The Mythology and Folklore Database
J39 - Who killed the rabbit?




22 Myths, Legends and Folktales
22 Unique Narratives for Motif J39
20 Cultures & Traditions where J39 is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif J39


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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 antagonist makes the woman his slave. Other characters secretly come to her and kill a small animal or bird for her. The antagonist suspects that the woman could not have caught the game herself, but she insists that she did.

Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
I10599.95%One of the constellations is associated with the hand (with five marked fingers).
B44D99.93%Night and day alternate because the slain beast was black and white, spotted.
I37E99.93%Tree mushrooms cry out like people.
K27V99.93%The character must hit the bird with an arrow or a stone. (Cf. motif K27M, where it is not the accuracy of the archer that is important, but the unusual appearance of the creature that needs to be caught).
L1C99.93%Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars.
M29D99.93%See the motives in square brackets.
L1B99.23%A young woman turns into a monstrous bear and kills most people except her younger sister (Ojibwa: the younger sister of her former husband). Their brothers (or one brother) return from hunting and kill the bear, or she dies while chasing them. Cf. motif L65D.
L33F99.13%A rock or boulder pursues a character. The character calls for help, and the nightjar splits the rock into pieces.
F28C98.90%A woman masturbates with the penis of a large animal that one of the men killed while hunting.
M3798.70%Although the character's head or entire body is cut in two with an ax or split with a stick, the character remains unharmed. Cf. motive J22.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Chukchi, Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Arapaho, Omaha, Ponca, Iowa, Arikara, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Kiowa, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Crow, Shuswap, Chumash, Owens Valley Paiute, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Northern Shoshone, Southern Paiute, Chemehuevi


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