The Mythology and Folklore Database
H50 - The sky god and the mistress of the dead.
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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 pair of deities or first ancestors diverge. The man remains on earth or goes to heaven (remains in heaven), the woman becomes the mistress of the world of the dead, the earth, the underworld, usually associated with disease and poisonous animals.Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A13A | 91.24% | The raven steals or hides the sun, or attempts to do so. |
| B72A | 91.15% | Mother (stepmother, adoptive father) does not give food to a girl or (less often) a boy. The child asks migratory birds to take him with them, they give him bird clothing, he flies away with them, becoming a bird. |
| I86 | 90.43% | The inhabitants of the upper world produce down, wool, and scales, which turn into birds, animals, and fish. |
| B72B | 90.15% | A girl or, less commonly, a boy turns into a bird after his mother (father, guardian) refuses to give him water or food or otherwise mistreats him. |
| F89 | 89.81% | A sister and brother live alone. The brother refuses to commit incest. The sister resorts to cunning, as a result of which the brother mistakes her for a stranger and marries her. |
| H43AB | 89.81% | Man is mortal because he was spat upon at creation. |
| M3A | 89.67% | The character invites aquatic creatures to count them, and to do this, form a chain; crosses it to the other side or climbs to land. See M3 motif. |
| M45A | 89.37% | A person is sleeping or pretending to be asleep or dead. Animals take him for a dead man - they mourn him, carry him to bury him, they are going to eat it, etc. A person beats the crowd and/or obtains benefits. |
| A32H | 89.29% | A tree, bush, branch, snag, etc. are visible on the lunar disc. See motif A32G. |
| M108 | 88.83% | The character is called upon to help perform a task (usually to transport property or provisions across a river) and takes away what has been entrusted to him. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 9 traditions: Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), Tuamotu, incl Pukapuka (different from Pukapuka in Cook Islands), Vahitahi, Anaa, Hao, Fangatau, Mangareva, 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, Palaung (De Ang, Deang), Lepcha, Kirati (Kiranti): Rai (incl Thulung), Limbu, Newar, Southern Selkups, Yughs