The Mythology and Folklore Database
L37C1 - Misfortune, ATU 735A.
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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
The happiness (misfortune, hardship, etc.) of each person is represented by specific characters with whom they interact.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 |
|---|---|---|
| L103B | 99.74% | A girl (boy, children) falls into the hands of a demonic creature. An animal or bird offers to carry her away and runs off. Usually, animals of different species do this, but only the last one manages to escape pursuit. |
| I139 | 99.73% | Two (rarely three) men or women are at a distance from each other, but regularly throw or pass something to each other. This is a sign of their unusual size, strength, and agility. |
| M38D2 | 99.71% | Several characters (usually three), which are small objects, go traveling and must cross the river. This fails. |
| L120 | 99.64% | After overhearing a conversation between demonic characters who are planning to turn themselves into something edible, attractive, and safe, and to destroy anyone who touches them, the hero neutralises the demons. |
| M120A | 99.50% | The character pretends to be a mourner and eats (treats the body disrespectfully) the deceased. |
| M91C4 | 99.50% | A person removes the pot from the fire, its contents continue to boil, or the person prepares food in advance, puts it in a pot or pit. Another believes that the pot cooks without fire or incredibly fast (or that a stick, if it hits the ground or the pot, creates food), buys a pot (stick). |
| M199F | 99.49% | The character pretends to want to deprive the devils (water dwellers) of their habitat (pull the shores of the lake together, two mountains, muddy the lake, dry up the sea, build a church on the land of the devils, etc.). To avoid this, the devils (fish) comply with the character's demands. |
| M78C | 99.47% | A tiny little man emerges from a severed finger. |
| M142 | 99.45% | A zoomorphic character accuses his tail of hindering his escape from pursuit (usually punishes it and dies as a result). (ATU data not entered; plot 154 includes several independent motifs; which of them are present in the traditions referred to by ATU cannot be determined without referring to the original sources). |
| I120B | 99.43% | The character takes food, clothing, and other valuables from the ear of an animal (most often a horse or cow). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 40 traditions: Mon, England, British, Bretons, Sicily, Sicilians, 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, Poles, Czech, Czechs, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Karelians, Vepsians, Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Ossetians, Tats, Georgians, Armenians, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Khakas, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Toto, Rabha (northern Western Bengalia), Lutsi (Ludza), Russian Federation