The Mythology and Folklore Database
H7D - Death and a bundle of firewood, ATU 845.
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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
A man calls Death, and when it comes, asks it to help him lift a bundle of firewood or pull a cart with firewood.Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
H7 has 16 other sub-motifsH7. Death (as well as illness and old age) is a special character, distinct from the lord of the underworld. It takes away a person's soul or otherwise causes their death. H7a. Having received knowledge from Death (rarely: Happiness or a certain spirit) about whether the sick person will be healed or not, whether she is going to take his soul, the person will know whether he will recover. U.nyak praises him for his impartiality; U.t himself; the poor man scolds the doctor, becomes rich. Usually he sees where exactly Death (spirit, etc.) is near the bed, whether it is going to take his soul, whether the person will recover. U. praises him for his impartiality; U. himself; the poor man scolds the sick man, and on this basis knows what will happen to him. H7b. A person asks Death (a spirit) to climb a tree or sit on a bench, to which they stick and can only be freed with his permission. H7b1. Having received a magic bag, into which any creature can be forced against its will at the owner's discretion, a person gains power over Death or devils. H7b2. A man named Poverty makes Death swear that it will never come to him. Therefore, poverty is inevitable in the world. H7c. Death promises to take a man after he finishes his prayer or song (formerly ATU 1199B). The man breaks off his prayer (song) in the middle, and Death cannot take him. H7c1. The trickster first deceives Death (the devil), and then, also by deception, enters paradise. H7d. A man calls Death, and when it comes, asks it to help him lift a bundle of firewood or pull a cart with firewood. H7e. In the past, people knew when they would die, so before their death they stopped doing their work or performed their duties half-heartedly. H7f. God gives instructions that certain categories of people must die and suffer. The character who receives the instructions, caring for the people, passes on other orders to the executors. H7f1. Death devours the dead and thus satisfies its hunger. H7f2. The character embodying death had a body visible to humans. Then death became invisible. H7g. A person sees many burning candles or lamps. When one of them burns out, someone dies. H7g1. A man (usually looking for a godfather for his newborn son) rejects God (the saints) and the devil, but praises Death: it treats everyone without prejudice (or is richer than everyone else). h7g2. Knowing that Death is approaching, a person hopes that it will seek him on land, so he settles on the surface of the water or under the water. But Death finds him. H7h. Despite the warning, man goes to where Death is at that moment. Death enters his body or follows him, and since then, people have been mortal. H7i. Old Age, Illness, or Hunger are special characters, but Death is not mentioned. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of H7's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M39A4E | 99.89% | Fool sells property to a tree (stump, pole, a cross in the countryside) and believes that it will pay him. Trying to get his money, he finds treasure |
| M106A | 99.83% | The character who caused the damage calls himself by a fictitious name such as "Nobody," "I Myself," etc. Usually, others decide that the victim himself is to blame for what happened. |
| M91C6 | 99.82% | A person sells a hat to others, convincing them that it pays the bill, you just have to lift it up (throw it on the floor, etc.). He actually paid the innkeeper in advance. |
| I120A | 99.76% | Entering the ear of an animal (usually a horse or a cow) and coming back out, the character becomes beautiful (well-fed, well-dressed). |
| M199I | 99.74% | A man and a giant (devil, bear, etc.) compete to see who can make the loudest sound (whistle, shout, sneeze, etc.). The man blindfolds his opponent and hits him with a heavy object; blows a trumpet; wraps his head so that it does not burst; etc. The opponent admits defeat or refuses to compete. |
| K100F1 | 99.72% | A man (king) catches a strange (anthropomorphic) creature. His son releases the wondrous captive (after which he flees from his father's wrath or is banished). The freed captive helps him. Cf. motif K161. |
| H52 | 99.68% | A man finds a land where there is no death. Having decided to visit his native places, he never returns to it. |
| M136 | 99.67% | Some people do not know what to do with cutting tools; they try to use tools that are not suitable for these purposes instead. |
| K117B | 99.66% | The hero causes various people (and animals) to stick to each other (or to objects). |
| M135 | 99.65% | Two ungulates – usually after the wolf agrees to share the meadow between them – gore the predator from both sides, killing or maiming it. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 22 traditions: Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Ireland, Basques, France, Dutch, Flemish, Czech, Czechs, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Latvians, Finns, Karelians, 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), Uzbek, Georgians, Armenians, Bashkirs, Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Frisians