The Mythology and Folklore Database
D4E - Coyote or fox obtains fire.
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 or giver of fire, light or sun is a coyote or fox (indicated in square brackets). See motif 4A.Berezkin category: Fire and Laughter
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 7, Etiology of plants and animals and of their peculiar features, particular animals as protagonists of cosmological stories, metamorphoses, weather and calendar
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 |
|---|---|---|
| H20A | 99.41% | A woman or several women keep fish or water in some kind of container; a man releases all the fish into rivers or the sea, releases the water. See motif H20. |
| J53 | 99.39% | The children of a character associated with a hoofed animal (deer, antelope) come into conflict with an enemy associated with a predator or a larger hoofed animal. They kill his children and/or run away from him. See motif J52. |
| H24E | 99.28% | Having brought the seeds of humanity into our world, the character drops or prematurely opens what he has brought. (Sometimes this explains the inequality of people and disorder in society). |
| A32C1 | 99.27% | The figure or imprint of a predatory mammal (fox, wolf, dog, coyote, jaguar, lion) is visible on the lunar disc. Either this animal is associated with the moon, belongs to it. See motif A34. |
| H18A | 99.24% | The owner of the hunting animals hides them underground; one of the first ancestors turns into a puppy, which is picked up by the owner's children, and releases the animals. See motif H18. |
| M29R | 99.22% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| M59A | 99.20% | After asking a large animal to transport it across the river, a porcupine kills or damages it. See M59 motif. |
| L80 | 99.18% | 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. |
| B28D | 99.10% | Not understanding who they are dealing with, the characters respond to the wandering Transformer that they are preparing weapons to kill so-and-so or a hiding place to escape from so-and-so. The Transformer kills them himself or turns them into animals. |
| M54 | 99.09% | The character lives or stays at someone else's house; then goes far away, falls asleep, but wakes up again in the same house. |
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 23 traditions: Uduk, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Arikara, Tonkawa, Kiowa, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Shasta; Chimariko, Klamath, Modoc, Yurok, Wailaki, Mattole, Lassik, Sinkyone, Cahto, Yuki (Yuki proper, Coastal Yuki, Huchnob), Pomo, Sierra Miwok, Achomavi, Yana, Yokuts, Northern Foothills Yokuts (Chukchansi, Dumna, Kechayi), Panamint, Jicarilla, Chiricahua, Aimara