The Mythology and Folklore Database
H44 - The bloody division of offspring (ATU 485).
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
A human enters into a relationship with a non-human being. When they part, the being tears apart (or intends to tear apart) their child. (Most of the data was collected by S.Y. Neklyudov).Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
H44 has 1 other sub-motifsH44. A human enters into a relationship with a non-human being. When they part, the being tears apart (or intends to tear apart) their child. (Most of the data was collected by S.Y. Neklyudov). H44a. Two characters, one associated with the sky or water, and the other with the earth or the world of spirits and humans, divide the child they have given birth to or the people they have created. Usually, the sky (water, spirit) takes the imperishable part, and the earth (human) takes the perishable part. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of H44's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| L19B2 | 98.33% | A creature with nine heads is mentioned – either singly or at the end of a series of creatures with fewer heads. |
| K27HH | 97.52% | The character is tasked with quickly separating small particles of different types (usually seeds of different plant species) mixed together in a single vessel, or counting the number of grains, or gathering scattered or already sown grain. |
| K76 | 97.28% | A boy who is born or found has a strange or ugly appearance (ball, nut, sack, half-human, dwarf, animal), but then demonstrates magical powers and turns out to be handsome (usually getting a bride of high status). The princess's magical spouse initially has a non-human or ugly appearance. |
| H18B | 97.27% | Having received livestock from supernatural characters, a person (usually due to violating a prohibition on looking, shouting, etc.) immediately loses all or most of the animals (they go into the water, into the sky, scatter, etc.). |
| B52C | 97.27% | When the earth and sky were created, they turned out to be different sizes. The earth was compressed, and mountains appeared. See motif B52. |
| B43A | 96.91% | The character is created from many materials or objects, or from materials brought from different places. |
| K56B | 96.86% | Two men take turns meeting a character who can reward and punish. One behaves correctly and is rewarded, the other (or two others) behave incorrectly and are punished (rarely: not rewarded). |
| M57C | 96.63% | An animal (donkey, bull, horse, goat, bear, leopard) or inanimate object makes gold or food stand out, or a character makes others believe that this is the case. |
| K76A | 96.37% | A frog or toad marries a beautiful woman, or a handsome young man marries a frog. |
| K73 | 96.27% | A young wife (promises to give birth and) gives birth to wonderful children (or one son). In the absence of her husband, attempts are made to kill the wife or her child (usually by slandering them to the husband), but they remain alive. (For medieval European variants, see Newell 1906). |
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 3 traditions: 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, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Maldives