The Mythology and Folklore Database
I51A - Four-legged animals – the pillars of the earth.
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 earth is supported by or has a large mammal at its centre. See motif I8B.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
I51 has 1 other sub-motifsI51a. The earth is supported by or has a large mammal at its centre. See motif I8B. I51b. The earth or sky is perceived as a large mammal or created from parts of its body. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of I51's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K174 | 97.97% | To signal their arrival, a person places, or more often discreetly throws, a ring or other small item of personal jewellery or toiletries into the jug of a maid or servant. Upon discovering it, the other person understands that the first is nearby. |
| L15E | 97.47% | The hero's life is in a certain object, usually his weapon. An enemy steals or discards this object, the hero weakens or dies, his friends or brothers return the object, and the hero comes back to life. {In ATU, this is motif 302B; at least some of the references cited by Uther do not contain the motif in our formulation (not found in Japan or Burma); original publications are required}. |
| M39A6D | 96.92% | One of the relatives or spouses transfers a text or object to the other through third parties. Only the recipient understands the meaning of the words or the item handed over, saves the sender and/or destroys his enemies. |
| K77B2 | 96.52% | The goat (goat, ram, etc.) responds to the predator's questions in the sense that parts of its body are weapons and other objects designed to kill the questioner, or that the goat is actually armed. |
| K136B | 96.28% | A character finds precious stones or unusual flowers (usually in a river) and learns where they come from. |
| M84C | 96.17% | Sleeping in a deserted place, a person finds himself among spirits. One of them explains that he has a guest, that is the same person. |
| K93B2 | 96.14% | A childless woman conceives a child after eating a fruit (usually an apple; in northern traditions also cabbage, eggs, peas, etc., in India – mangoes). |
| K91 | 96.13% | Dogs, the hero's horse, or the hero himself fight the enemy in the underworld. Those watching from a distance judge the course of the battle by the colour of the water or foam rising to the surface, the colour of the first animal to emerge, etc. |
| M152C | 96.00% | The weak companion of a large predator pretends to be strong and brave. When he is carried away by the river or drowns in a swamp, and the predator pulls him out, the companion pretends to be angry (for preventing him from catching fish, etc.). |
| F14 | 95.96% | The hero is born as a result of the union of a man with a stone or rock. |
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 58 traditions: Yemen, Berbers of southern Tunisia and adjacent part of Libya (Matmata and Ghadames areas), Algeria Arabs, Masai, Swahili, Midjikenda (incl Giryama), Nyika, Duruma; Ngindo, Kiluguru and other Islamic groups of the Eastern Coast of Africa, Hausa, Fula (Fulbe, Fulani, Pular), Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Minangkabau; Kerinci, Lampung (Lampong); South Sumatra Malays (incl. Bengkulu), Central Taiwan: Bunun (Vonum), La'arua, Tsou, Kanabu, Kanakanabu, Northern Taiwan: Atayal (Tayal; Taruko (Toda, Taokas, Torok, Taroko), Pazeh, Sedeq (Sediq, Seedeq, Sazek), Saisiyat (Saixia), Ami, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Toda, Kota, Kuruba (Kurumba), Badaga, Maravar, Pulaya, Kadar, Bengali, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Sindhi, Kashmiri, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Early Chinese written sources, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Uzbek, Persians, Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Ingush, Nogai, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Gagauz, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Talysh, Uyghur, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Udmurt, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Darkhad, Yuki (Yuki proper, Coastal Yuki, Huchnob), Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Kiliwa, Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Chechens, Morocco, Egypt