The Mythology and Folklore Database
M29K1 - Turtle, Toad, Frog are a loser trickster
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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
A turtle (toad, frog) gets into unpleasant situations due to its own stupidity or carelessness. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle.Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 9, Identification of protagonists of the stories with particular animals or persons with particular qualities
M29 has 45 other sub-motifsM29. trickster is defined as a protagonist in the following characteristic episodes. M29a. See the motives in square brackets. M29a1. In three or more different episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is raven (crow) M29b. Fox (a), Jackal, Coyote (or Wolf when, apparently, we mean a steppenwolf, i.e. the same coyote). See the motives in square brackets. M29b1. As a result of his stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolf dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29b2. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the bear dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29b3. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the fox (jackal) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. If it is not specified that a “jackal”, then the protagonist is a fox. M29c. See the motives in square brackets. M29d. See the motives in square brackets. M29E. See the motives in square brackets. M29f. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolverine dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29g. See the motives in square brackets. They include traditions in which the hare/rabbit appears only as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox or jackal) often occurs. M29g1. In episodes involving deception, ridiculous, obscene, or antisocial behavior, the hare or rabbit is the main trickster. Traditions in which 1) a hare or rabbit occurs only once as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox/jackal/coyote) is typical; 2) Mesoamerican traditions in which a small rabbit is associated with a small a set of episodes and a high probability of recent African influences. See the motives in square brackets. M29g2. Cancer (crab) defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning. M29gg. hedgehog defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning. M29h. See the motives in square brackets. M29i. See the motives in square brackets. M29j. See the motives in square brackets. M29k. A turtle (toad, frog) defeats strong opponents by cunning or perseverance. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle. M29k1. A turtle (toad, frog) gets into unpleasant situations due to its own stupidity or carelessness. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle. M29l. See the motives in square brackets. M29m. See the motives in square brackets. M29n. See the motives in square brackets. M29nn. See the motives in square brackets. M29o. See the motives in square brackets. M29o1. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the monkey dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29p. See the motives in square brackets. M29q. See the motives in square brackets. M29qq. See the motives in square brackets. M29r. See the motives in square brackets. M29S. See the motives in square brackets. M29T. See the motives in square brackets. M29v. The character defeats or deceives strong opponents using cunning. The protagonists are dwarf ungulates, usually duker or deer - taxonomically distant from each other, but similar in appearance. In some publications on African traditions, it is difficult to determine which animal we are talking about, but it is certain that these are small cloven-hoofed animals, usually (always?) dukers. See the motives in square brackets. M29w. As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, a jaguar (puma, ocelot) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a puma or ocelot; otherwise, a jaguar. M29w1. As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, the leopard (panther, leopard) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29w2. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the tiger dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29w3. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the lion dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29x. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the hyena dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. M29x1. See the motives in square brackets. M29X2. See the motives in square brackets. M29y. See the motives in square brackets. M29z. hero of the story is a character named “Beardless” or Aldar-Kose (Aldar is a “deceiver”, a braid is “beardless”). M29z1. purely anthropomorphic character, or a character who bears the name of an animal or plant but does not act zoomorphic in the course of his adventures. See the motives in square brackets. {Data not fully entered} M29z2. Being smart and witty, the Gipsy overcomes strong adversaries M29z3. The Gipsy (more often a female than a male) is an enemy overcome by the hero (heroine) or (rare) a weak failure M29z4. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of M29's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| F39 | 93.59% | In the past or in distant lands, women dominated men, were the active party in marital relations, and engaged in male activities. Men engaged in female activities. Later, the situation changed. Either women missed the opportunity to gain superiority. See motif F38. |
| J26 | 92.52% | The character or that from which he arises is found in a river, lake, sea, or on the riverbank. The future hero emerges from the body of water into which he was thrown. |
| E9 | 90.81% | The character notices that someone is running the house in his absence and catches the person doing so by surprise. |
| B2E | 89.78% | The Earth or the world as a whole is a male character (alone or alongside a female character). |
| I20 | 89.72% | The inhabitants of the underworld or the land on the horizon where the sky meets the earth are dwarves. See motif I14A. |
| A14 | 89.22% | The meeting of the sun and the moon is the cause of eclipses or lunar phases. |
| I3 | 88.09% | Lightning (and thunder) is produced by an object (sword, arrow, whip, mirror, etc.) in the hands of a character; lightning is an object. |
| G8 | 87.80% | People or animals cut or gnaw at a tree, mountain, or pillar of the sky. The damage disappears as soon as the workers are distracted from their task (usually when they take a break) or periodically (at certain times). |
| A3 | 87.44% | The Moon is female or hermaphroditic, the Sun is male or, possibly, male. |
| B125 | 87.02% | The absence or presence of certain organs in animals (less often in plants) and the peculiarities of these organs are caused by the fact that during the era of creation, one species exchanged with another or, having borrowed a foreign organ, refused to return it. In some cases, a reverse exchange and return to the original state is described, as well as the transfer of part of one's body to another animal without compensation. Instead of one of the animals, there may be a human or a deity. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 36 traditions: Acoli (Acholi), Lur (Alur, Luri), Lango, Sakata, Congo (Koongo, Bacongo; incl Vili, Fioti, (Ma)Yombe, MuKunyi), Ndombo, Luango (Loango), Zombo (Sambo), Laadi (Laari), (Ba)Fioti, Woyo (Kiwoyo), Ronga, Igbo (Ibo); Isoko, Urhobo, Khmer, Maltese, Dutch, Flemish, Czech, Czechs, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Albanians, Balkarians, Estonians, Western Ukrainians, Georgians, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kara Kalpak, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Central Yakuts (Sakha), Nez Perce, Quiche, Achí, Cakchiquel, Pocomchi, Pocomam, Chontal, Tequistlatec, Chorti, Lacandon, Kekchi; Mopan, Paya (Pech), Sumu, Misquito, Choco: Embera, Nonama (Waunana), XVI century Dabaiba, pre-Columbian iconography of Sinu, Guajiro, Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Tenetehara, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Wolof