The Mythology and Folklore Database
B118 - Those who remain on earth become owls.
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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
A character who was unable to reach the sky or returned from the sky to earth becomes an owl.Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 7, Etiology of plants and animals and of their peculiar features, particular animals as protagonists of cosmological stories, metamorphoses, weather and calendar
B11 has 2 other sub-motifsB11. A river (rarely: a chain of lakes, a narrow strait) or its current course is created by humans or animals. See motifs B12, B13. This section covers other variants of the motif. B11a. The mammoth, represented as an underground fish-like creature, creates rugged terrain on wet ground and digs river beds. B11B. At the beginning of time or during the flood, the mammoth drowned or sank into the ground, and since then it has not been seen on earth. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of B11's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A21A | 100.00% | The moon is an object that was accidentally released by its owners or stolen from them and ended up in the sky. |
| B74B | 100.00% | The owl is forced to part with the moon and now cries out when it sees the moon. Usually, the story tells how the marriage of the owl and the moon fell apart or did not take place. |
| E39A | 100.00% | An animal (snake, pig) conceives from a man's urine and gives birth to a human child (or twins). |
| F43C | 100.00% | The husbands of the first women, Amazons or single women are small animals - usually flying foxes. |
| K32F | 100.00% | A woman or girl raises a bird of prey chick, which brings her food and fire. This usually happens after an evil spirit leaves the girl or young woman in a tree or on an island. |
| K37D | 100.00% | The character recognises the presence of another by noticing traces of their teeth or nails on fruit or leaves. |
| L132 | 100.00% | When one member of a small (family) group, left alone, secretly eats food, this leads to serious conflict, often resulting in the murder of the guilty party. |
| L133 | 100.00% | The character keeps his limbs separately, connecting them to his body when necessary. |
| M5A | 100.00% | Small animal characters sail in the boat, it sinks, everyone escapes as best they can. |
| M5B | 100.00% | rat drowns, has difficulty getting to the shore (usually an aquatic animal takes it), and mocks other animals (usually its savior). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Dusun, Murut, Kelabit, Tombonuwo, Bajau, Tidong, Bidayuh (incl. Maloh), Iban (Sea Dayak), Sakarram; Brunei, Palawan (incl Agutaynen), Mindanao and Sulu: Blaan (Bilaan), Bagobo, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Hiligáynon, Binukid, Magindaan (=Magindanao: main Muslim population), Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo (Agusan, Ata, Dibabawon, Sarangani, Ilianen), Maranao, Samal, Subanon (=Subanun), Subanen, Tboli