular animals or persons with particular qualities
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M90A4 | 97.22% | A tree is described on which jewelry or ornaments hang instead of fruits; individual parts of the tree are made of <i>different</i> metals or (semi) precious stones. |
| K73A2 | 96.65% | The ill-wishers of the new mother replace the baby with a broom (they tell the father that his wife has given birth to a broom). |
| K116C | 95.04% | In order to take possession of the girl, the priest arranges for her father to agree to place her in a chest (barrel) and lower it into the river (leave it in a deserted area). |
| K116B | 94.72% | In order to take possession of the girl, the antagonist creates a situation in which her relatives are forced to put her in a chest (barrel, sack, etc.) and leave her there. The girl is secretly replaced by a ferocious dog or other animal. When the antagonist opens the chest, the animal usually kills or mauls him. |
| C31C | 94.68% | The bat turns out to be smarter and wiser than other living creatures. |
| I50C | 94.68% | Describes a hoofed animal with a second set of legs on its back that runs either normally or upside down. This makes it tireless. |
| L90B | 94.68% | One tooth (fang) of the creature touches the sky, the other reaches the earth or the underworld. |
| M195B | 94.68% | A person sticks a needle (thread, stick) into the ear of two or three dolls (skulls). In different dolls or skulls, the object comes out of different holes (or does not go inside at all, remains inside, etc.). This refers to people who react differently to what they hear (inattentive, talkative, wise). |
| M23A | 94.68% | The turtle says that before eating it, it must be properly soaked in water, but once in the water, it swims away. |
| L128 | 94.64% | When a demonic character or predator reveals who he is, the hero or herbivorous animal responds by calling himself a name that implies his superiority over his opponent. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 25 traditions: Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Lampung (Lampong); South Sumatra Malays (incl. Bengkulu), Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Nepali; Tharu, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Assamese, Sinhalese; Vedda, Koreans, Tajik, Persians, Mingrelians (Megrelians), Laz, Anatolia Turks, Uyghur, Bashkirs, Shor, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Kumaoni (Central Pahari), incl. Garhwali, Parachi, Ormur, Rejang