The Mythology and Folklore Database
H12 - The living go to the dead after someone's death, F81.
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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 living visit the afterlife to bring back the dead (except for texts about a shaman bringing back the soul of a sick person), or, without a specific goal, go there accompanied by or following in the footsteps of the recently deceased.Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
H12 has 3 other sub-motifsH12. The living visit the afterlife to bring back the dead (except for texts about a shaman bringing back the soul of a sick person), or, without a specific goal, go there accompanied by or following in the footsteps of the recently deceased. H12a. The wife dies, the husband comes for her, or he kills her himself for adultery; she turns into a monster and haunts him. H12b. In the afterlife, the dead or demons feed on excrement. H12c. The husband follows his dead wife into the afterlife, but cannot bring her back, or brings her back but loses her again. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of H12's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I82A | 96.25% | The Morning and/or Evening Star – a male character. |
| H12C | 95.93% | The husband follows his dead wife into the afterlife, but cannot bring her back, or brings her back but loses her again. |
| F9C | 94.72% | Snake (in Oceania – moray eel) in the vagina; vagina – snake's mouth; snake crawls out of a woman's mouth and bites off a man's penis during intercourse; woman with a toothy womb is associated with a snake. |
| B29 | 94.31% | People turn into animals, birds or stones, living beings acquire their current characteristics at a general meeting, festival, after a festival, after performing a ritual or after defeating a common enemy. |
| D4A | 93.82% | 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. |
| K3 | 93.58% | The hero climbs a tree or rock to get bird eggs, chicks, fruit, honey, etc. He cannot climb down because another character makes the tree (rock) very tall or makes the tree trunk thick. See motif K1A. |
| F18A | 93.43% | The penis of a male character is much longer than normal or becomes so. During intercourse, it usually crawls towards the woman like a snake. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are included, not anecdotes). |
| M8A | 92.96% | Animals, and more often birds, find it difficult to break through a rock from the outside or inside, make a hole in the tree, in the body of an absorber creature, tear fetters, etc., to help a character or get out of the confined space by yourself. The list <b><i>includes</i></b> groups whose texts deal with the exit of the first ancestors to earth from a confined space. |
| J44 | 92.68% | The hero lures the enemy onto a rickety bridge. The enemy falls into the water, into the abyss (see motif J46). See motif J52. |
| J12 | 92.61% | A girl or two sisters wander, usually in search of a suitable groom or husband who has left or lives far away. Along the way or upon reaching their destination, they encounter false suitors. (Traditions in which two heroines travel rather than one are highlighted in bold (motif j13). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 130 traditions: Tonga, Sakata, Mbundu (Umbundu, Kimbundu, Chimbundu, Ovimbundu), Kwanyama, Owambo (=Ambo), Papua-NewGuinea Highland Papuans:Trans New Guinea & unclassified:Chimbu,Gimi,KaugelHuli,Gadsup,Kuman,Kutubu,Foi (Foe),Kyaka,Kamano (Kafe),Mawatta,Kukukuku (=Anga,=Sambia;Manki,Nauti,Ejuti),Baruya,Kewa,Tembregak,Menya,Melpa,Wiru,Pondoma, Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Melanesians and Papuans of Bismark Archipelago: New Britain (Paparatava, Lakalai, Kuni, Sulka, Gazelle peninsula), New Ireland, St Matthias Group, Mioko (Melanesians between New Britain and New Ireland), Southern Solomons: southern part of Santa Ysabel (Bughotu), Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, Malaita, Ulawa, Northern Vanuatu: Banks Islands (incl Mota, Mota Lava, Gaua, Santa Maria), Torres Islands, Central Vanuatu: Espiritu Santo, Araki, Aore, Maewo, Malekula, Vao, Efate (Vate), Nguna, Mae, Ambrim, Pentecost, Oba (=Aoba, East Ambae, Lepers'), Omba, Samoa, Tikopia, Bellona, Rennell, partly Aneytium, Futuna (=Erronan, not to be mixed with Futuna in Western Polynesia), Vaeaka-Taumato, incl Matema, Nifeloli, Nukapu, Nupani, Pileni, Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), Society Islands: Tahiti, Borabora, Raiatea, Southern Cook Islands: Mangaia, Rarotonga, Atiu, Iatutakim Pukapuka, Tubuai (=Austral Islands, incl Rapa), Mangareva, Hawaii, Tuvalu (Ellice), Yap, Ulithi, Ngulu, Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Dusun, Murut, Kelabit, Tombonuwo, Bajau, Tidong, Northern Luzon: Apayao, Bontoc, Nabaloi (Ibaloi), Ifugao, Igorot (highland people, not specified), Ilocan, Ilongot, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanay, Tingian (Tinggian, Bilongan Itneg); Ibanag, Kasiguran Agta, Keley-i Kallahan, Mindanao and Sulu: Blaan (Bilaan), Bagobo, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Hiligáynon, Binukid, Magindaan (=Magindanao: main Muslim population), Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo (Agusan, Ata, Dibabawon, Sarangani, Ilianen), Maranao, Samal, Subanon (=Subanun), Subanen, Tboli, Mon, Bondo, Didayi (Gata'), Gutob (=Gadaba; cf Dravidian-speaking Gadaba), Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Kuki, Chiru, Falam (Hallam), Chin (Meitei =Manipuri, Khami, =Kumi), Lakher, Mizo (Lushei), Anal, Pawi (Lai), Purum, Koireng, Milhiem, Kolhen, Mru, Meo (Hmong) of Thailand, Laos and Northern Vietnam, Early Chinese written sources, Ireland, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Ancient Greece, Western Sami, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Kalmyk, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Ainu, Oroch, Nanai, Nivkh, Inland Tlingit, Tanana, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Lenape (Delaware), Micmac, Montagnais, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Winnebago, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Shawnee, Yuchi, Teton (incl Oglala), Pawnee, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Plains Ojibwa, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Nez Perce, Quinault, Tillamook, Kalapuya, Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel (Pend d'Oreille; incl Spokane), Shasta; Chimariko, Karok, Klamath, Modoc, Yurok, Alabama, Koasati, Pomo, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Sierra Miwok, Chumash, Yokuts, Northern Foothills Yokuts (Chukchansi, Dumna, Kechayi), Tubatulabal, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Serrano, Gabrielino (Tongva), Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Seri, Huichol, Tepecano, Western Mexico Nahuatl, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Lacandon, Choco: Embera, Nonama (Waunana), XVI century Dabaiba, pre-Columbian iconography of Sinu, Kogi (Cagaba), Sanha, Creols of Aritama Valley, Bari, Yupa (Yukpa), Guajiro, Yaruro, Waiwai, Colorado (Tsachila), Cañari, Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Kofan, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Amuesha, Machiguenga, Moseten, Chimane, Yuracare, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Kuikuro, Kalapalo, Calapalo, Kamayura, Paresi, Umotina (Umutina), Ayoreo, Mataco, Nivakle (=Chulupi, Ashluslay, Ajlujlay), Caduveo, Mbaya, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Tokelau, Papua-New Guinea Southern Lowland Papuan groups (Trans New Guinea and unclassified): Gimi, Kiwai, Bina, Mawabula, Mawatta, Keraki, Gambadi (incl. Kwavaru), Purari River delta, Masingara, Wiram (=Suki), Ngain, Daga, Elema, Papua-New Guinea Northern Lowland Papuan groups (Trans New Guinea and unclassified): Komba, Gimi, Susure, Orokaiva, Bogadjim, Ngain, Sentani, Bargam, Imonda, Nankina, Yupta Valley, Urawa Valley, Warupu (Barupu), Pondoma (Anam), Matses (Mayoruna)