Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M57C1 — Gold-producing bear
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 fights a bear or (Malayali) leopard and makes another person believe that this animal is defecating with gold.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
M57 has 11 other sub-motifs
RelatedM57a. Instead of the usual secretions from the human body, beads, flowers, gold and other valuables pour in.
M57a1. When a beautiful woman walks on the ground, jewels appear under her feet, flowers bloom, etc.
M57a2. Instead of common body discharges a a man urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular male person. See motif m57a
M57a3. Instead of common body discharges a a woman urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular female person. See motif m57a
M57b. Beads or metals are the bodily secretions of a deity.
M57c. An animal (donkey, bull, horse, goat, bear, leopard) or inanimate object makes gold or food stand out, or a character makes others believe that this is the case.
M57c1. A man fights a bear or (Malayali) leopard and makes another person believe that this animal is defecating with gold.
M57d. A person consistently receives magical items that bring wealth. Others replace them or take them away. A person returns what has been taken - usually by receiving another wonderful object (baton, whip) that hits the kidnappers.
M57d1. bird consistently gives a person magical objects (or gives one, with which he receives the rest) or consistently fulfills his wishes.
M57d2. The man was about to cut down a tree. It himself, or the creature living on it or in it, asks not to do so and fulfills the person's wishes.
M57d3. A person receives a reward from a character who is associated with the wind. Cf. Motive K175 (“The wind carried away the flour”).
M57d4. A person receives a reward from a character who is associated with frost.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K32E | 99.56% | A negative character, object or locus is contrasted with one or two positive ones, such as wood with gold and silver. |
| C8B | 99.39% | A brother and sister (or mother and son) find themselves alone, without marriage partners. Both of them (or only the brother, son) refuse to marry, but do so after accepting each other (or the brother accepts the sister, the son accepts the mother) as strangers. They give birth to new people. |
| A8 | 99.23% | The sun, moon and stars – three brothers or three sisters. |
| B119 | 99.23% | A woman of non-human nature agrees to live with a man, but leaves him upon learning of his real or imagined infidelity. |
| B121 | 99.23% | A small bird carries pebbles and sticks, trying to fill the sea. |
| B49A | 99.23% | Powerful animals could have many cubs, but now they give birth to only one every few years. |
| B6A | 99.23% | The first woman gives birth to several eggs. One or two of them remain unchanged for a long time and are thrown into the river, believing them to be spoiled. However, it is precisely from these eggs that characters of high status emerge (or should have emerged). |
| B77B2 | 99.23% | The sky moved away and/or the connection between people and the deity ceased after the sky or the heavenly deity was touched or struck with a broom. |
| B93A | 99.23% | Once a year, birds form a bridge across the heavenly river with their bodies. Usually, the feathers on their heads are worn away as a result. |
| C39 | 99.23% | When the sky split or partially collapsed, it was repaired. |
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: Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf, Oraon (Kurukh), Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Kannada, Lingayat, Halakki, Malayali; Kannikaran, Nepali; Tharu, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori
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