Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L119 — Battle in the air.
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 hero and antagonist fight in the air, tearing off each other's limbs. Usually, their allies on the ground try to preserve the limbs of their leader and destroy those of their enemy.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| F72 | 99.00% | A woman asks a man to tie her up before intercourse so that it looks like she is being raped. |
| A32B | 98.30% | The figure or imprint of a toad or frog is visible on the lunar disc; the moon is associated with this animal. |
| J53A | 98.29% | A character invites another to play. The latter follows the rules, but the initiator of the game does not and kills the other. |
| J52 | 97.59% | A character (usually zoomorphic and female) treacherously kills another. The victim's children take revenge by killing the murderer's children. |
| K27XY | 97.26% | Several men (animals), each of whom can do something better than the others, work together to accomplish difficult tasks set before them by their opponents. The competition is not intended to find a worthy suitor for a girl or to get rid of an unwanted suitor. Cf. motif K27o3 (Competition between two teams). |
| J52A | 97.11% | A she-bear or bear treacherously kills his companion, neighbour, etc., who is associated with a herbivorous animal or a weaker predator. The victim's children take revenge by killing the murderer's children or flee. See motifs J52, J54. |
| F55A | 96.61% | A demonic character persuades a woman to expose a certain part of her body, because that is the only place where a certain object should be placed. The demon kills the woman, tearing off that part of her body. Usually, the woman uses or names various locations, and the character rejects each one in turn until he finds the right one. |
| M29X1 | 96.55% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| H22 | 96.48% | Large game animals did not have a sense of smell. They acquired it and began to flee from hunters after someone created olfactory organs for them or gave them a strong smell to smell. Cf. motif H22A. |
| M50 | 95.50% | The character tries to join a group of stars (usually the Pleiades) or catch up with characters who run away from him and turn into stars; the goal of the persecution is sexual contact or the desire to be reunited with family. |
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
4 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Koreans, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw), Coos, Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet
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