Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I78 — Square Earth.
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
OverviewThe earth is thought of as rectangular (usually square).
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| C5A | 93.15% | A bird, various birds, or people who then turn into birds are sent to explore the earth (whether it exists, whether it has dried up, whether there are any survivors, why smoke is rising from the earth, etc.) or with the task of bringing back a piece of solid substance to create dry land. |
| I3 | 92.84% | Lightning (and thunder) is produced by an object (sword, arrow, whip, mirror, etc.) in the hands of a character; lightning is an object. |
| E9D | 92.80% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a dog or puppy (wolf cub). |
| I8E1 | 92.29% | The sky or earth is supported by four objects or beings located at the four cardinal points (either four groups of beings, or four at the corners and a fifth in the centre). Th A841. See motifs 8A, 8D. |
| L18 | 91.99% | A bird with two or more heads in descriptions or images. |
| D1B | 91.42% | The man is the master or embodiment of fire (alone or alongside the woman-fire). |
| H28 | 90.81% | A creature that has been killed and destroyed (often burned) (usually a cannibal, a ferocious animal, or a powerful shaman) turns into stinging insects or other harmful, unpleasant, or dangerous creatures. |
| B2E | 90.76% | The Earth or the world as a whole is a male character (alone or alongside a female character). |
| K16 | 90.46% | Taking the form of a bird, bat, insect, small animal, or fish, the man enters the young woman's home (her father's house). |
| J4 | 89.74% | The heroes avenge the death (enslavement) of their father, uncle, grandfather, or mother and father, or in general their descendants, with the loss of men being the most painful. |
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
59 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 59 traditions: Murle, Me'en (Bodi), Didinga, Yao, Makua, Bushoong: (Ba)kuba, Dengese, Ngongo; Yansi, Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Viet, Muong, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Lahu, Kucong, Nosu, Nisu, Nusu, Sani, Jino, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Nogai, Anatolia Turks, Kazakh, Mordvins, Chuvash, Mongols (Khalkha), Shor, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Central Yakuts (Sakha), 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, Chukchi, Inland Tlingit, Tlingit, Eastern Cree, Yuchi, Plains Cree, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Yuki (Yuki proper, Coastal Yuki, Huchnob), Pomo, Navajo, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Tojolabal, Chuj, Jacalteca, Kanjobal, Mocho (incl Tuzantec), Acatec, Tepehua, Totonac, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Chol; pre-Columbian Mayan iconography outside of Yucatan, Yucatec, Itza, Kandoshi (Murato, Maina); Iquito, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Cashibo, Chorote, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Kayapa, Early Russian written sources, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Byzantine, China
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