Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L1B — The Bear and Her Sister.
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
OverviewA young woman turns into a monstrous bear and kills most people except her younger sister (Ojibwa: the younger sister of her former husband). Their brothers (or one brother) return from hunting and kill the bear, or she dies while chasing them. Cf. motif L65D.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L1 has 8 other sub-motifs
RelatedL1a. A young woman turns into a bear (in Asia, a tigress) and attacks her close relatives or husband.
L1b. A young woman turns into a monstrous bear and kills most people except her younger sister (Ojibwa: the younger sister of her former husband). Their brothers (or one brother) return from hunting and kill the bear, or she dies while chasing them. Cf. motif L65D.
L1b1. A woman comes into conflict with her brothers and turns into a dangerous demon.
L1c. Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars.
L1c1. Fleeing from demonic characters, a group of men â relatives of a girl â ascend to the sky and remain there. See motif L1C.
L1c2. Fleeing from a demonic creature, the characters hide their children (younger brother or sister) in a camouflaged pit, usually under the hearth. See motif L1C.
L1d. The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives.
L1e. A monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch.
L1f. The sister, using magic or transforming herself into a monster, kills her brothers in revenge for the death of her lover or husband.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M37 | 99.56% | Although the character's head or entire body is cut in two with an ax or split with a stick, the character remains unharmed. Cf. motive J22. |
| B44D | 99.53% | Night and day alternate because the slain beast was black and white, spotted. |
| I37E | 99.53% | Tree mushrooms cry out like people. |
| K27V | 99.53% | The character must hit the bird with an arrow or a stone. (Cf. motif K27M, where it is not the accuracy of the archer that is important, but the unusual appearance of the creature that needs to be caught). |
| L1C | 99.53% | Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars. |
| M29D | 99.53% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| L33A | 99.24% | The trickster takes an object lying on or near a rock or other inanimate object, which he has given to that object. The object pursues or otherwise punishes the offender. See motif L33. |
| J39 | 99.23% | The antagonist makes the woman his slave. Other characters secretly come to her and kill a small animal or bird for her. The antagonist suspects that the woman could not have caught the game herself, but she insists that she did. |
| L33F | 99.08% | A rock or boulder pursues a character. The character calls for help, and the nightjar splits the rock into pieces. |
| K1H | 98.99% | The character finds himself inside a tree trunk or inside a rock; someone frees him by making a hole from the outside. |
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
23 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 23 traditions: Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Eastern Cree, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Cheyenne, Arapaho, Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, Arikara, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Gros Ventre, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Crow, Carrier, Chilkotin, Shuswap, Jicarilla
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