The Mythology and Folklore Database
C6E - Diver – crab, shrimp.
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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
A crustacean retrieves earth from under water or from the underworld.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 |
|---|---|---|
| L15C1 | 90.12% | A dangerous character naively reveals what he fears or what his life consists of, and the hero takes advantage of this. |
| L15C | 85.72% | A dangerous character asks the hero how he can be killed, what he is afraid of. The hero lies, saying that the named object does not harm him. |
| H24G | 85.43% | A woman returned from the other world or obtained there disappears when a man opens the vessel in which she is kept prematurely. |
| J22E | 84.14% | The second character emerges from the afterbirth of the first. |
| A12B | 82.91% | During an eclipse or at sunset (marked *), the luminaries are swallowed by a toad or frog. |
| C6H | 80.40% | The insect brings soil (from the bottom of the sea or from somewhere far away). |
| I11 | 79.03% | The turtle (toad, frog) serves as a support (embodiment) of the earth (sky), or the supports of the sky are made from its body. |
| I26 | 78.17% | On its way to the other world, the soul must distract its guardians with gifts or defend itself from attack. |
| M62B | 76.90% | Two or more characters aim their weapons at the hero in between, but they hit each other. |
| J12J | 76.89% | A girl or sisters end up with a false groom who plays the role of a jester in the chief's house. See motif J12. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf, Nepali; Tharu, Shawnee, Yuchi, Chitimacha, Alabama, Koasati