Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

C34 — The Flood: the wounded creature.

108 Myths, legends and folktales

108 Unique narratives for motif C34

64 Cultures & traditions where C34 is told

1 Sub-motifs of motif C34

Please log on to view the narratives.

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 flood begins after people kill (harm, maim) some kind of creature (usually aquatic).

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.

C34 has 1 other sub-motifs

C34. The flood begins after people kill (harm, maim) some kind of creature (usually aquatic).
C34a. A supernatural character goes with people to catch fish or lives on the sand by the river; he is buried in the sand or thrown into the river, into a swamp, or otherwise persecuted. Usually, he himself or his father sends a flood.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of C34’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
L5C	96.94%	The monster head pursues celestial bodies, people, or attaches itself to someone else's body. See motif L5.
F53	96.45%	An unattractive man marries, but hides his face. When he is seen, the marriage is dissolved.
K10	96.36%	A monstrous bird (bat) attacks people, heroes engage in battle with it. See motifs K10A – K10G.
B29	96.31%	People turn into animals, birds or stones, living beings acquire their current characteristics at a general meeting, festival, after a festival, after performing a ritual or after defeating a common enemy.
L48	95.75%	The hero (usually somewhere on high ground - on a tree, rock, at the edge of a precipice or well) kills and/or throws one of his opponents down from there. The other opponents do not recognise their comrade and believe that the slain man is the hero they are pursuing.
M8A	95.75%	Animals, and more often birds, find it difficult to break through a rock from the outside or inside, make a hole in the tree, in the body of an absorber creature, tear fetters, etc., to help a character or get out of the confined space by yourself. The list <b><i>includes</i></b> groups whose texts deal with the exit of the first ancestors to earth from a confined space.
J44	94.52%	The hero lures the enemy onto a rickety bridge. The enemy falls into the water, into the abyss (see motif J46). See motif J52.
B27	94.48%	The characters ponder what object or creature they should transform into, and once they have made their choice, they undergo metamorphosis.
L61	94.31%	The character eats himself, guts himself, or kills himself in order to be eaten.
J12	94.28%	A girl or two sisters wander, usually in search of a suitable groom or husband who has left or lives far away. Along the way or upon reaching their destination, they encounter false suitors. (Traditions in which two heroines travel rather than one are highlighted in bold (motif j13).

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

Drag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below

🌐 Open as Airocean (Dymaxion) map ↗

Traditions

64 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 64 traditions: Arnhem Land: Enindhilyagwa (Groote Eilandt), KuTiwi, Yulengor, Mara, Oenpelli, Murngin, Roper River, Maung, Murinbata, Murngin (Duwal), Millingimbi, Goulburn Island, Ngulugwongga, Yirrkalla, Voctoria River Downs, Alawa, Anu, Kunwinjku, Kimberley Plateau: Gwini, Roebuck Bay, Forest River tribes, Drysdale River tribes, Njulnjul, Ungarinyin, Unambal, Bad (Baada), Melanesians of the northern coast New Guinea, nearest off-shore islands and Huon Gulf (Morobe district): Watut, Bilbil (Bilibili), Jabim (incl Kai), Tami, Bukawac, Wogeo, Tumleo, Yakamul, Manam, Sissano, Sio, Palau (Western Carolines), Bidayuh (incl. Maloh), Iban (Sea Dayak), Sakarram; Brunei, Rawang, Dulong; Anong, Drung, Chukchi, Dogrib, Slavey, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Tsimshian, Northern Saulteaux, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Eastern Cree, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Arapaho, Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Carrier, Kalapuya, Kutenai, Shasta; Chimariko, Yurok, Caddo, Alabama, Koasati, Yana, Mono (Monache), Upland Yuma: Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Serrano, Luiseño, Juaneño, Navajo, Jicarilla, Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Paez, Guambia, Pijao; Ilama culture, Yanomamo (Yanoama): Yanomam, Yanomami, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Kandoshi (Murato, Maina); Iquito, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Chayahuita , Baniwa (incl. Wakuenai), Bare, Piapoco, Curripaco, Siusi, Guarikena , Witoto, Ocaina, Bora, Cocama, Omagua, Piro (Yine), Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Moseten, Chimane, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Bororo, Umotina (Umutina), Craho, Sanapana, Lengua (incl Angaite), Chamacoco (Ishir), Yamana (Yaghan), Alacaluf, Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet, Scythians, Scythe, Palau

Please log on to view the narratives.

If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help

How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com

0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.

Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.

Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.

Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.