Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
J47A — Bob to the sky, ATU 328A, 804A.
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
OverviewA plant (usually not a mighty tree, but a legume) grows unusually fast, and a character climbs it to reach the sky.
Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects.
J47 has 3 other sub-motifs
RelatedJ47. A character climbs up to the sky using a rope, ladder, etc., or climbs a tree or rock, or descends from the sky to the ground, or rises to the ground from the underworld. Another character climbs after them, but the rope or ladder breaks or is cut, and the character falls.
J47a. A plant (usually not a mighty tree, but a legume) grows unusually fast, and a character climbs it to reach the sky.
J47a1. The character enters a house where goats live. He secretly eats the food he finds there, but is eventually discovered.
J47b. When a character runs away from a pursuer, a strong rope (chain, etc.) is lowered (thrown) to him. A rotten rope is lowered to the pursuer, it breaks, and the pursuer crashes (drowns).
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K38F1 | 99.96% | After killing a monster or animal, the hero cuts off and hides a part of its body, usually the tongue. (In most cases, the deceiver takes credit for the feat, after which the hero presents the hidden item, thus exposing the deceiver). |
| K76E | 99.90% | The son (daughter) or foster child of a married couple is a pig. He marries a princess and turns into a handsome man (she marries a handsome man). |
| H7B | 99.90% | A person asks Death (a spirit) to climb a tree or sit on a bench, to which they stick and can only be freed with his permission. |
| L129 | 99.89% | The character is asked why his body parts, organs, and tools are the way they are. He answers (or the questioner gives explanations for him). In the end, one kills or maims the other. |
| L37A2 | 99.87% | A man comes to ask God (fate, the sun, etc.) questions that he was asked to ask by those he met along the way. Someone asks when he will be freed from his duties. Answer: let him leave another person in his place. |
| K67E | 99.84% | Someone promises to fulfil their duties until they hear a bird singing at a certain moment in a temporal cycle (annual or daily). Another character imitates the bird. The first recognises the deception. |
| K127A | 99.83% | The heroine must remain silent for a long time and therefore cannot respond to the accusations. They want to execute her, but at that moment the restrictions expire and she is saved. |
| M106H | 99.79% | A man puts his hat on the ground and pretends that there is something valuable under it. In reality, there is only shit. Those who believe the deceiver lose their property. |
| K131D | 99.76% | Mention is made of footwear that allows the character to quickly cover enormous distances. |
| K61C | 99.76% | A demon agrees to help (agrees not to harm) a person on condition that the person guesses his name. At the last moment, the person accidentally learns the demon's name, and the demon disappears or rewards the person. |
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
34 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 34 traditions: Koreans, England, British, Bretons, Catalan, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, France, Dutch, Flemish, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Tats, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), China, Japan, Russian Federation
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