Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
E19 — The origin of drugs.
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
OverviewNarcotic plants arise from the body of a human being torn to pieces by others.
Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
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 |
|---|---|---|
| B24 | 100.00% | People who have entered into conflict or violated a prohibition are transformed into wild boars or peccaries. |
| B63 | 100.00% | Children lie to their mother, pretending to work in the fields. When the deception is revealed, they are left without a harvest and are transformed into atmospheric phenomena or celestial objects. |
| F75 | 100.00% | A hunter sees a tapir summoning a woman who lives in the water with a secret signal; she emerges from the lake or river, and the tapir mates with her. The hunter himself summons the woman and becomes her lover. |
| J9 | 100.00% | Even before they are born, children speak from their mother's womb, showing her the way. |
| K27YY3 | 100.00% | The hero must bring the fruits growing on a tree that is dangerous to approach. |
| L76 | 100.00% | When a female cannibal attacks a man, she devours or tears off his testicles. |
| J15A | 99.95% | Setting off on a journey (usually in search of a fiancé, husband, or relatives), a woman finds herself in the lair or settlement of large dangerous predators - pumas or jaguars. See motif J15. |
| L88 | 99.91% | A man kills a demon, but when he touches its remains some time later, it comes to life. |
| B99 | 99.85% | A person or their head left on a tree turns into an insect nest. |
| J15B | 99.83% | While travelling, a woman finds herself in the house of a frog or toad. See motif J15. |
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
5 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Wanana, Tucano proper, Pira-Tapuya, Arapaso, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Kechua-speaking communities of Apurimac, Cuzco, Arequipa, Puno departments; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries; Callawaya (Kechua with Pukina substratum), Amuesha
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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