The Mythology and Folklore Database
N28C - Sky support




8 Myths, Legends and Folktales
8 Unique Narratives for Motif N28C
5 Cultures & Traditions where N28C is told
24 Mythemes Indexed
7 Sub-Motifs of Motif N28C


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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

In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a pillar of the sky is mentioned

Berezkin category: Fabulous and epic formulas

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 13, Formulae


N28 has 7 other sub-motifs


N28a.  The roots (belt) of mountains or stones are mentioned in myths, riddles, spells, and songs as something that does not really exist.
N28b.  In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a ladder or stairway to the sky (variant: a ladder in the sky) is mentioned
N28c.  In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a pillar of the sky is mentioned
N28d.  In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a lid or covering for the sea, ocean or river are mentioned
N28e.  In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a bridge across the sea, ocean or lake is mentioned
N28f.  It is said that water has no boughs or twigs
N28g.  In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a gall of horse or ass is mentioned
N28h.  In a list of things that do not exist in the world, horns of the horse are mentioned

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
M106B99.74%The character who caused harm to the antagonist calls himself by a fictitious name such as "Last Year," and the other antagonists understand this to mean that everything happened a long time ago and there is no point in looking for the culprit.
M38D399.12%The character, who is a lump of earth (oatmeal, salt), blurred in the rain or after going to get water.
L9598.91%A person (usually a child or teenager) returns to a previous location for a forgotten item (often a toy) and finds a demon there, from which they struggle to escape.
M78F98.80%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.
I82H98.71%The name of Venus sounds like Cholpan, Cholbon, Tsolmon, etc. (čol- 'to sparkle, to shine' [Vámbéri 1879: 155]).
N28H98.20%In a list of things that do not exist in the world, horns of the horse are mentioned
N1398.00%A girl, a girl is associated with scissors (and a boy, a boy with a knife or an ax).
N197.99%The fabulous and epic texts start from the beginning, which states that today's huge objects were tiny at the time.
M60A297.98%The servant must lick the master or mistress's feet or wound. The hero comes disguised as a servant and instead of licking his heels, touches them with the animal's cut off tongue.
L95A97.46%A person sees lungs or a liver lying on the ground or floating in the water. As soon as he touches them, a demonic character appears before him.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Kashmiri, 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), Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Khakas, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians


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