The Mythology and Folklore Database
E31B - Female saviours of men.




11 Myths, Legends and Folktales
11 Unique Narratives for Motif E31B
6 Cultures & Traditions where E31B is told
37 Mythemes Indexed
5 Sub-Motifs of Motif E31B


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

Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him.

Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior


E31 has 5 other sub-motifs


E31.  A man makes a wooden doll and behaves as if it were alive. It does not come to life, or comes to life only partially or temporarily. A real woman replaces the figure and marries the carver.
E31a.  Several men (women) participate in the rescue, creation or revival of a girl (man), or mourn her (his) death. The question arises as to whom the revived person should belong to or who contributed more to the revival. Alternatively, three men create something valuable, each contributing their part. The question arises as to whose contribution is more important.
E31a1.  Three (rarely four or two) men participate in the creation of the girl: one carves the figure out of wood, another dresses her, and the third brings her to life. To whom should the animated girl belong?
E31a2.  The girl must be given to one of several men. She herself or someone else explains that one of the suitors can be called her father, another her brother (etc.), and only one can be her husband.
E31b.  Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him.
E31c.  Several men, each possessing a unique skill, bring a (kidnapped) girl from a distant country.

 Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of E31's motifs?



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
B2G100.00%The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened.
B98B100.00%The Bat comes into conflict with other creatures in connection with someone's death or funeral.
B98C100.00%The heavenly deity could have healed the bat's mother or child, but did not do so, and they died.
C30B100.00%In response to the claims of an animal or spirit, a person offers to remove their traces from the field or to walk without leaving any traces. The spirit is unable to do so.
D13HH100.00%A person visiting another world should not laugh or show surprise when seeing strange things. Those who break this rule will perish or suffer harm.
E1B1100.00%A man who has married an unusual girl is warned that she must not perform certain tasks or eat certain foods. Other members of his household ensure that the young woman breaks the prohibition, and as a result she dies or disappears.
F73A100.00%The vulva is an unhealed wound on the body of the first women, or the first humans did not copulate because they thought that the vulva was a wound.
H1BB100.00%One character refuses to resurrect another's beloved dog, and this conflict is linked to the loss of the ability to resurrect people.
H31100.00%God summons several characters, including man and the heavenly bodies, and makes man mortal and the heavenly bodies immortal.
H36I100.00%The goat or sheep is to blame for the fact that man is mortal. See motif H36.

 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 6 traditions: Fang (Pangwe), Eton, Bafia, Batanga, Benga, Bube (Bubi), Buheba, Yaunde (Ewondo), Yebekolo, Koko, Bulu, Beti (Beti-Bulu), Sekiani, Eghap, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Bia: Anyi, Agni, Baule, Nsema, Fula (Fulbe, Fulani, Pular), Waiwai, Congo


Please log on to view the narratives.