The Mythology and Folklore Database
D4M - The owners of fire dance.
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 thief comes to the owners of fire or light. They feast or dance. He joins them and steals their valuables when the moment is right. See motif D4A.Berezkin category: Fire and Laughter
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
D4 has 22 other sub-motifsD4a. Fire is stolen from its original owner, returned to people by the thief, or (the motif of theft is not expressed) brought with difficulty from a distant place. D4a1. A certain character possesses fire or steals it. His attention is attracted or distracted by singing, music, dancing, unusual gifts, indecent or strange behaviour, offers of sex, food and/or alcohol. D4aa. Moths try to steal the fire that humans possess. D4b. Those who stole or asked for fire and/or those who received fire are punished by the deity. D4c. Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners. D4c1. Animal-people come to steal summer from its owners. One of them, in the guise of an elk or caribou, distracts the owners' attention or floats a log or stump down the river, which the owners of summer mistake for an elk and rush after. D4d. The opossum obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. D4e. The thief or giver of fire, light or sun is a coyote or fox (indicated in square brackets). See motif 4A. D4e1. The thief or giver of fire, light or sun is the dog. See motif 4A. D4f. Once in the fire, the beaver (in North America) or fish (in South America) scatters and/or carries the fire away from its original owners. See motif D4A. D4g. Hummingbird steals, finds or spreads fire. See motif D4A. D4h. The swallow obtains fire for people. See motif D4A. D4h1. A small songbird (redstart, robin, wren) obtains fire for humans. D4i. The beaver obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. D4j. The thief, the thief's assistant, or the owner of fire is a rabbit, a hare, or (ofaye) a guinea pig. See motif D4A. D4k. The deer obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. D4l. The first fire is brought down to earth from the sky; the first ancestors go to the sky and bring back fire or warmth. See motif D4A. D4m. The thief comes to the owners of fire or light. They feast or dance. He joins them and steals their valuables when the moment is right. See motif D4A. D4n. A boy or (among the Kutené) a woman cries, demanding the absent elements - summer, fire, rain. See motif D4A (demand for summer). D4o. In order to steal fire from its owner, the character pretends to be wet and cold, and after receiving permission to dry off, runs away, bringing fire to the people. D4p. The parrot obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. Australian data is not taken into account, as the common origin of the motif in America and Australia is excluded. D4q. The fly rubs its legs together and produces fire. D4q1. The bat participates in obtaining fire. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of D4's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A32B1 | 99.86% | A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon Man and is now visible in the silhouette of the moon spots. |
| M59 | 99.78% | A small animal asks a large one to transport it across the river; consistently rejects all the seats on the carrier's body that he offers; climbs to where the carrier is You can kill when the crossing is over. |
| M54 | 99.40% | The character lives or stays at someone else's house; then goes far away, falls asleep, but wakes up again in the same house. |
| L1B1 | 99.38% | A woman comes into conflict with her brothers and turns into a dangerous demon. |
| K8C3 | 99.25% | One (zoomorphic) character refuses to use any part of another's body except the one he uses to kill him. |
| L80 | 99.19% | A demonic creature or animal is killed, but comes back to life or can come back to life if even a small piece of its flesh or blood is left behind, unnoticed. |
| F64 | 99.05% | The character is presented as another person in order to mate with a close relative in the descending or (less commonly) ascending line. |
| K21A | 99.01% | A celestial being marries an earthly woman. She longs to return to earth and secretly descends from her husband. |
| M59A | 99.00% | After asking a large animal to transport it across the river, a porcupine kills or damages it. See M59 motif. |
| M29R | 98.95% | See the motives in square brackets. |
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 10 traditions: Tlingit, Nootka (Nu-chah-nulth), Makah, Yuchi, Chilkotin, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Hitchiti, Wintu, Patwin, Nomlaki, Panamint, Jicarilla, Chiricahua