Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
B1B — Two creators.
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
OverviewTwo female progenitors participate in the process of creation. The actions of one bring good, the other evil.
Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature.
B1 has 8 other sub-motifs
RelatedB1. Two anthropomorphic creators compete in the creation of the earth and/or humans. One is or becomes the master of the underworld or is associated with the spirit world, in contrast to the first, who is associated with the human world.
B1a. Anthropomorphic characters agree to divide the tiers of the universe among themselves – heaven, earth and the underworld.
B1b. Two female progenitors participate in the process of creation. The actions of one bring good, the other evil.
B1c. Two creators agree that the older of them (the main creator) will be the one whose object is in a certain state (usually: whose tree or flower grows or blooms earlier). While one was asleep or absent, the other switched the objects and deceitfully achieved primacy.
B1d. Two characters are building the world, one works poorly, the other well, so different parts of the universe (or a specific island) have different appearances.
B1e. The protagonist of the narrative is one of many (seven or more) brothers with whom he is in conflict, but who are not his irreconcilable enemies.
B1f. In the era of creation, two men have a common origin, are not antagonists, and display their characteristics in a series of episodes. One is intelligent and successful, the other is simple-minded and irresponsible.
B1g. Four brothers change the world, freeing it from monsters, transforming its inhabitants and obtaining valuable resources (water, fire, cultivated plants, etc.). Usually one of the brothers is the leader, and the others help him. All four often have a common name.
B1H.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| J23C | 94.28% | People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy from infancy or, left alone, miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones. |
| F64B | 92.18% | A woman pretends to be someone else in order to seduce her son, brother, daughter or grandson. See motif F64. |
| H12A | 90.45% | The wife dies, the husband comes for her, or he kills her himself for adultery; she turns into a monster and haunts him. |
| A21 | 89.51% | The sun and/or moon were objects that were thrown or placed into the sky. |
| D10 | 89.44% | A couple of people serve as the embodiment of a tool for obtaining fire. |
| M81C | 88.92% | A person goes to heaven or (rarely) to the lower world, where he meets blind people (one or two), usually makes them sighted, and returns to earth himself. |
| L105 | 88.80% | A wounded animal, fish or anthropomorphic character runs or swims away – usually with a hook, harpoon, arrow or other hunting or fishing implement stuck in its body; local healers cannot cure the wounded creature (usually because they cannot see the object that caused the wound); a person comes to the wounded person's village and successfully treats them (usually by removing the object that caused the wound). Cf. motif M60A. |
| J67 | 87.29% | At night, the character places light-coloured stones or shells over his eyes. Thinking that the character's eyes are open, the antagonist either does not dare to attack him or takes the stones away instead of gouging out his eyes. |
| J57 | 85.72% | Conceived by the Sun, a woman gives birth to sons or a son; when they come of age, they visit their father. See motif J56. |
| G23B | 85.67% | People from different ethnic groups arise from parts of the creature's body, or people from different groups receive their names (and characteristics) depending on which parts of the creature's body they have received. |
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
6 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 6 traditions: Ifaluk, Woleai, Lamutrek, Faraulip Satawal, Elato, Western Fayu, Mindanao and Sulu: Blaan (Bilaan), Bagobo, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Hiligáynon, Binukid, Magindaan (=Magindanao: main Muslim population), Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo (Agusan, Ata, Dibabawon, Sarangani, Ilianen), Maranao, Samal, Subanon (=Subanun), Subanen, Tboli, Central Taiwan: Bunun (Vonum), La'arua, Tsou, Kanabu, Kanakanabu, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal)
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