Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
H24C — Death in a vessel.
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 open a vessel (a bundle, a basket, etc.) containing death (or old age, illness), and therefore they are mortal.
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.
H24 has 7 other sub-motifs
RelatedH24. A vessel or other small container with valuables or living beings (creatures) is opened (prematurely). Its contents get out of control or disappear.
H24a. Opening the bag, the character releases stars that rush chaotically into the sky.
H24b. The character must open the vessel containing the soul of the deceased when he reaches the place or after a certain time has passed; if he opens it before the time is up, the soul flies away. See motif H24.
H24c. People open a vessel (a bundle, a basket, etc.) containing death (or old age, illness), and therefore they are mortal.
H24d. An animal character who released the contents (darkness, insects, reptiles) from a vessel is still trying to gather everything back (etiology of the behaviour of a certain species of animal).
H24e. Having brought the seeds of humanity into our world, the character drops or prematurely opens what he has brought. (Sometimes this explains the inequality of people and disorder in society).
H24f. The character has the ability to put a large amount of meat or fish into a bag or container that is easy to carry.
H24g. A woman returned from the other world or obtained there disappears when a man opens the vessel in which she is kept prematurely.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| I74A | 97.30% | Stars â fireflies. |
| A36A | 91.93% | The sun is contrasted with humans as immortal to mortals; responsible for the mortal nature of humans. |
| F8 | 91.59% | In the beginning (.55.60.67.73.) women and men lived separately from each other, then came together. Cf. motif F45 (Amazons). |
| E5C | 91.55% | The first humans or deities-ancestors descend to earth from the sky. |
| A36 | 91.48% | The moon (month) is contrasted with humans as immortal to mortals; it decides whether humans will be mortal; those who live on the moon are immortal. (Cf. Latvians, Dolgans). |
| B86 | 91.39% | To reach the sky (the moon, stars, sun), people build a ladder or tower consisting of separate modules (logs, poles, bricks, etc.), but the structure collapses. |
| B3 | 91.28% | At first, the earth is soft, resembling a swamp. |
| I82C | 90.97% | Venus or an unidentified star in the eastern and/or western sky â the wife of the Moon. See motif I82b. |
| I5 | 90.96% | Thunder (lightning, rain) has the appearance of a four-legged mammal - a pig, buffalo, camel, anteater, tapir, dog, cat, leopard, monkey, etc. |
| H36 | 90.85% | A character is sent to deliver instructions or certain items. The messenger distorts the message, brings the wrong items, loses what he is carrying, delays (and is overtaken by another messenger). This has important consequences for him and for the future lives of the people. |
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
13 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 13 traditions: Dinka, Atuot, Nuer, Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Ila (Baila), Bemba (Wemba, Babemba; incl Ambo, Lala, Lamba, Bisa), Holoholo, Kaonde, Lingala, (Ba)Ngala, Ntomba, Kioque, (Ki)Bangi, Bolia, Balolo, Boloki, (Ba)Akwa, (U)Poto, Akan, Ashanti, Akwapim; Ga (Accra), Kra, Twi (Chwi, Chi), Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Montagnais, Guajiro, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Kechua-speaking communities of Apurimac, Cuzco, Arequipa, Puno departments; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries; Callawaya (Kechua with Pukina substratum), Lisu, Lolo (incl. Bai), Achang, Yi, Axi, Nasu, Jino, Taungyo, Greece
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