The Mythology and Folklore Database
J23 - Late children defeat the monster, ATU 312D.
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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
People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy or twins from infancy. Sometimes, left alone, she miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones.Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
J23 has 6 other sub-motifsJ23. People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy or twins from infancy. Sometimes, left alone, she miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones. J23a. A woman cries, and the discharge from her nose (her tears) turns into a boy, who grows up and defeats strong opponents. J23b. To defeat the monster, the young man (twins) prepares spears in advance and leaves them along the supposed retreat route. Fleeing from the monster, the young man throws spears at it one after another and eventually kills it. J23c. People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy from infancy or, left alone, miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones. J23D. People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises two twins (or several children) from infancy. They defeat their antagonists, usually reviving or freeing those who have disappeared. j23e. Wanting to make sure that the enemy is really dead, an insect or bird penetrates its body from one end and exits from the other. j23f. Something inanimate incarnates in a human being to solve people's problems and then returns to its original state. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of J23's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| L103 | 93.33% | The fugitive throws or creates objects behind him, which the pursuer, wasting time, collects, eats or destroys, even though they do not hinder his progress. |
| B2A | 90.56% | The earth is a female character (alone or alongside a male character) and is considered to be female or associated with women. |
| L85 | 89.95% | The character has only half a body (vertically). See also L85C, "Half-chicken". |
| L17A | 89.54% | A character or creature has an eye or a second pair of eyes on the back of the head or on the back. Cf. motif L17b, "mouth on the back of the head". |
| K24A | 88.67% | A man, usually of non-human nature, hides the clothes or sits on the clothes of an ordinary earthly girl. To get her clothes back, she is forced to enter into a romantic relationship with him. Traditions in which the character is a snake or dragon (ATU 425M) are marked with an asterisk*. |
| F35A | 88.44% | The character, unaware of this, eats or prepares meat (slowly kills) a member of his household (a relative, rarely a servant or spouse) or feeds it to his acquaintances, or uses its bones for household needs. |
| K27E | 88.41% | The character is offered to eat or drink an unusually large amount or poison. |
| L72 | 88.09% | While fleeing, the character throws small objects behind him, which turn into powerful obstacles in the path of the pursuer, or (rarely) the pursuer creates such obstacles in the path of the fugitives. (Cf. SUS 1979, No. 313H = AA 313I, p. 114: escape by throwing magical objects, an episode in various types of fairy tales). |
| M23 | 87.62% | The character pretends to be afraid of only one method of killing, which in reality is not dangerous for him (K581: turtle: If you throw me into the water, I will drown! ). {All American variants with a rabbit are most likely of African origin and are not included in the correlation table}. |
| D4L | 87.42% | The first fire is brought down to earth from the sky; the first ancestors go to the sky and bring back fire or warmth. See motif D4A. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 88 traditions: Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Shilluk, Anuak, Acoli (Acholi), Lur (Alur, Luri), Lango, Kerewe, Sukuma, Kwaya, Kumbi, Busiba, Gusii, Suba, Nyatutu, Kiniramba, Isanzu, Chagga (Jagga; incl Wasu), Pare, Digo, Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Emberre, Mwimbe, Gogo, Kaguru, Luguru, Zigula, Taveta, Shambala (Sambala), Bondei, Taeta, Dabida; Zaramo, Safwa, Mkulwe, Ngonde, Kinga, Nyakusa, Nyamwanga, Congo (Koongo, Bacongo; incl Vili, Fioti, (Ma)Yombe, MuKunyi), Ndombo, Luango (Loango), Zombo (Sambo), Laadi (Laari), (Ba)Fioti, Woyo (Kiwoyo), Ronga, Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), Mandingo (Manden, incl San, Samo), Kagoro, Bambara (Bamana), Malinke, Kassonke, Diula, Dan (=Gio), Guro (=Kweni, incl Gagu, Neio), Toura, Mano, Ngere, Beng, Guro , Kru: Kru proper, Sapo (Sapã), Grebo, Kran (Krahn, Guere-Krahn; incl. Putu, Tchien), Bete, Neyo, Wobe, Devoin (Dey), Belle (Kuwaa), Bassa, Sikon, Melanesians of the islands of Massim District ( =Milke Bay Province) to the east of New Guinea: Dobu, Rossel, Fergusson, Goodenough, Murua (Woodlark), Trobrian Islands, d'Entrecasteau Islands, Melanesians and Papuans of Bismark Archipelago: New Britain (Paparatava, Lakalai, Kuni, Sulka, Gazelle peninsula), New Ireland, St Matthias Group, Mioko (Melanesians between New Britain and New Ireland), Santa Cruz Islands (incl Nguna, Reef Islands), Northern Vanuatu: Banks Islands (incl Mota, Mota Lava, Gaua, Santa Maria), Torres Islands, Southern Vanuatu: Tanna, Aneiteum (Polynesian component not included), Eromanga, Loyalty Islands (Uvea, Lifu, Mare), Wallis (=Uvea, different from Melanesian Uvea), Futuna, Tikopia, Bellona, Rennell, partly Aneytium, Futuna (=Erronan, not to be mixed with Futuna in Western Polynesia), Vaeaka-Taumato, incl Matema, Nifeloli, Nukapu, Nupani, Pileni, Ontong Java, Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuria, Tuvalu (Ellice), Marshall Islands, incl Ailinglapalap, Arno, Jaluit, Kili, Lae, Maloelap, Majuro, Ratak, Wotho, Ujae, Jaluit (=Jalooj), Namdrik, Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Telugu (incl. Yanadi, Chenchu), Early Chinese written sources, Ireland, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Finns, Norwegians, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Ossetians, Ingush, Mingrelians (Megrelians), Laz, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Gagauz, Kirghiz, Mari (Cheremis), Chuvash, Udmurt, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Udeghe, Nivkh, Chukchi, Tagish, Inland Tlingit, Athna, Koyukon, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Lenape (Delaware), Arapaho, Teton (incl Oglala), Arikara, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Plains Ojibwa, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Quinault, Caddo, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Yana, Yokuts, Mocovi; Kechua of Santiago del Estero with probable Guaikuruan substratum; Abipon, Kpelle (incl Kono), Tokelau, Kordofan, Lutsi (Ludza), Egypt, Palau