The Mythology and Folklore Database
C6G - The diver – the boar.




7 Myths, Legends and Folktales
7 Unique Narratives for Motif C6G
4 Cultures & Traditions where C6G is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
17 Sub-Motifs of Motif C6G


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 boar brings earth from the bottom and/or scatters it on the water.

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-motifs


C6.  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

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
A8100.00%The sun, moon and stars – three brothers or three sisters.
B119100.00%A woman of non-human nature agrees to live with a man, but leaves him upon learning of his real or imagined infidelity.
B121100.00%A small bird carries pebbles and sticks, trying to fill the sea.
B49A100.00%Powerful animals could have many cubs, but now they give birth to only one every few years.
B6A100.00%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).
B77B2100.00%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.
B93A100.00%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.
C39100.00%When the sky split or partially collapsed, it was repaired.
C39A100.00%A hole in the sky or a crack in the ground was plugged with a piece of ice, which is why it is cold in the north (north-west, north-east).
C40100.00%At first, stones fell from the sky and crushed people.

 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 4 traditions: Bondo, Didayi (Gata'), Gutob (=Gadaba; cf Dravidian-speaking Gadaba), Konds (Khonds; language is Kui, incl Kuttia, Konda-Dora), Koya; Pengo, 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, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples


Please log on to view the narratives.