The Mythology and Folklore Database
I48 - Locked in the underworld.




43 Myths, Legends and Folktales
42 Unique Narratives for Motif I48
14 Cultures & Traditions where I48 is told
79 Mythemes Indexed
1 Sub-Motifs of Motif I48


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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

The character is deprived of the ability to move, after which he acquires cosmic dimensions: he supports the earth (sky) or his movements cause earthquakes (less often - storms).

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature


I48 has 1 other sub-motifs


I48.  The character is deprived of the ability to move, after which he acquires cosmic dimensions: he supports the earth (sky) or his movements cause earthquakes (less often - storms).
I48a.  The hero's adversary descends into the underworld.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
I20C97.10%Dwarves live in an underground world that partly resembles the earthly world. If dwarves and humans meet, it happens underground.
M57B96.22%Beads or metals are the bodily secretions of a deity.
I8095.94%A character who finds himself in the locus of a deity responsible for atmospheric phenomena violates certain prohibitions or instructions, thereby causing excessively strong thunderstorms, rain, snowfall or wind.
I8E94.76%The sky or the earth is supported by four anthropomorphic male characters located at the four cardinal points.
E3393.60%People arise from grains, seeds, dough.
A8B93.27%Setting beyond the horizon, the sun shines on the anthropomorphic inhabitants of the underworld – the dead, dwarves, etc.
E1A93.17%The first humans are made of fragile materials (clay, wax, fire, honey, etc.) and prove to be unviable.
G12A93.04%Cultivated plants arise from drops of blood or flow like blood from cuts on the body of a human or animal.
I7792.81%A powerful character associated with thunderstorms and rain, lame.
F692.04%(The first) woman does not have a vagina at first. Usually, it is made for her by a bird, animal, fish, etc.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: Tonga, Samoa, Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), 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, Khmu (Kammu), Puoc, Andamanese, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Lepcha, Macedonians, Balkarians, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Western Ukrainians, Ossetians, Ingush, Diegueño: Ipai, Tipai, Kamia (Kumeai)


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