The Mythology and Folklore Database
I91 - A body of water at the foot of a tree.
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
At the foot or around the base of a tree connecting the tiers of the universe or of gigantic size and considered the main tree of the world, there is a spring or water body, the water of which usually has unusual properties.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
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| J26A | 99.41% | Among children of a woman or two women living together, there is a boy and a puppy, or a puppy was placed with a woman, and her son was thrown out. The puppy lives with the woman and helps her. |
| H27A | 98.81% | When creating the earth, a negative character asks a positive character for as much earth as is necessary to prop up a staff, stake. |
| A29B | 98.36% | A character associated with the upper world and a character associated with the earth or the lower world each seek to possess the hero or heroine who is associated with the Moon. |
| C28 | 97.82% | A demonic character takes possession of a valuable item without which another character (and people) will perish. The demon is tricked into returning the valuable item. |
| K27N3A1 | 97.33% | In the course of his courtship, the hero enters into a struggle with characters (more than two) who embody the elements, celestial bodies, and parts of the universe. |
| N29 | 96.48% | time required to perform an action or elapsed since the event described is estimated by comparing it with the time it takes for water to boil and/ or food has been prepared. |
| M38D1 | 96.15% | bubble-head, the straw leg, the hair-neck are successively dying, trying to act like ordinary people. |
| L42C | 94.84% | The character hides from someone stronger, sometimes inside the house, sometimes outside, and the stronger character cannot catch him. |
| H27A1 | 94.59% | Reptiles and insects crawl out of holes in the ground, bringing disease. |
| N10A | 94.54% | A woman or (rarely) a man with a transparent body is described - bones are visible through the skin, bone marrow is visible through the bones. This transparency is a sign of beauty. |
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 13 traditions: Hungarians, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Georgians, Mordvins, Chuvash, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Khakas, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Nganasans, Southern Selkups, Central Yakuts (Sakha)