Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L37A2 — Who will become a ferryman.
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 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.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L37 has 9 other sub-motifs
RelatedL37a. On the way to a powerful being, a person meets characters who ask him to ask questions on their behalf (usually to find out the cause of their misfortunes).
L37a1. A man sets out to discover the reason for his misfortunes. Others also convey their questions to him. God (fate) replies that a predator (wolf, lion, bear) must eat the fool, and in order to help the others, one must dig up treasure, marry the queen, etc. The man refuses to marry, take the gold, etc., because he has not received direct instructions to do so. The predator decides that he will not find anyone more foolish.
L37a2. 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.
L37b. By accidentally overhearing a conversation between animals or spirits, a person learns how to help themselves and others.
L37b1. To cure a sick person or rid a house of other misfortunes, one must kill (catch, expel) a toad, frog or snake hiding in the house (in the garden, under the roots).
L37b2. From the conversation of snakes or crows, a person learns the cause of another's illness: a snake has crawled inside him. The person expels the snake and the sick person recovers.
L37b3. From the birds' conversation, humans learn that their bodies or secretions have miraculous properties.
L37b4. From a conversation between spirits or animals, a man learns that the meat (brain, blood) of a neighbouring shepherd's dog has miraculous properties.
L37c. A person encounters the incarnations of Fortune (and Misfortune) – his own or someone else's. He manages to influence their behaviour and change (for himself) the course of events for the better.
L37c1. The happiness (misfortune, hardship, etc.) of each person is represented by specific characters with whom they interact.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K127A | 99.96% | 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. |
| J47A | 99.87% | A plant (usually not a mighty tree, but a legume) grows unusually fast, and a character climbs it to reach the sky. |
| K38F1 | 99.83% | 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 | 99.83% | 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). |
| L129 | 99.73% | 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. |
| M128 | 99.70% | Having agreed with his opponent that he would get animals with certain external characteristics or behaving in a certain way, the hero takes all or almost all of them when the livestock is divided. |
| K57B | 99.69% | To stop a beautiful woman from running away, a man in love with her smears resin or glue on the threshold (porch). The shoe sticks, and all the girls try it on to find its owner. |
| K160 | 99.65% | The hero is given the task of bringing back the hair, feathers, scales, etc. of a dangerous character. He does this with the help of the character's wife or mother. |
| M199B | 99.64% | A man and his opponent agree to test their strength by throwing a stone. The opponent throws the stone, and the man releases a bird he had hidden beforehand. The bird does not return, and the opponent admits defeat. |
| K67E | 99.63% | 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. |
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
33 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 33 traditions: Tunisia Arabs, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Bengali, Ireland, Portuguese, Portugal, France, 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, Poles, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Setu, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Tats, Kazakh, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Nivkh, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Icelanders, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Faroe Islands, Russian Federation
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