The Mythology and Folklore Database
E9J1 - Monkeys - ancestors of humans.
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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
Humans are considered descendants of monkeys.Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
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? |
No dispersal data found for motif 'e9j1'.
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 0.00% | Another sun — less powerful or less favourable to humans — existed before the appearance of the current one. |
| A10 | 0.00% | The sun gets its sparkling eyes (eye) from an animal. |
| A11A | 0.00% | The visible sun or moon are their eyes; if the eyes of the luminaries were not damaged, it would be much brighter and hotter. |
| A11B | 0.00% | The sun or moon has one eye (usually the second eye is knocked out or sucked out, but sometimes the reason is not explained; among the Munduruku, the sun of the rainy season has lost both eyes, while the sun of the dry season has retained both). See motif 11A. |
| A11C | 0.00% | The Sun and Moon kill a monster whose eyes shine differently. At first, the Moon takes the brighter eye, but then swaps with the Sun. |
| A12 | 0.00% | 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. |
| A12A | 0.00% | During an eclipse or under other circumstances, predators attack the luminaries: wolves, bears, jaguars, pumas, dogs, foxes, raccoons. See motif A12. |
| A12B | 0.00% | During an eclipse or at sunset (marked *), the luminaries are swallowed by a toad or frog. |
| A12C | 0.00% | Eclipses of the sun, moon or their setting (marked*) are caused by a snake, lizard, dragon, fish or crocodile; these creatures attack the luminaries now or attacked them at the beginning of time. See motif A12. |
| A12D | 0.00% | Birds attack the sun or moon during an eclipse (covering them with their wings) or (*) cover the sun during sunrise or sunset. See motif A12. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Yao, Makua, Thai of Vietnam, Tai Lue, Khao (Kho, Tai Don, White Tai), Tai Dam (Black Tai), Nung; Zhuang, Buyi; Shui, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), China