The Mythology and Folklore Database
E40 - Nostrils facing upwards.




7 Myths, Legends and Folktales
7 Unique Narratives for Motif E40
3 Cultures & Traditions where E40 is told
19 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif E40


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 humans had nostrils facing upwards, into which rain poured.

Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
G24A92.45%The character steals cultivated plants for people, hiding the seeds on/in his own body.
F86A91.29%The character cares for a fish, crab or other creature. Others watch the character, kill and eat his pet, or try to do so.
G8F89.09%Characters cut down a tree, but the trunk grows back. They manage to finish the job after the splinters are carried away or burned.
M389.05%The character crosses a water or air barrier on the backs of chained animals, birds, or fish.
I8G88.35%A single giant holds up the earth or the sky.
C8C87.99%After a global catastrophe, at the beginning of time or when settling a new land, a woman and her son give birth to humans.
C787.81%Initially or after the flood, an earthen or stone barrier, the body of a character or creature prevents the flow of water. Later, this barrier is removed or destroyed.
E5B84.60%The first human (a group of brothers) or the first human couple emerge from underground (from a cave) or from a small object on the surface (a mound, a reed, a tree, a stone, a pumpkin). Cf. motif E5A: people from the underworld.
A11A84.49%The visible sun or moon are their eyes; if the eyes of the luminaries were not damaged, it would be much brighter and hotter.
J2183.77%Gods, ancestors of humans, and founders of dynasties are born from eggs.

 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 3 traditions: Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, 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, Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf


Please log on to view the narratives.