The Mythology and Folklore Database
H43AB - The spat upon is mortal.




14 Myths, Legends and Folktales
14 Unique Narratives for Motif H43AB
10 Cultures & Traditions where H43AB is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
4 Sub-Motifs of Motif H43AB


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 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

Man is mortal because he was spat upon at creation.

Berezkin category: Paradise Lost

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 4, Origin of death, diseases and hard life


H43 has 4 other sub-motifs


H43.  One character creates people's bodies, while another brings them to life.
H43a.  Having created the human body, the creator leaves. At this time, another character tries to break the figure, which has not yet come to life.
H43aa.  Having created the human body, the creator leaves. At this time, his opponent spits on the figure, which has not yet come to life, smears it with mud, etc.
H43ab.  Man is mortal because he was spat upon at creation.
H43ac.  The creator made human figures and left. By sneaking up on the figures, the antagonist brings them to life himself. That's why people are mortal and imperfect.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
F89100.00%A sister and brother live alone. The brother refuses to commit incest. The sister resorts to cunning, as a result of which the brother mistakes her for a stranger and marries her.
B72A99.23%Mother (stepmother, adoptive father) does not give food to a girl or (less often) a boy. The child asks migratory birds to take him with them, they give him bird clothing, he flies away with them, becoming a bird.
M3B99.00%Trying to grab a hare, another animal tears off (bites) its tail. It's been short ever since.
A13A97.78%The raven steals or hides the sun, or attempts to do so.
L42D97.59%A man runs away from a cannibal across the ice, the cannibal pursues him, licks the blood spilled on the ice, his tongue freezes, he dies, or falls to his death after slipping on the ice.
K32E97.02%A negative character, object or locus is contrasted with one or two positive ones, such as wood with gold and silver.
M45A96.95%A person is sleeping or pretending to be asleep or dead. Animals take him for a dead man - they mourn him, carry him to bury him, they are going to eat it, etc. A person beats the crowd and/or obtains benefits.
B72B96.61%A girl or, less commonly, a boy turns into a bird after his mother (father, guardian) refuses to give him water or food or otherwise mistreats him.
K56A896.58%A girl marries an animal (brings it with her), and it turns into a handsome man. Another girl tries to do the same, but dies or suffers harm.
I8696.55%The inhabitants of the upper world produce down, wool, and scales, which turn into birds, animals, and fish.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 10 traditions: Kirati (Kiranti): Rai (incl Thulung), Limbu, Newar, Mongols (Khalkha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area


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