Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
B4A — Fish break off islands.
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
OverviewFish beat against the ground, breaking off islands from the mainland.
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.
B4 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedB4. Islands or mainland pulled out of the ocean, pulled by a rope.
B4a. Fish beat against the ground, breaking off islands from the mainland.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B4 | 97.30% | Islands or mainland pulled out of the ocean, pulled by a rope. |
| A21A | 89.45% | The moon is an object that was accidentally released by its owners or stolen from them and ended up in the sky. |
| B118 | 89.45% | A character who was unable to reach the sky or returned from the sky to earth becomes an owl. |
| B74B | 89.45% | The owl is forced to part with the moon and now cries out when it sees the moon. Usually, the story tells how the marriage of the owl and the moon fell apart or did not take place. |
| E39A | 89.45% | An animal (snake, pig) conceives from a man's urine and gives birth to a human child (or twins). |
| F43C | 89.45% | The husbands of the first women, Amazons or single women are small animals - usually flying foxes. |
| K32F | 89.45% | A woman or girl raises a bird of prey chick, which brings her food and fire. This usually happens after an evil spirit leaves the girl or young woman in a tree or on an island. |
| K37D | 89.45% | The character recognises the presence of another by noticing traces of their teeth or nails on fruit or leaves. |
| L132 | 89.45% | When one member of a small (family) group, left alone, secretly eats food, this leads to serious conflict, often resulting in the murder of the guilty party. |
| L133 | 89.45% | The character keeps his limbs separately, connecting them to his body when necessary. |
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
4 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Alor, Solor, Wetar, Atauru, Inland Tlingit, Tlingit
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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