Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
J59B — The arrow falls, the dead person comes back to life.
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
OverviewTo revive the dead, the character shoots an arrow into the sky or throws an object. It is assumed that the dead, fearing the falling object, will come back to life and run away.
Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
J59 has 4 other sub-motifs
RelatedJ59. To reach the sky, one must shoot an arrow that will pierce the vault of heaven. See motif J58; see motif J59A: a man flies after or on an arrow (without the motif of an arrow piercing the vault of heaven).
J59a. After shooting an arrow (rarely: throwing a ball), a person flies on it, behind it or in front of it, or sends another person on the flying arrow. Cf. motif J59.
J59b. To revive the dead, the character shoots an arrow into the sky or throws an object. It is assumed that the dead, fearing the falling object, will come back to life and run away.
J59c. A character strikes the remains of the deceased with a whip or a lash, and the deceased comes back to life.
J59d. The character steps or jumps over the remains of the slain, and the latter comes back to life.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M67 | 100.00% | By stupidity or carelessness, the character causes a wind that blows him away. See the M66 motif (The Trickster emits a stream of intestinal gases). |
| E6A | 99.59% | People walk across a (frozen) body of water to reach their current place of residence, while some remain on the other side or drown. |
| M37 | 99.43% | Although the character's head or entire body is cut in two with an ax or split with a stick, the character remains unharmed. Cf. motive J22. |
| J20 | 99.19% | While the husband or brother is hunting, an evil spirit comes to his wife or sister; he kills or maims her or her brother after she breaks the taboo of opening the door to the guest, looking at him or talking to him. See motif J19. |
| C10A | 98.61% | During the flood, some birds save themselves by clinging to the sky with their beaks. Cf. A2211.7 ("During the flood, birds cling to the sky; their tails acquire their current colour"). |
| M48 | 98.60% | Trickster asks another zoomorphic character to turn him into a creature of his kind, but if he breaks the condition for transformation, he becomes himself again. Usually, a trickster asks a bison or elk to turn it into a bison or elk. The bison (elk) rushes to the trickster, which bounces off in fear. The next time the trickster stays in place, metamorphoses, but regains its former appearance after trying to turn another trickster into a bison, etc. |
| L1B | 98.36% | A young woman turns into a monstrous bear and kills most people except her younger sister (Ojibwa: the younger sister of her former husband). Their brothers (or one brother) return from hunting and kill the bear, or she dies while chasing them. Cf. motif L65D. |
| J19A | 98.07% | When a woman is left alone, a demonic character comes to her. He says that in order to perform certain actions, she must give him a certain part of her body, even though this contradicts logic and custom. After that, the character kills her (cuts open her stomach; tears out her tongue). |
| K43C | 98.07% | The bound children (a young man and his sister) are left alone in an empty camp, and the animal frees them. |
| M82 | 97.93% | The character sees that something is tied to the other's tail. He also wants such a tail for himself, and as a result he suffers damage. |
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
10 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 10 traditions: Basques, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Menominee, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Crow, Caddo, Alabama, Koasati, Jicarilla
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