Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F20A — People and dogs.
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
OverviewAt first, people mated as dogs do now, but then it became as it is now.
Berezkin category: Gender and sex
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.
F20 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedF20. After copulation, the man and woman are unable to break their embrace.
F20a. At first, people mated as dogs do now, but then it became as it is now.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| I7 | 93.65% | The reptile produces rain and thunderstorms. |
| H36G | 92.41% | God sends a messenger to the people to tell them to eat infrequently (once a day, once every three days, etc.). The messenger says that one should eat often – at least two or three times a day. |
| J21 | 91.67% | Gods, ancestors of humans, and founders of dynasties are born from eggs. |
| F47 | 90.62% | Pieces of a creature cut into many parts or a lump of living flesh are scattered or dispersed. After that, people emerge from them. Cf. motifs E38A and K98. |
| D2A | 90.58% | A woman gives birth to a son who is the embodiment of fire or the sun and dies from burns. |
| E38C | 90.37% | The first humans were mute and began to speak after being struck by something, made to laugh, etc. |
| E17 | 90.17% | People get the idea of ornamentation of vessels, baskets, bodies, etc., or of a sign system after someone manages to see a pattern on the body of a zoomorphic or supernatural creature or make an imprint of it. |
| A32A | 89.51% | The figure or imprint of a rabbit or hare is visible on the lunar disc. |
| H1E | 89.37% | A certain character is the first to enter the world of the dead, after which all people follow the same path; he paves the way to the world of the dead; the first to die becomes the master or guardian of the afterlife. |
| F18D | 89.32% | Female genitals were enormous in size. |
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: Batak (Toba, Dairi), Thai of Vietnam, Tai Lue, Khao (Kho, Tai Don, White Tai), Tai Dam (Black Tai), Nung; Zhuang, Buyi; Shui, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Toba (incl Pilagá)
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