The Mythology and Folklore Database
E9 - The Unknown Mistress, N831.1.
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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
The character notices that someone is running the house in his absence and catches the person doing so by surprise.Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
E9 has 21 other sub-motifsE9. The character notices that someone is running the house in his absence and catches the person doing so by surprise. E9a. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a fox. E9aa. A man searches for a missing woman, who is a fox by nature, and comes to the burrow where she has hidden. Various bird or animal women come out of the burrow and offer themselves in place of the fox. Then they let him inside. E9b. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of an elephant (elephant tusk). E9c. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a large hoofed mammal (buffalo, antelope, moose, etc.). E9d. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a dog or puppy (wolf cub). E9e. An animal or object received by a young man from supernatural beings as a reward for his kindness, upon the young man's return home (to earth), turns into a girl. E9f. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a parrot. E9g. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a vulture. E9h. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a dove. E9i1. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a swan. E9i2. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper, adopted daughter) takes the form of a duck. E9i3. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a goose. E9i4. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a crane. e9i5. Before meeting the hero, his wife takes the form of a snail. E9j. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife) has the image of a monkey, or the man hides the woman and pretends that the mistress is a monkey. e9j1. Humans are considered descendants of monkeys. E9k. The husband or wife is the embodiment of honey or a human bee. E9l. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife) has the image of a mouse (rarely: a rat). E9m. A man marries a bear (white or grizzly) that takes the form of a woman, or a woman who takes the form of a bear. E9n. A man marries a female seal, seal or dolphin that has taken the form of a woman and lives with her among people. E9o. A man marries a woman who has the appearance of a frog or toad. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of E9's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K25 | 97.89% | A man consciously marries a woman who belongs to the non-human world. |
| I39 | 94.10% | The rainbow is a bridge, a road, a staircase. |
| J26 | 93.63% | 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. |
| A12 | 93.40% | A creature or creatures regularly (sunrise and sunset, winter and summer, night and day, phases of the moon) or occasionally (eclipses, eschatological catastrophes) attack the luminaries or block their light. |
| E11 | 92.98% | The future family member reveals himself or remains with the person after the object that defines the character's non-human appearance is destroyed. After the person destroys (usually burns) the discarded animal skin, the character retains his human appearance. See motif E9. |
| A4 | 92.80% | The Sun is a woman (the Moon is usually a man, sometimes also a woman, see motif A6; highlighted in bold italics in the list of ethnic groups below). |
| K32 | 92.26% | The man does not (immediately) notice that another woman, an evil spirit or (in Chaco) a male trickster has replaced his wife or bride, who is banished, imprisoned in the underworld, killed, etc. |
| I74 | 91.66% | Stars – (bright) stones, sequins, beads. |
| B2E | 91.63% | The Earth or the world as a whole is a male character (alone or alongside a female character). |
| K27N | 91.52% | A young man must complete difficult tasks or win a competition in order to obtain permission to marry. The person giving the tasks is indicated in square brackets. See motif K27. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 154 traditions: Aramaic (Syrians), Yemen, Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Algeria Arabs, Arabs of Sudan, Sudanese, Shilluk, Anuak, Acoli (Acholi), Lur (Alur, Luri), Lango, Mangbetu (Ngbetu), Mangbutu, Moru, Madi, Lugbara, Lendu (=Bale), Shone (Shona, =Mashona, =Karanga), Makoni (Shoni dialect), Remba (=Hungwe, Wahungwe); Zezuru, Rozwi, Ndau (Vandau), Chagga (Jagga; incl Wasu), Pare, Digo, Safwa, Mkulwe, Ngonde, Kinga, Nyakusa, Nyamwanga, Ganda, (Ba)Nyoro, Nyankole, Masaba (Gisu), Luia (=Luyia, Haya, Luhya, Bantu Kawirondo; incl. Vugusu, Maragoli), Zulu, Swazi, Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), Fang (Pangwe), Eton, Bafia, Batanga, Benga, Bube (Bubi), Buheba, Yaunde (Ewondo), Yebekolo, Koko, Bulu, Beti (Beti-Bulu), Sekiani, Eghap, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Sepik-Ramu stock: Abelam, Yatmul, Aibom, Ayom (incl Tembregak, Asai-river pygmies), Tangu, Porapora (Ambakich), Rao and other groups of Middle Ramu and Upper Keram River tribes; Kwanga, Watam, Kaian, Gamei, Awar; Kire (Lower Ramu), Melanesians of Admiralty Islands (incl Manus); Seimat (Western Islands), Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Aceh (Acheh), Dusun, Murut, Kelabit, Tombonuwo, Bajau, Tidong, Northern Luzon: Apayao, Bontoc, Nabaloi (Ibaloi), Ifugao, Igorot (highland people, not specified), Ilocan, Ilongot, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanay, Tingian (Tinggian, Bilongan Itneg); Ibanag, Kasiguran Agta, Keley-i Kallahan, Burmese, Intha, Karen, Pa-O, Padaung, Kayah, Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Khmer, Palaung (De Ang, Deang), Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Kuki, Chiru, Falam (Hallam), Chin (Meitei =Manipuri, Khami, =Kumi), Lakher, Mizo (Lushei), Anal, Pawi (Lai), Purum, Koireng, Milhiem, Kolhen, Mru, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Kashmiri, Nepali; Tharu, Assamese, Sinhalese; Vedda, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Meo (Hmong) of Thailand, Laos and Northern Vietnam, Early Chinese written sources, Lepcha, Koreans, England, British, Bretons, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Poles, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Setu, Karelians, Western Sami, Norwegians, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Sarikoli, Tajik, Persians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Nogai, Georgians, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Gagauz, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Uyghur, 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, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Shor, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu, Udeghe, Oroch, Manchu, Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Chuvans, Russian-speaking Creols of Markovo, Chukchi, Aleuts, Central Yupik, Nunivak Island, Chipewyan, Netsilik, Caribou, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, West Greenland, Malecite, Passamaquoddy, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Quinault, Cherokee, Yana, Yuma proper (Quechan), Mohave, Maricopa, Huichol, Tepecano, Tzotzil, Lacandon, Paya (Pech), Sumu, Misquito, Bribri, Cabecar, Terraba; Chiriqui (AD 800-1500) iconography, Sibundoy: Kamsa, Ingano (Inga), Wapishana (incl Ataroi); Mapidian; Taruma, Trio, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Wayana, Aparai, Wayapi, Emerillon, Kandoshi (Murato, Maina); Iquito, Aguaruna, Huambiza, Chayahuita , Urarina, Karijona, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Tenetehara, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Mundurucu, Curuaia, Bororo, Tapirape, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Kodiak, Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Chechens, Lao, Senufo, Chulym Turks, Urums, Rumei, Salars, Tulu, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Bhutan, Terek Cossacks, Morocco, Berbers of Algeria, Tunisia, China, Palau