Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
C13 — Rebellion of things.
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
OverviewDuring or before the onset of a global catastrophe (flood, darkness) or (surui) at night, household items and/or stones, trees, domestic animals, and cultivated plants turn into wild birds and animals or come to life.
Berezkin category: Disasters
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.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K6 | 99.23% | A vine or rope emerges from tears, snot, urine, saliva, and chewed substance. See motif K1A. |
| J8 | 98.69% | A woman or girl sets out in search of a husband (fiancé, etc.). Bird feathers left on the trail, at a crossroads or near a dwelling mark the right or wrong path. See motif J7. |
| I54 | 98.47% | Inside a snake or other aquatic creature are aquatic animals or live fish; an aquatic monster gives birth to fish, is the master of fish; turns into many fish. |
| F18B | 98.18% | After intercourse with a forbidden partner (incest, intercourse with an animal or spirit), a man's penis becomes so long that he is forced to carry it in a basket, etc. |
| L11 | 98.06% | Everyday objects take the form of fish, invertebrates, reptiles, dangerous predators, or objects that transform into these animals under special circumstances. |
| M2 | 97.89% | The hero descends from a tree or rock on the back of an animal or on the backs of animals. |
| M8 | 97.59% | Some characters (not humans) are struggling to break a strong barrier that prevents access to the desired location or to a high-value object. See also M8A - M8D motifs; they are included in the M8 motif in the correlation tables. |
| A1A | 97.54% | Before the sun appeared, the world was lit by a large bird with bright colours (a parrot or toucan). |
| A26 | 97.54% | The bird embodies the sun, daylight; it can be caught, released, killed. |
| B25 | 97.54% | Characters who climb trees or vines and then fall turn into wild pigs or other game animals. |
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
35 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 35 traditions: Kuki, Chiru, Falam (Hallam), Chin (Meitei =Manipuri, Khami, =Kumi), Lakher, Mizo (Lushei), Anal, Pawi (Lai), Purum, Koireng, Milhiem, Kolhen, Mru, Lepcha, Ingalik (Der Hit’an), Caribou, Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Zuni, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Huichol, Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Tojolabal, Chuj, Jacalteca, Kanjobal, Mocho (incl Tuzantec), Acatec, Quiche, Achí, Cakchiquel, Pocomchi, Pocomam, Tepehua, Totonac, Huastec (Teenek), Gulf Nahuatl, Tzotzil, Yucatec, Itza, Lacandon, Rama, Guatuso, Cuna; XVI century data on Eastern Panama, Locono, Wayana, Aparai, Mai Huna (Coto, Orejon), Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Lima dep: Costa and adjacent Sierra (Spanish, Kechua, and Jacaru-speaking communities, mostly in Pachacamac, Cajatambo, Canta, Huarochirí; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Kechua-speaking communities of Apurimac, Cuzco, Arequipa, Puno departments; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries; Callawaya (Kechua with Pukina substratum), Ashaninca (Campa), Machiguenga, Amahuaca, Cashinahua, Sharanahua, Yaminahua, Yawanahua, Capanahua), Harákmbet (=Mashco), Tacana, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Mojo, Baure, Itonama, Kanichana, Chiquito, Manasi, Suruí, Gaviâo, Zoro, Arua, Cinta Larga, Nambikwara, Paresi
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