Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
H1F — People learn to bury the dead.
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
OverviewPeople learn how to treat the dead by observing the behaviour of crows.
Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 4, Origin of death, diseases and hard life.
H1 has 6 other sub-motifs
RelatedH1a. The character decides that people should die. His or her child, mother, or some other being whose life is dear to him or her dies. Now the decision-maker agrees to make people immortal, but it is impossible to change the decision that has been made.
H1b. The character performs actions that lead to death, because he is indifferent to or desires the death of the child or woman loved by another character. See motif H1A.
H1bb. One character refuses to resurrect another's beloved dog, and this conflict is linked to the loss of the ability to resurrect people.
H1c. People cease to be reborn (or no longer come to the living) after the deceased is buried in the ground for the first time or someone tramples the earth on a fresh grave, preventing the deceased from rising from the grave.
H1d. The deceased returns, but people send him back, dissatisfied with his appearance, refusing to accept him or burying him again. From then on, death is final.
H1e. 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.
H1f. People learn how to treat the dead by observing the behaviour of crows.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| I82E | 91.29% | It is said that Venus or another star sold her mother or father in order to adorn herself luxuriously and dress up. |
| K14B | 91.29% | A man is advised not to do anything until he is expressly asked to do so. He unwisely offers to let someone use his knife and is subsequently accused of a crime. |
| M168B | 91.29% | A bird or a person who becomes a bird is given the task of bringing a stick that is neither straight nor crooked. This bird is still searching for it. |
| N25 | 91.29% | said that characters spend a long time (days, weeks, months, years) on the road, but end up walking a journey as long as a grain, needle, or other small object. |
| K35A2 | 90.37% | A man kills an animal with glowing fur. Upon learning of this, an authoritative figure gives him difficult tasks. |
| N28E | 90.37% | In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a bridge across the sea, ocean or lake is mentioned |
| K27X4 | 89.87% | The character is told to climb a tree (pole, mountain, etc.) while holding a full open vessel in his hand and not spilling a drop from it. |
| M198B3 | 89.81% | A supposed fortune teller accidentally finds the missing items, is rewarded and brought close to the ruler. One day, for some reason, he rudely pushes him (or people in general) out of the room. Immediately afterwards, the roof of the building collapses. Since then, no one has doubted the fortune teller's abilities. |
| F70F | 89.71% | Finding themselves in a deserted place, people accidentally change their gender. |
| K133 | 89.39% | A man notices that his horse (donkey) looks tired and learns that an animal or demonic creature is riding it. Cf. motif M182a. |
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
7 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Saudi Arabia, Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Arabs of Egypt, Ingush, Kumyk, Terekemen, Nivakle (=Chulupi, Ashluslay, Ajlujlay)
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