The Mythology and Folklore Database
C6B - Diver – muskrat (beaver, otter).
Please log on to view the narratives.
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
The desired object is brought up from the bottom by a muskrat (rarely a beaver or otter).Berezkin category: Disasters
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
C6 has 17 other sub-motifsC6. In texts with an emphasis on authenticity, characters dive or otherwise descend into the underworld to bring back to earth something desirable that is located at the bottom (deep below) (aka "The Earth Diver" motifs) (cf. fairy tale motif k27x9). C6a. A turtle or toad (frog) brings a desired object from the bottom or from the underworld. C6b. The desired object is brought up from the bottom by a muskrat (rarely a beaver or otter). C6c. The bird dives and brings up the desired object from the bottom. See motif C6. C6c1. Two or more different birds (in Siberia, often a loon and a duck) successively try to retrieve something from the bottom. Only one succeeds. C6c2. Birds must dive to retrieve soil from the bottom, from which land will emerge. The loon cannot reach the bottom, refuses to dive, or tries to hide the soil it has retrieved (usually punished for this). C6c3. The loon dives and brings back a piece of earth (grass, etc.), which turns into land (it is the only or the only successful diver). C6c4. A duck or similar waterfowl dives and brings back a piece of earth, which turns into land (it is the only or the only successful diver). C6d. Land (earth) is formed from a small amount of solid substance (silt, sand, clay, mud) that characters retrieve from the underworld (usually from the bottom of the ocean). C6e. A crustacean retrieves earth from under water or from the underworld. C6f. The characters attempt to retrieve a living creature or part of its body that has sunk to the bottom of the water. See motif C6. C6g. The boar brings earth from the bottom and/or scatters it on the water. C6h. The insect brings soil (from the bottom of the sea or from somewhere far away). c6h1. The earth brought from the underworld was found in the belly of a worm or insect, from where it was taken. C6i. A zoomorphic character returns from the underworld covered in mud. He shakes himself off, or the mud is scraped off him, and earth emerges from it. C6i1. There is water everywhere. Earth is raked up from the bottom into a mound, its top rises above the water and turns into dry land. C6j. In the same narrative, the story of the creation of man and the attempt to prevent it follows immediately after the story of obtaining earth from the bottom of the sea or from the underworld. C6j1. An anthropomorphic deity sends someone to fetch earth from the bottom of his enemy. At first, the enemy or both characters sometimes have the appearance of birds. After the enemy brings the earth, a confrontation begins between the two characters, who now always have anthropomorphic appearances. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of C6's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M69 | 99.33% | character is attracted by the inside of a large animal's skull (small animals or insects are dancing or feasting inside, or eating some meat); he sticks his head inside , it gets stuck. |
| L9B | 98.87% | The sharp elbows or (rarely) knees of the character resemble knives or awls. |
| D4C | 98.44% | Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners. |
| M66 | 98.13% | After eating certain foods frivolously or rubbing his body with his spine, the character suffers from itching, diarrhea, or an irrepressible eruption of intestinal gases. |
| J19B | 98.12% | An evil spirit kills a woman by burning through her body. |
| A38A | 97.95% | The sun is caught in a loop made of a woman's pubic hair. |
| M53 | 97.60% | The character invites others to gather around him, focusing on an activity (usually dancing with their eyes closed or lowered), and then kills the crowd (usually one at a time). |
| A38C | 96.73% | The Sun exchanges a cape made of animal or bird skins with a boy or girl, or spoils it. As a result, the boy or girl raises their status or takes revenge on the Sun. |
| L5E1 | 96.69% | A woman who has become a monster pursues her own children. |
| M93A | 96.62% | The character punishes a part of his body (burns his ass, breaks his eyes) for not sounding the alarm. See Motive M93; cf. Motive M142. |
See more...
Please log on to view the narratives.
Map of Motif Dispersal
Click here for a clustered map
Drag the map around by clicking and using the mouse, use the wheel to zoom
This motif has been recorded in 25 traditions: Koyukon, Beaver, Lenape (Delaware), Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Naskapi, Montagnais, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Tuscarora, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Iowa, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Tillamook, Flathead, Bannock, Choco: Embera, Nonama (Waunana), XVI century Dabaiba, pre-Columbian iconography of Sinu, Mocovi; Kechua of Santiago del Estero with probable Guaikuruan substratum; Abipon