Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

C16A — The offended mistress of animals.

9 Myths, legends and folktales
9 Unique narratives for motif C16A
9 Cultures & traditions where C16A is told
1 Sub-motifs of motif C16A
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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

Overview

The offended mistress of animals or fish takes them and food supplies away. See motif H32A.

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.

C16 has 1 other sub-motifs

Related

C16.  Contrary to human desire, processed skins, tools, and (meat) food (again) turn into (those) animals (from whose body parts they were made). Cf. motif M84.
C16a.  The offended mistress of animals or fish takes them and food supplies away. See motif H32A.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of C16’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny
MotifSimilarityMotif summary
K10E95.98%In the bird's habitat, the hero finds the people it has kidnapped and helps them return home.
M42A95.07%The character (usually after losing his own eyes) inserts seeds or berries into his eye sockets and sees again.
K8C594.78%A zoomorphic character no larger than a fox allows itself to be swallowed by a bear and kills it by tearing it apart from the inside.
M53D94.40%The character pretends to be enemies coming; when people run away in fear, the character takes what the deceived people owned.
J59A94.36%After shooting an arrow (rarely: throwing a ball), a person flies on it, behind it or in front of it, or sends another person on the flying arrow. Cf. motif J59.
M84B194.10%A person enters a country from where fish come to people (and comes back).
J4593.73%The character extends his leg (dafla: arm; upper tanana: tail) or neck as a bridge across a water barrier. Usually, those being pursued or walking ahead cross such a bridge to the other side, while the pursuer or those walking behind fall into the water because the character removes his bridge. See motif J44.
H2293.47%Large game animals did not have a sense of smell. They acquired it and began to flee from hunters after someone created olfactory organs for them or gave them a strong smell to smell. Cf. motif H22A.
F6793.28%An old woman lives with her (adopted) daughter, niece or daughter-in-law. She (supposedly) turns into a man, marries a girl or tries to do so.
J6693.17%The character cuts or bites through bowstrings and other straps in advance, punctures boats, preventing opponents from fighting or pursuing him.

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

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Traditions

9 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 9 traditions: Nanai, Inland Tlingit, Tahltan, Tsetsaut, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Heiltsuk (Bellabella), Oowekeeno, Bella Coola (Nuxalk)

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