The Mythology and Folklore Database
L37B2 - Overheard conversation: a snake inside a person.
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
From the conversation of snakes or crows, a person learns the cause of another's illness: a snake has crawled inside him. The person expels the snake and the sick person recovers.Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
L37 has 9 other sub-motifsL37a. On the way to a powerful being, a person meets characters who ask him to ask questions on their behalf (usually to find out the cause of their misfortunes). L37a1. A man sets out to discover the reason for his misfortunes. Others also convey their questions to him. God (fate) replies that a predator (wolf, lion, bear) must eat the fool, and in order to help the others, one must dig up treasure, marry the queen, etc. The man refuses to marry, take the gold, etc., because he has not received direct instructions to do so. The predator decides that he will not find anyone more foolish. L37a2. A man comes to ask God (fate, the sun, etc.) questions that he was asked to ask by those he met along the way. Someone asks when he will be freed from his duties. Answer: let him leave another person in his place. L37b. By accidentally overhearing a conversation between animals or spirits, a person learns how to help themselves and others. L37b1. To cure a sick person or rid a house of other misfortunes, one must kill (catch, expel) a toad, frog or snake hiding in the house (in the garden, under the roots). L37b2. From the conversation of snakes or crows, a person learns the cause of another's illness: a snake has crawled inside him. The person expels the snake and the sick person recovers. L37b3. From the birds' conversation, humans learn that their bodies or secretions have miraculous properties. L37b4. From a conversation between spirits or animals, a man learns that the meat (brain, blood) of a neighbouring shepherd's dog has miraculous properties. L37c. A person encounters the incarnations of Fortune (and Misfortune) – his own or someone else's. He manages to influence their behaviour and change (for himself) the course of events for the better. L37c1. The happiness (misfortune, hardship, etc.) of each person is represented by specific characters with whom they interact. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of L37's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I46C | 97.98% | The rainbow is a rope to which cattle are tied. |
| I60 | 97.42% | The Milky Way - a seam, a crack between the two halves of the sky. |
| K90 | 95.90% | A person sees two opposing monsters or animals (usually of contrasting colours: red and black, black and white) and helps one of them, or one of the combatants helps the person. (Cf. ATU 156B, 738). |
| N28D | 95.62% | In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a lid or covering for the sea, ocean or river are mentioned |
| N13 | 94.87% | A girl, a girl is associated with scissors (and a boy, a boy with a knife or an ax). |
| K76F | 94.39% | A young man with the appearance of a calf marries and then turns into a handsome man. |
| M78F | 94.09% | When a woman falls asleep, a joker (usually a tiny boy) places an embryo or the entrails of an animal or something similar next to her to make the woman herself or others think she has a miscarriage or that her viscera has fallen out. |
| I82H | 93.70% | The name of Venus sounds like Cholpan, Cholbon, Tsolmon, etc. (čol- 'to sparkle, to shine' [Vámbéri 1879: 155]). |
| H49C | 93.38% | A tame bird (rarely: a domestic animal) shows visible aggression towards its owner (usually a falcon knocks a bowl out of the hands of a thirsty man). The man kills the bird (animal) and then discovers that they saved him from death. |
| K92A | 93.29% | A girl who has been driven from her home or has become the wife of an insignificant pauper becomes rich and respected. |
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 8 traditions: Saudi Arabia, Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Gujarati, Kara Kalpak, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Saudi Arabia