The Mythology and Folklore Database
C8C - Son and mother give birth to people.
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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
After a global catastrophe, at the beginning of time or when settling a new land, a woman and her son give birth to humans.Berezkin category: Disasters
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms
C8 has 10 other sub-motifsC8. At the beginning of time or as a result of a catastrophe, the only human couple is a brother and sister (less often a mother and son, father and daughters). They marry and give birth to people. C8a. Finding themselves alone and without other marriage partners, a brother and sister make it possible to marry each other by the occurrence of an incredible event. This event takes place, giving them a sign to become spouses. Among such events (alternatively or sequentially): 1) millstones rolling down from two different mountains fall on top of each other; 2) swords thrown from two mountains end up in the same scabbard; 3) objects thrown up join together; 4) smoke from two fires joins together (rising in a column); 5) two planted bamboo stalks join at the tops. See motif C8. C8a1. Finding themselves alone and without other marriage partners, a brother and sister make their marriage possible by the occurrence of an incredible event: a thread far from the needle must enter the eye of the needle. C8a2. The lion (often stone) helps to survive the flood. c8aa. At the beginning of time, or as a result of a catastrophe, the only human couple are a brother and sister. They marry and give birth to people. C8b. 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. C8c. After a global catastrophe, at the beginning of time or when settling a new land, a woman and her son give birth to humans. C8c1. At the beginning of time or after the destruction of the rest of humanity, a father and daughter (daughters) remain. They marry and give rise to humans or certain ethnic groups. C8D. A brother and sister survived the flood. They married after having had smallpox and therefore did not recognise each other. c8e. During the flood or at the beginning of time, people (usually a brother and sister) float in a large gourd. c8f. During the flood, a brother and sister float in a drum. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of C8's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| F86A | 99.06% | The character cares for a fish, crab or other creature. Others watch the character, kill and eat his pet, or try to do so. |
| B1D | 98.78% | Two characters are building the world, one works poorly, the other well, so different parts of the universe (or a specific island) have different appearances. |
| F54D | 98.78% | A woman gives birth to a boy after accidentally drinking animal urine, or a female animal gives birth to a boy after drinking a man's urine. |
| M144 | 98.78% | One character manages to convince another that dangerous and inedible objects are attractive and delicious (a wasp's nest is a drum, a snake is a flute, dung is a delicacy, etc.). |
| I81A | 98.28% | The giant crab causes earthquakes or floods, closes or can close the water outlet. |
| K29B | 97.61% | The hero is asked to climb (or is thrown) into a pit, which is immediately filled with earth or into which a pole or stones are lowered, K959,6 (Posthole murder). The hero proves his magical abilities by climbing out of the pit alive. |
| L85B | 97.19% | A pregnant woman curses the Sun, Rain or another powerful character. Because of this, the child is born physically disabled. He possesses magical powers and usually acquires a normal body. |
| F54A | 96.02% | In her husband's appearance, the woman discovers signs that are not immediately noticeable, indicating that he has hidden his true nature from her and is not the right marriage partner (he is an animal, or her son, brother or father); or the husband discovers in the same way that his wife is his sister. |
| I81B | 95.95% | During high tide, a certain creature spews seawater or displaces it with its body, and during low tide, it swallows the water or makes room for it (or it is simply reported that the water is either spewed or recedes). |
| B77A | 95.34% | One or more anthropomorphic characters push the sky away from the earth. See motif B77. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Nicobarese, Li , Witoto, Ocaina