The Mythology and Folklore Database
K38F6 - Fire creature.
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
A creature consisting of fire is mentioned.Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
K38 has 25 other sub-motifsK38. For doing good to chicks (rarely: young of non-ornithomorphic flying creatures), their mother or father does a favour for the person. K38a. Upon arriving in the underworld, the hero sees white and black horses, rams, etc. The white ones will take him to the upper world, while the black ones will take him even lower. Usually, the hero accidentally touches the black one. Sometimes a third ram or horse is mentioned, red or grey. Or the hero grabs the left horn of the animal instead of the right, and as a result ends up not where he wants to be. K38b. A snake or monster of aquatic-chthonic or indeterminate nature eats or maims the young of a bird or other flying creature – in most cases, the chicks of a huge bird. A man kills the snake (monster). See motif K38. K38b1. Every time a mare gives birth to a wonderful foal, a bird carries it away. Setting out in search of the foals, the hero kills the snake that was devouring the bird's chicks. The bird returns the foals. K38b2. A character (almost always a giant bird) brings the hero to its nest, after which the hero accidentally or at the bird's request kills the monster that was devouring the character's children (usually chicks). K38b3. A powerful bird or other flying creature helps a person for taking care of its chicks/offspring: feeding them, sheltering them, decorating them, etc. K38b3a. A mighty bird helps a man for feeding its chicks. K38b3b. A mighty bird (rarely – another creature) helps a person for sheltering (warming) its chicks (offspring, children). K38b3c. Seeing sleeping fairies or their children, the hero covers them from the scorching rays of the sun. For this, they do him a favour. K38b4. The nest of a mighty bird is located on a tree in the middle (at the edge) of a pond, from where a snake (monster) emerges, threatening the chicks. K38c. After the hero helps the bird (usually by doing good to its chicks), it takes him to the place he desires, or instructs its chicks to do so. (This does not involve movement between levels of the universe; in the Sumerian version, the bird gives the hero the ability to move with lightning speed and directs him to his goal). K38d. A powerful and dangerous character prevents others from using water (or causes floods), but in most cases allows them to take water (promises not to cause floods) in exchange for people or valuables {italicised in the list of traditions}. K38d1. Fearing a monster living in the water or wishing to end a flood or drought, a girl is sacrificed or voluntarily hides in the waters. K38e. Locations or objects made of three (rarely four) materials of varying degrees of value, but all valued positively (copper, silver, gold; silver, gold, diamonds, etc.) are mentioned. K38e1. Characters pass through a forest with metal trees of two or more types (copper, silver, etc.). K38e2. Returning from the underworld to earth, the princess places the objects surrounding her (clothes, house, "kingdom") into a small object (egg, ball of yarn, etc.), which she takes with her. K38e3. Among three (less often two or four) loci or objects associated with materials of high but varying degrees of value, the highest belongs to precious stones (usually diamonds, but also glass and crystal). K38e4. The narratives (in various contexts) mention a palace (castle, crypt, church, bridge, causeway) built of gold and silver modules – usually bricks, less often planks. K38f. A reptilian monster demands human sacrifices (devours people; kidnaps a girl; blocks water sources). The hero kills it. The monster's victims do not play an active role in the action. K38f1. After killing a monster or animal, the hero cuts off and hides a part of its body, usually the tongue. (In most cases, the deceiver takes credit for the feat, after which the hero presents the hidden item, thus exposing the deceiver). K38f2. The girl saved by the hero smears him with the blood of the monster he has slain. When the deceiver claims that he killed the dragon, the hero shows the bloodstain on his body, thus proving that he is the victor. K38f3. To kill the dragon, the hero digs a pit and hides in it. When the dragon crawls nearby or over the pit, the hero strikes it with a fatal blow of his sword. K38f4. Flames burst from the mouth and/or nostrils of a monstrous character hostile to the hero; his breath is fire. K38f5. Flames burst from the horse's mouth and/or nostrils, or the entire horse is engulfed in fire. K38f6. A creature consisting of fire is mentioned. K38f7. The character acquires wild animals (at least two different species) that serve him like dogs. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of K38's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K130A | 99.02% | Several young men (brothers) live far away from other people. A girl comes to them, or she is miraculously born in their house, and they treat her like a sister. After some time, the girl finds herself in danger, but is ultimately saved. |
| M109B | 98.88% | A weaker character convinces a stronger one that he feels even worse than he does. Usually, the stronger one agrees to carry him on his back. |
| H7A | 98.72% | Having received knowledge from Death (rarely: Happiness or a certain spirit) about whether the sick person will be healed or not, whether she is going to take his soul, the person will know whether he will recover. U.nyak praises him for his impartiality; U.t himself; the poor man scolds the doctor, becomes rich. Usually he sees where exactly Death (spirit, etc.) is near the bed, whether it is going to take his soul, whether the person will recover. U. praises him for his impartiality; U. himself; the poor man scolds the sick man, and on this basis knows what will happen to him. |
| K117B | 98.67% | The hero causes various people (and animals) to stick to each other (or to objects). |
| K38B3 | 98.63% | A powerful bird or other flying creature helps a person for taking care of its chicks/offspring: feeding them, sheltering them, decorating them, etc. |
| K99A | 98.61% | A young man or woman (often after having a dream) declares that a great future awaits him or her (usually that his or her father, parents, brothers, or sisters will show him or her signs of respect). The young man or woman is expelled, but the prophecy comes true. |
| I103 | 98.58% | Sirius is associated with a dog or a wolf. |
| M199B | 98.55% | A man and his opponent agree to test their strength by throwing a stone. The opponent throws the stone, and the man releases a bird he had hidden beforehand. The bird does not return, and the opponent admits defeat. |
| K117 | 98.52% | A woman will marry the man who makes her laugh; a man promises a reward to anyone who makes his daughter, mother or son laugh. |
| B16C | 98.50% | The magic mill is ordered to grind salt, but is not given the command to stop. The mill sinks into the sea, usually grinding salt to this day. |
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 26 traditions: Old and New Testament, France, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Czech, Czechs, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Vepsians, Western Ukrainians, Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Kirghiz, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Ainu, Koyukon, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Sierra Miwok, Lake Miwok, Plains Miwok, Coastal Miwok, Chechens, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Tunisia, Germany, Russian Federation