Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
E31B — Female saviours of men.
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
OverviewSeveral women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him.
Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
E31 has 5 other sub-motifs
RelatedE31. A man makes a wooden doll and behaves as if it were alive. It does not come to life, or comes to life only partially or temporarily. A real woman replaces the figure and marries the carver.
E31a. Several men (women) participate in the rescue, creation or revival of a girl (man), or mourn her (his) death. The question arises as to whom the revived person should belong to or who contributed more to the revival. Alternatively, three men create something valuable, each contributing their part. The question arises as to whose contribution is more important.
E31a1. Three (rarely four or two) men participate in the creation of the girl: one carves the figure out of wood, another dresses her, and the third brings her to life. To whom should the animated girl belong?
E31a2. The girl must be given to one of several men. She herself or someone else explains that one of the suitors can be called her father, another her brother (etc.), and only one can be her husband.
E31b. Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him.
E31c. Several men, each possessing a unique skill, bring a (kidnapped) girl from a distant country.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B2G | 100.00% | The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened. |
| B98B | 100.00% | The Bat comes into conflict with other creatures in connection with someone's death or funeral. |
| B98C | 100.00% | The heavenly deity could have healed the bat's mother or child, but did not do so, and they died. |
| C30B | 100.00% | In response to the claims of an animal or spirit, a person offers to remove their traces from the field or to walk without leaving any traces. The spirit is unable to do so. |
| D13HH | 100.00% | A person visiting another world should not laugh or show surprise when seeing strange things. Those who break this rule will perish or suffer harm. |
| E1B1 | 100.00% | 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. |
| F73A | 100.00% | The vulva is an unhealed wound on the body of the first women, or the first humans did not copulate because they thought that the vulva was a wound. |
| H1BB | 100.00% | One character refuses to resurrect another's beloved dog, and this conflict is linked to the loss of the ability to resurrect people. |
| H31 | 100.00% | God summons several characters, including man and the heavenly bodies, and makes man mortal and the heavenly bodies immortal. |
| H36I | 100.00% | The goat or sheep is to blame for the fact that man is mortal. See motif H36. |
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
8 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Congo (Koongo, Bacongo; incl Vili, Fioti, (Ma)Yombe, MuKunyi), Ndombo, Luango (Loango), Zombo (Sambo), Laadi (Laari), (Ba)Fioti, Woyo (Kiwoyo), Ronga, Fang (Pangwe), Eton, Bafia, Batanga, Benga, Bube (Bubi), Buheba, Yaunde (Ewondo), Yebekolo, Koko, Bulu, Beti (Beti-Bulu), Sekiani, Eghap, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Bia: Anyi, Agni, Baule, Nsema, Fula (Fulbe, Fulani, Pular), Wa (incl Kawa), Bulang, Mende, Loma, Gbunde (Gbandi, Bandi), Congo
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