Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
E1C — Man made of excrement.
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
OverviewMan made from human excrement or (Inupiat) from carrion.
Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms.
E1 has 7 other sub-motifs
RelatedE1. The first human being was created, made by a certain character, and did not exist initially (on earth, underground, in the sky, in a small container) and did not arise spontaneously. Only variants that specify the material from which humans were created, or that refer separately to the creation of the human figure and its ensoulment, rather than simply to the fact of "creation" itself, are taken into account.
E1a. The first humans are made of fragile materials (clay, wax, fire, honey, etc.) and prove to be unviable.
E1a1. A deity or ancestor moulds people from clay. Some of the figures got wet, which is why there are cripples among people.
E1b. A character made of unsuitable material and turns out to be short-lived or poorly suited to performing his functions.
E1b1. A man who has married an unusual girl is warned that she must not perform certain tasks or eat certain foods. Other members of his household ensure that the young woman breaks the prohibition, and as a result she dies or disappears.
E1c. Man made from human excrement or (Inupiat) from carrion.
E1d. (The first) boat is made of obviously unsuitable material.
E1e. The son of the first human couple initially takes the form of a small plant that has grown from the ground, a stalk.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K27X | 94.74% | A man marries a woman from another world; the wife leaves for her world, the man follows her; there, the woman has another fiancé(e) or husband, or the woman's brothers want to destroy the man; he undergoes trials and brings his wife back. See motif K27. |
| D4C | 91.15% | Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners. |
| L9B | 90.27% | The sharp elbows or (rarely) knees of the character resemble knives or awls. |
| K53 | 89.21% | A character temporarily transforms into an animal or bird of a certain species by putting on its skin, or skins taken along with them come to life and serve the hero. |
| M93 | 89.01% | When falling asleep or going to do something else, the character tells a certain part of his body to wake him up in case of danger. The organ did not give a signal or the character himself did not listen to it, as a result, the misfortune happened. |
| L99 | 88.87% | Having captured the character, the ogre orders him to bring wood or a spit to roast him. The character deliberately procrastinates, brings the wrong thing, or is helped to escape by some animal. |
| B97 | 88.12% | The character rewards (rarely punishes) a bird living by the water, determining its current appearance (crest, beak, feather colouring). |
| B38C | 87.74% | The raven and the loon paint each other. |
| M29F | 87.12% | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolverine dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. |
| M60A | 86.85% | The creature/character runs away or swims away with a hook, harpoon, arrow, or other object thrown by the hero in his body. Local shamans can't heal an existence/character. The hero or his friend comes to the wounded man's village, takes out the object that caused the injury, or drives him even deeper into the body. The patient recovers or dies accordingly. See L105 and M60 motifs. |
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: Aka, Baka (Badjue) and other Western (Bantu speaking) Pygmies, Ulithi, Ngulu, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Sicily, Sicilians, Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Kerek, Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Chukchi, Central Yupik, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, Haida, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Algonquin, unspecified Algonkians of the Midwest (probably Old Algonquin), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Naskapi, Menominee, Blackfoot, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Karok, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Itelmen, Greenland
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