Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L33A — The boulder pursues the thief.
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
OverviewThe 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.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
L33 has 7 other sub-motifs
RelatedL33. The stone rolls after the character, trying to crush him.
L33a. 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.
L33b. The character challenges someone who, at first glance, is unable to move (a stump, a boulder, fire) to race or roll over it. The challenged party sets off, crushes or burns the character, or runs away with their property.
L33c. The trickster and the boulder agree to race down the slope. The boulder rolls faster and faster and crushes the trickster. See motif L33.
L33d. A rolling stone-monster kills people. The hero destroys it. See motif L33.
L33e. The trickster demands back or takes the cloak belonging to the skale or another character (usually he himself had previously given this cloak as a gift).
L33f. A rock or boulder pursues a character. The character calls for help, and the nightjar splits the rock into pieces.
L33g. A tree, a creature on a tree, a stone kills (seriously injures) anyone who calls it a certain way, climbs on it, etc. The character provokes others to do this and eats the dead, the last of the invited guests deceives the provocateur himself.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M22A | 99.91% | In a foreign house, in a foreign country, where the hero finds himself, the crane or heron is a watchman who must raise the alarm in case of strangers appearing. |
| M86 | 99.77% | A rock stalks or otherwise punishes a character when he unfairly insults her (usually takes away her property, see motive L33). |
| L33F | 99.72% | A rock or boulder pursues a character. The character calls for help, and the nightjar splits the rock into pieces. |
| L33E | 99.32% | The trickster demands back or takes the cloak belonging to the skale or another character (usually he himself had previously given this cloak as a gift). |
| L1B | 99.24% | 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. |
| K19G | 99.23% | One star is an old man, the other is a young man; both stars differ in brightness or colour, but it is impossible to determine the age of the star-man by these characteristics (a dim star may be young and vice versa); usually two girls want to marry stars of different types (one bright, the other dim, one red, the other blue, etc.). See motif K19B. |
| B44D | 98.44% | Night and day alternate because the slain beast was black and white, spotted. |
| I37E | 98.44% | Tree mushrooms cry out like people. |
| K27V | 98.44% | 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 | 98.44% | Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars. |
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
25 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 25 traditions: Eyak, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Eastern Cree, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Teton (incl Oglala), Arikara, Pawnee, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Crow, Hidatsa, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Tillamook, Flathead, Owens Valley Paiute, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Northern Shoshone, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Eastern Shoshone, Ute, Southern Paiute
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