The Mythology and Folklore Database
M190 - Beaver and porcupine.




14 Myths, Legends and Folktales
14 Unique Narratives for Motif M190
9 Cultures & Traditions where M190 is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif M190


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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 beaver carries the porcupine across a water barrier. Usually, he throws it into the water or leaves it on an island.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
K27N3C2100.00%The hero's father-in-law, the bear, sets him difficult tasks and trials.
M53E100.00%A character (always a raven) kills a whale and points others to imaginary signs that whale meat is not suitable for food. People believe and all the meat goes to the deceiver.
E9M99.66%A man marries a bear (white or grizzly) that takes the form of a woman, or a woman who takes the form of a bear.
K54A99.61%A man and a friendly giant live together. The friendly giant fights another giant and asks the man for help. The help consists of the man damaging the enemy's legs.
M46E99.08%They (promise to) give a child the Sun (and or the Moon) to play with
B10198.99%Angry at the birch tree, the character beats or cuts it, leaving stripes on the bark that remain to this day.
K32C98.78%The deceiver takes the place of the real wife, and the real wife becomes an owl. See motif K32.
M12398.78%A bird of prey or scavenger (raven, owl, hawk, coyote) marries (or attempts to marry) a partner who (or whose brothers) are geese or other waterfowl. The marriage is disrupted or proves unsuccessful.
M61A198.78%The character (always a raven) provokes a seagull to quarrel with another bird, telling each one that the other was hostile or offensive towards her.
E15B98.64%Bird women sew the birch bark covering of the hero's boat. See motif E15.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 9 traditions: Inland Tlingit, Tahltan, Koyukon, Tanana, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Eyak, Tlingit, Tsimshian


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