The Mythology and Folklore Database
B4A - Fish break off islands.




4 Myths, Legends and Folktales
4 Unique Narratives for Motif B4A
4 Cultures & Traditions where B4A is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
1 Sub-Motifs of Motif B4A


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 Motif Summary  -   Motifs with Simlar Dispersals  -    Map of Myth Distribution   -   List of Traditions  -   Myths



Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.



Summary of Motif

Fish beat against the ground, breaking off islands from the mainland.

Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature


B4 has 1 other sub-motifs


B4.  Islands or mainland pulled out of the ocean, pulled by a rope.
B4a.  Fish beat against the ground, breaking off islands from the mainland.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
B497.30%Islands or mainland pulled out of the ocean, pulled by a rope.
A21A89.45%The moon is an object that was accidentally released by its owners or stolen from them and ended up in the sky.
B11889.45%A character who was unable to reach the sky or returned from the sky to earth becomes an owl.
B74B89.45%The owl is forced to part with the moon and now cries out when it sees the moon. Usually, the story tells how the marriage of the owl and the moon fell apart or did not take place.
E39A89.45%An animal (snake, pig) conceives from a man's urine and gives birth to a human child (or twins).
F43C89.45%The husbands of the first women, Amazons or single women are small animals - usually flying foxes.
K32F89.45%A woman or girl raises a bird of prey chick, which brings her food and fire. This usually happens after an evil spirit leaves the girl or young woman in a tree or on an island.
K37D89.45%The character recognises the presence of another by noticing traces of their teeth or nails on fruit or leaves.
L13289.45%When one member of a small (family) group, left alone, secretly eats food, this leads to serious conflict, often resulting in the murder of the guilty party.
L13389.45%The character keeps his limbs separately, connecting them to his body when necessary.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Alor, Solor, Wetar, Atauru, Inland Tlingit, Tlingit


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