Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
D11 — Food was heated on the body.
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
OverviewBefore fire was known, food was prepared by warming it with the body (usually under the armpit); fire is kept under the character's armpit.
Berezkin category: Fire and Laughter
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 6, Origin and interpretation of culture elements, in particular related to agriculture, inadequate forms of subsistence and economic activity before the establishment of the present norms.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| A24 | 94.34% | The first ancestors live in twilight. When they first find themselves in the rays of the sun, they (spontaneously or by someone's will) perish, turning into animals, spirits, or stones. |
| L58 | 93.75% | A man refuses to give food to his closest relatives or spouse; as punishment, he or his food changes its nature. |
| D4G | 93.09% | Hummingbird steals, finds or spreads fire. See motif D4A. |
| I47 | 91.92% | The rainbow smells disgusting, is associated with foul-smelling animals, is a stream of excretions, is associated with the lower body, causes inflammation or skin diseases, and is associated with death. |
| A23 | 91.86% | The first ancestors come together to choose who will become the sun, to raise the sun to the sky, to see the sun rise for the first time, and to name the sun correctly. See motif A22. |
| K16A | 91.59% | In an effort to show that he is a good hunter, a man regularly walks in front of a girl, pretending to carry prey. Once he slips, and the imaginary prey turns out to be a scarecrow stuffed with ashes or a bundle of termites. |
| G15 | 91.19% | In another world or in the past, products or materials used by humans look or looked like people. |
| A11A | 90.85% | The visible sun or moon are their eyes; if the eyes of the luminaries were not damaged, it would be much brighter and hotter. |
| D4D | 90.22% | The opossum obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. |
| I18 | 89.93% | Visiting the world of people without an anus or mouth (the underworld, if not otherwise), the hero or heroine enters or attempts to enter into sexual relations with the local inhabitants. See motif I14. |
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
17 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 17 traditions: Bushmen (all groups), Yap, Coos, Karok, Yurok, Kawaiisu, Tubatulabal, Kekchi; Mopan, Rama, Guatuso, Paez, Guambia, Pijao; Ilama culture, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Chayahuita , Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Ticuna (Tucuna), Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Matses (Mayoruna)
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