Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
H43A — Broken figures.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewHaving created the human body, the creator leaves. At this time, another character tries to break the figure, which has not yet come to life.
Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms.
H43 has 4 other sub-motifs
RelatedH43. One character creates people's bodies, while another brings them to life.
H43a. Having created the human body, the creator leaves. At this time, another character tries to break the figure, which has not yet come to life.
H43aa. Having created the human body, the creator leaves. At this time, his opponent spits on the figure, which has not yet come to life, smears it with mud, etc.
H43ab. Man is mortal because he was spat upon at creation.
H43ac. The creator made human figures and left. By sneaking up on the figures, the antagonist brings them to life himself. That's why people are mortal and imperfect.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M130A | 98.60% | A trickster lures an animal into a hunter's trap. Another animal advises the victim to pretend to be dead and helps it escape. |
| A37B | 98.52% | A small animal (marmot, rabbit, mole, frog) or a person who turns into such an animal tries to hit a target in the sky (a celestial body or a bird) with arrows and as a result loses their thumbs. |
| K56A8B | 98.52% | A virtuous girl (usually the daughter of a dog) wants to kill herself and puts her hand in a snake's hole. The snake does not bite her, but rewards her. |
| L90D | 98.52% | The hero attaches the upper lip (jaw) of the monster to the sky, and the lower lip to the earth. |
| B116C | 98.40% | In the past, the people possessed writing and knowledge, but these were lost, or the people missed the opportunity to acquire them. |
| I132 | 98.29% | A deer props its antlers against the sky, and a person climbs them to reach the upper world. Alternatively, a person finds themselves in the sky when they touch the deer's antlers. |
| K101C | 98.29% | The bride stipulates that she will only be with her husband during the day. The husband discovers that at night she meets with heavenly maidens (and usually flies away to dance in the sky). He follows her and in the end she stays with him on earth. |
| M78A | 97.36% | A tiny little man emerges from the severed tail of a goat or sheep. |
| M192 | 97.29% | A scavenger who has climbed into an animal carcass or put on a fresh animal skin cannot get out of it (usually because the skin has dried out in the heat). He gets out when the skin becomes soft again or someone helps him. |
| E31A2 | 97.27% | The girl must be given to one of several men. She herself or someone else explains that one of the suitors can be called her father, another her brother (etc.), and only one can be her husband. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
20 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Northern Halmahera Papuans: Galela, Loda, Pagu, Modole, Tabaru (Tobaru), Tobelo, Tidore, Ternate, Santali, Turi, Mahli, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Khasi, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Oraon (Kurukh), Gondi (mostly Northern Gondi), Bhils (incl Barela-Bhilala), Lepcha, Kirati (Kiranti): Rai (incl Thulung), Limbu, Newar, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Svans, Armenians, Kirghiz, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Plains Ojibwa
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