Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L33D — The hero defeats the stone monster.
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 rolling stone-monster kills people. The hero destroys it. See motif L33.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L33 has 7 other sub-motifs
RelatedL33. The stone rolls after the character, trying to crush him.
L33a. The trickster takes an object lying on or near a rock or other inanimate object, which he has given to that object. The object pursues or otherwise punishes the offender. See motif L33.
L33b. The character challenges someone who, at first glance, is unable to move (a stump, a boulder, fire) to race or roll over it. The challenged party sets off, crushes or burns the character, or runs away with their property.
L33c. The trickster and the boulder agree to race down the slope. The boulder rolls faster and faster and crushes the trickster. See motif L33.
L33d. A rolling stone-monster kills people. The hero destroys it. See motif L33.
L33e. The trickster demands back or takes the cloak belonging to the skale or another character (usually he himself had previously given this cloak as a gift).
L33f. A rock or boulder pursues a character. The character calls for help, and the nightjar splits the rock into pieces.
L33g. A tree, a creature on a tree, a stone kills (seriously injures) anyone who calls it a certain way, climbs on it, etc. The character provokes others to do this and eats the dead, the last of the invited guests deceives the provocateur himself.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B44D | 97.59% | Night and day alternate because the slain beast was black and white, spotted. |
| I37E | 97.59% | Tree mushrooms cry out like people. |
| K27V | 97.59% | The character must hit the bird with an arrow or a stone. (Cf. motif K27M, where it is not the accuracy of the archer that is important, but the unusual appearance of the creature that needs to be caught). |
| L1C | 97.59% | Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars. |
| M29D | 97.59% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| J39 | 97.52% | The antagonist makes the woman his slave. Other characters secretly come to her and kill a small animal or bird for her. The antagonist suspects that the woman could not have caught the game herself, but she insists that she did. |
| I105 | 97.36% | One of the constellations is associated with the hand (with five marked fingers). |
| L1B | 97.13% | 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. |
| L33E | 97.04% | The trickster demands back or takes the cloak belonging to the skale or another character (usually he himself had previously given this cloak as a gift). |
| M37 | 96.83% | 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. |
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
8 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Teton (incl Oglala), Pawnee, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Navajo, Jicarilla, Tepehua, Totonac, Northern and Southern Tehuelche
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