Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L1E — The character creates monstrous birds.
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 monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L1 has 8 other sub-motifs
RelatedL1a. A young woman turns into a bear (in Asia, a tigress) and attacks her close relatives or husband.
L1b. 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.
L1b1. A woman comes into conflict with her brothers and turns into a dangerous demon.
L1c. Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars.
L1c1. Fleeing from demonic characters, a group of men â relatives of a girl â ascend to the sky and remain there. See motif L1C.
L1c2. Fleeing from a demonic creature, the characters hide their children (younger brother or sister) in a camouflaged pit, usually under the hearth. See motif L1C.
L1d. The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives.
L1e. A monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch.
L1f. The sister, using magic or transforming herself into a monster, kills her brothers in revenge for the death of her lover or husband.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| G11 | 99.99% | The squirrel plays an important role in cutting down a giant tree (usually chopping or trying to chop the vine that holds it, see motif G10). |
| B7D | 99.83% | Water pours from a broken bone, flooding the earth. |
| I129 | 99.83% | The rainy season is associated with the appearance of the Heron constellation in the sky. |
| L7B | 99.83% | While chasing a person, spirit, monster or beast, he mistakenly throws himself after a calabash floating down the river. |
| B66 | 99.65% | Characters climb to the sky using a rope or chain of arrows; when it falls to the ground, it turns into forest vines. See motif J47. |
| C15 | 99.65% | A monstrous jaguar (puma) is locked in a cave or tree trunk. |
| C34A | 99.65% | A supernatural character goes with people to catch fish or lives on the sand by the river; he is buried in the sand or thrown into the river, into a swamp, or otherwise persecuted. Usually, he himself or his father sends a flood. |
| H32B | 99.65% | A girl and/or boy, who are the children of a deity, come to live with humans, leading to an abundance of food/resources. Due to the hurt they have caused, the children return to their own world, and human life becomes difficult or meagre. |
| L1D | 99.65% | The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives. |
| G10 | 99.26% | A tree whose trunk has been cut down remains hanging because it is held up from above. |
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
9 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 9 traditions: Guajiro, Sicuani, Makiritare (Yecuana), Yanomamo (Yanoama): Yanomam, Yanomami, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Karijona, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Baniwa (incl. Wakuenai), Bare, Piapoco, Curripaco, Siusi, Guarikena , Andoque
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