The Mythology and Folklore Database
D1A - Mother-in-law-fire.




6 Myths, Legends and Folktales
6 Unique Narratives for Motif D1A
4 Cultures & Traditions where D1A is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
6 Sub-Motifs of Motif D1A


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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

A girl marries a man whose mother is fire.

Berezkin category: Fire and Laughter

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


D1 has 6 other sub-motifs


D1.  A woman (usually elderly) is the embodiment of fire – alone or together with her husband, the master of fire. Cf. motif D5 (woman possesses fire).
D1a.  A girl marries a man whose mother is fire.
D1a1.  Because a woman offended the fire, its mistress takes her child away.
D1a2.  The house of the person who insulted the fire burns down, but the property inside it or the child of another person (or that person himself) who treated the fire with respect is not harmed.
D1a3.  A man marries a woman who is fire. She is mistreated, or her husband does not like her, and the marriage breaks down.
D1a4.  Two fires from different dwellings meet and converse.
D1b.  The man is the master or embodiment of fire (alone or alongside the woman-fire).

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
A5A100.00%The younger brother (usually the Sun) is made from the urine and swaddling clothes of his older brother (usually the Moon), who was kidnapped as a baby. See motif A5.
B107100.00%During the (world) fire, the oyster burns, which is why oyster shells are black.
B28B100.00%The inhabitants of the area where the hero finds himself are afraid of creatures that are tools, utensils, and plants that are now harmless. The hero easily defeats these creatures and usually transforms them into what they are now.
B28D1100.00%Not understanding who he is facing, the man promises to kill the Transformer. The Transformer turns his weapon into deer antlers and him into a deer.
B61100.00%The mole had to hold up the fallen sky and sun. Since then, its paw (hand) has remained dislocated backwards.
B64C100.00%Fish, together with other earthly creatures, wage war on the inhabitants of the sky. Falling to the ground, they break their bones, which is why fish have many small bones in their bodies. See motif B64.
B91100.00%The snail had (the most keen-eyed) eyes. Another character borrows them and does not return them.
D4I100.00%The beaver obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A.
D4Q100.00%The fly rubs its legs together and produces fire.
E29100.00%Two characters (usually a coyote and a lizard) argue about whether human hands should be shaped like paws or end in fingers.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Quinault, Tillamook


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