The Mythology and Folklore Database
E1D - Clay boats.
Please log on to view the narratives.
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 first) boat is made of obviously unsuitable material.Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 6, Origin and interpretation of culture elements, in particular related to agriculture, inadequate forms of subsistence and economic activity before the establishment of the present norms
E1 has 7 other sub-motifsE1. The first human being was created, made by a certain character, and did not exist initially (on earth, underground, in the sky, in a small container) and did not arise spontaneously. Only variants that specify the material from which humans were created, or that refer separately to the creation of the human figure and its ensoulment, rather than simply to the fact of "creation" itself, are taken into account. E1a. The first humans are made of fragile materials (clay, wax, fire, honey, etc.) and prove to be unviable. E1a1. A deity or ancestor moulds people from clay. Some of the figures got wet, which is why there are cripples among people. E1b. A character made of unsuitable material and turns out to be short-lived or poorly suited to performing his functions. E1b1. A man who has married an unusual girl is warned that she must not perform certain tasks or eat certain foods. Other members of his household ensure that the young woman breaks the prohibition, and as a result she dies or disappears. E1c. Man made from human excrement or (Inupiat) from carrion. E1d. (The first) boat is made of obviously unsuitable material. E1e. The son of the first human couple initially takes the form of a small plant that has grown from the ground, a stalk. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of E1's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| B38 | 86.09% | The character decorates birds or animals, or they decorate each other. Some are dissatisfied with the result. |
| E9A | 85.53% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a fox. |
| B38D | 85.20% | The Raven and the Owl paint each other. |
| K65D | 83.54% | The first human couple initially only have miscarriages, or their children are spirits or unpleasant and dangerous animals. After performing a formal marriage ceremony or repeating it according to new rules, the woman gives birth to real people or gods. |
| B6 | 83.28% | The first or only remaining man and woman move towards each other, going around a mountain, a pole or otherwise following a circle from opposite sides, and when they meet, they get married. |
| F79 | 82.96% | The character successively marries various women of non-human nature, but each time (usually, except for the last) he is disappointed. |
| L42A | 82.51% | The cannibal steals fresh corpses from graves. |
| F11 | 81.99% | The penis burns, bites, eats food. |
| L5F | 81.67% | Head, face or skull – a woman's husband, fiancé or son; not dangerous to her, brings wealth, saves from hunger, etc. |
| I106 | 80.53% | The Great Bear is one anthropomorphic character, not a group of people. |
See more...
Please log on to view the narratives.
Map of Motif Dispersal
Click here for a clustered map
Drag the map around by clicking and using the mouse, use the wheel to zoom
This motif has been recorded in 9 traditions: Early Chinese written sources, Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa, Chugach, Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Nootka (Nu-chah-nulth), Makah, Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Kuikuro, Kalapalo, Calapalo, Japan