The Mythology and Folklore Database
D1A4 - Conversation between two fires.




23 Myths, Legends and Folktales
23 Unique Narratives for Motif D1A4
13 Cultures & Traditions where D1A4 is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
6 Sub-Motifs of Motif D1A4


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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

Two fires from different dwellings meet and converse.

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
M199O99.40%A man and his opponent agree to pierce a hole in a tree trunk (stump) with their head (finger, penis) or to knock down a tree with a blow to the head. The man has made a hole in advance (sawed the tree).
L42I199.32%A boy is rowing a boat. A witch lures him out and carries him away. The boy escapes.
H7E99.26%In the past, people knew when they would die, so before their death they stopped doing their work or performed their duties half-heartedly.
K33A599.24%A woman who has been turned into a duck (goose) by her rival's scheming tries to establish contact with her children or husband.
K35A499.16%In order to get rid of the hero and take his place, the deceiver pushes him into the sea or leaves him on a distant island. The hero survives and returns.
K56A799.12%In winter, a girl (rarely a boy) is sent to bring something that is normally only available in summer. She brings it.
L17A199.11%Characters with a sequentially increasing number of eyes follow the hero or heroine. He or she puts the eyes to sleep one by one, but forgets about the last one.
K61C199.09%A person will die if they cannot find the answer to the demon's question. A person or their acquaintance accidentally learns the answer by overhearing the demon talking to himself or to another demon. See motif C29.
M136A99.08%People try to bring light, darkness, smoke, etc. into or out of a room.
M157A599.07%A person finds a golden (rarely marble, etc.) mortar (bell) and brings it to an authoritative figure. Instead of gratitude, the latter demands that the pestle (the tongue of the bell, etc.) also be brought.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 13 traditions: Lithuanians, Livonians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Western Sami, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Mansi, Daur (Daghur), Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Lutsi (Ludza)


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