The Mythology and Folklore Database
L35 - Severed hand.




15 Myths, Legends and Folktales
15 Unique Narratives for Motif L35
11 Cultures & Traditions where L35 is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif L35


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 shaman or spirit comes at night and, reaching his hand into the hut, steals food or disturbs a woman. A man in the hut cuts off or tears off the hand.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits

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



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
G3199.42%A character ties trees with rope and effortlessly knocks them all down at once or pretends to do so.
E695.87%When a woman of childbearing age (she is menstruating, miscarrying, pregnant, with a child, or simply fat) tries to pass from one world to another, the connection between the worlds is severed forever.
M4395.71%To kill or catch a monster, he sees a figure made of wood or clay or a living person. Most often, a monster's claws or sharp leg get stuck when they pierce a tree.
M595.50%Once in a situation where his life depends on the will of a demon or animal, the hero feels like insulting or hitting him. See M1 motif.
F2795.29%It is dangerous for girls or women to approach water (water creatures drag them away or swallow them; a girl who approaches water dies; she becomes pregnant by a snake; through her fault, a flood or other disaster occurs; water spirits themselves come to a girl who has her first period).
F5195.28%Someone under cover of night/incognito approaches a person of the opposite sex. The marriage partner deliberately (to determine who it is) or accidentally (thereby exposing the visitor) makes a mark on his/her body (clothing). See motif A31.
I2495.15%A snake (or fish) forms a bridge across a river.
C194.89%In the past, a catastrophic shift in the layers of the universe occurred or will occur in the future. Among the variants (sometimes combined): the sky fell to the earth; the present earth or underground world swapped places with the sky; the earth turned upside down; it fell into the underworld; the layers of the universe successively collapsed onto the earth or will swap places in the future.
H24F94.46%The character has the ability to put a large amount of meat or fish into a bag or container that is easy to carry.
F2494.44%Women lose blood when they are bitten by fish, snakes, etc.

 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 11 traditions: Vepsians, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Tillamook, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Ticuna (Tucuna), Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Iranxe, Nambikwara, Paresi, Japan


Please log on to view the narratives.