The Mythology and Folklore Database
G8C - They cut down a tree to get valuables.
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 first ancestors try to cut down a tree (less often a high rock) to get useful plants hanging on the branches (at the top) or water or fish in the trunk. The damage disappears as soon as the workers are distracted from their work, or periodically.Berezkin category: Fertility and Agriculture
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
G8 has 7 other sub-motifsG8. People or animals cut or gnaw at a tree, mountain, or pillar of the sky. The damage disappears as soon as the workers are distracted from their task (usually when they take a break) or periodically (at certain times). G8a. A man cuts down a tree to make a boat or something else from the trunk (Yap: a board for building a house; one of the texts from Ulithi: a wooden bird), goes away to rest, and upon returning finds the tree intact again. Usually, the character who restored the tree in the man's absence then cuts down the tree himself and makes what the hero needs. G8b. A person hides in a tree or (Kazakhs) hides behind walls. Another tries to cut down the tree (break down the walls) to get the person, but the cut tree grows back (or the already felled tree rises, the wall is restored). G8c. The first ancestors try to cut down a tree (less often a high rock) to get useful plants hanging on the branches (at the top) or water or fish in the trunk. The damage disappears as soon as the workers are distracted from their work, or periodically. G8d. A tree (pillar, mountain) is cut down (gnawed, ground down) or prevented from being cut down in order to save the world (or the gods, the king, etc.) from danger. G8e. A character unsuccessfully cuts down a tree growing on the moon. G8f. Characters cut down a tree, but the trunk grows back. They manage to finish the job after the splinters are carried away or burned. G8g. There is a unique tree that must be bent or felled. Different creatures inhabit its separate parts and/or objects of special importance are made from its wood. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of G8's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| J22D | 99.77% | Foreigners or animals of two different species emerge from a single person or animal cut in half. |
| G10 | 99.76% | A tree whose trunk has been cut down remains hanging because it is held up from above. |
| L1E | 98.83% | A monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch. |
| G11 | 98.80% | The squirrel plays an important role in cutting down a giant tree (usually chopping or trying to chop the vine that holds it, see motif G10). |
| B66 | 98.60% | Characters climb to the sky using a rope or chain of arrows; when it falls to the ground, it turns into forest vines. See motif J47. |
| C15 | 98.60% | A monstrous jaguar (puma) is locked in a cave or tree trunk. |
| C34A | 98.60% | A supernatural character goes with people to catch fish or lives on the sand by the river; he is buried in the sand or thrown into the river, into a swamp, or otherwise persecuted. Usually, he himself or his father sends a flood. |
| H32B | 98.60% | A girl and/or boy, who are the children of a deity, come to live with humans, leading to an abundance of food/resources. Due to the hurt they have caused, the children return to their own world, and human life becomes difficult or meagre. |
| L1D | 98.60% | The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives. |
| B7D | 98.57% | Water pours from a broken bone, flooding the earth. |
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 17 traditions: Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Melanesians of the islands of Massim District ( =Milke Bay Province) to the east of New Guinea: Dobu, Rossel, Fergusson, Goodenough, Murua (Woodlark), Trobrian Islands, d'Entrecasteau Islands, Kekchi; Mopan, Chimila (Ette), Sicuani, Guayabero, Yaruro, Makiritare (Yecuana), Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Kofan, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Letuama, Tanimuca, Ufaina, Yahuna, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Yagua, Paresi, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje)