The Mythology and Folklore Database
M21A - Under the pretext of illness.
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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 character is pursued by an enemy. An animal hides the fugitive in its mouth or on its body, and when the pursuer appears, it refuses to open its mouth or expose part of its body. (Usually simulates illness – toothache, etc.). Cf. motif i87ad.Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
M21 has 2 other sub-motifsM21. The character runs away from his pursuer. The person, animal or object that the character asks for help hides him (and kills the pursuer). M21a. The character is pursued by an enemy. An animal hides the fugitive in its mouth or on its body, and when the pursuer appears, it refuses to open its mouth or expose part of its body. (Usually simulates illness – toothache, etc.). Cf. motif i87ad. M21b. The character consistently harms others in such a way that each person who has been deceived is used as a tool to harm the next. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of M21's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| J8 | 97.18% | A woman or girl sets out in search of a husband (fiancé, etc.). Bird feathers left on the trail, at a crossroads or near a dwelling mark the right or wrong path. See motif J7. |
| M2 | 97.02% | The hero descends from a tree or rock on the back of an animal or on the backs of animals. |
| K6 | 96.84% | A vine or rope emerges from tears, snot, urine, saliva, and chewed substance. See motif K1A. |
| C14 | 96.52% | During or on the eve of a global catastrophe (flood, darkness), animals or monsters attack people. (See motif C13A (rebellion of things: animated objects and/or domestic animals threaten people, attack them).) |
| L11 | 96.14% | Everyday objects take the form of fish, invertebrates, reptiles, dangerous predators, or objects that transform into these animals under special circumstances. |
| C13 | 96.10% | During or before the onset of a global catastrophe (flood, darkness) or (surui) at night, household items and/or stones, trees, domestic animals, and cultivated plants turn into wild birds and animals or come to life. |
| L83 | 95.90% | A character who has only a head left (motif L5) or who has burned his leg (motif L82) turns into lightning/thunder (or emits lightning/thunderclaps). |
| B100 | 95.71% | In the past or in a distant land, sleep was unknown; a certain character embodies sleep, possesses it or teaches how to sleep; sleep is a special substance. |
| F37 | 95.30% | To summon her lover, the character taps on a calabash placed on the water. |
| K13B | 95.28% | A man crosses a body of water on the back of a caiman. The caiman bites off his leg. The cripple undergoes a metamorphosis, turning into a constellation or an animal. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Hopi, Zapotec, Chatino, Aguaruna, Huambiza, Chayahuita , Suruí, Gaviâo, Zoro, Arua, Cinta Larga, Paresi, Craho