The Mythology and Folklore Database
I139 - Throwing an axe, F531.3.2.3.
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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
Two (rarely three) men or women are at a distance from each other, but regularly throw or pass something to each other. This is a sign of their unusual size, strength, and agility.Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
I13 has 5 other sub-motifsI13a. A huge aquatic or celestial serpent, dragon, or snake-like creature with horns on its head. I13b. A small snake, the snake has horns on its head. I13c. Reptiles possess a treasure that humans take or try to take. Usually it is a crown, a precious stone, or horns on a snake's head. I13d. A person enters the dwelling of snakes, spends a long time there, is released or escapes. While in the dwelling of snakes, he usually licks a stone that relieves thirst and hunger. I13e. The snake agrees to let the man go on condition that he does not tell anyone about their meeting. Under threat of death, the man breaks his promise. The snake teaches him to drink a broth made from its flesh and takes revenge not on the man, but on those who forced him to break his word. I13F. In autumn, a man falls asleep in a bear's den. When he wakes up, he thinks that the night has passed, but it is already spring. Usually, the bear gives him advice before parting. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of I13's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K38F7 | 99.83% | The character acquires wild animals (at least two different species) that serve him like dogs. |
| L103B | 99.77% | A girl (boy, children) falls into the hands of a demonic creature. An animal or bird offers to carry her away and runs off. Usually, animals of different species do this, but only the last one manages to escape pursuit. |
| L37C1 | 99.73% | The happiness (misfortune, hardship, etc.) of each person is represented by specific characters with whom they interact. |
| M199D | 99.71% | A man and his opponent agree to compete in wrestling and running. The man sends his "relatives" – a bear and a hare – to compete in his place. (ATU numbers 1071 and 1072 are combined, as they are almost always paired.) |
| L120 | 99.67% | After overhearing a conversation between demonic characters who are planning to turn themselves into something edible, attractive, and safe, and to destroy anyone who touches them, the hero neutralises the demons. |
| I120B | 99.60% | The character takes food, clothing, and other valuables from the ear of an animal (most often a horse or cow). |
| K67H | 99.59% | When a worker is sent to a place where he is to be torn apart by a predator, he tames it and lets it into the barn (stable) at home. As a result, the predator destroys the owner's livestock. |
| M199F | 99.56% | The character pretends to want to deprive the devils (water dwellers) of their habitat (pull the shores of the lake together, two mountains, muddy the lake, dry up the sea, build a church on the land of the devils, etc.). To avoid this, the devils (fish) comply with the character's demands. |
| M114E | 99.50% | A girl offers a visitor to tie his horse to winter or summer, which means to a sleigh or a cart. |
| M38D2 | 99.47% | Several characters (usually three), which are small objects, go traveling and must cross the river. This fails. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, England, British, Bretons, 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, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Lithuanians, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Chechens, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Russian Federation