The Mythology and Folklore Database
I22H - Pulsating Abyss.
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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 must jump over a gap (abyss) beneath his feet, which alternately widens and narrows, or a river whose banks converge and diverge.Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Undefined and is part group -, Undefined
I22 has 10 other sub-motifsI22. There are objects that, while remaining in place, move constantly or periodically (collide and diverge, fall and rise, open and close, rotate). I22a. The sky constantly beats against the earth like the lid of a boiling cauldron. I22b. Migratory birds (or shamans in the form of birds) fly from our world to another; the path lies through a narrow opening between jutting rocks, or the sky strikes the earth, crushing those who fly through; and/or at the passage to the other world there is a character who feeds on birds; and/or in the world on the other side of the pulsating barrier there is the mistress of the birds. I22b1. Some migratory birds (shamans in the form of birds) die on the border of our world. I22c. The character safely slips, sails or flies through the opening, which then slams shut, but the edge of the stern of the boat, the tail of an animal or bird, the body of a riding animal, the hero's companion or his own heel is crushed, torn off, etc. I22d. To obtain a miraculous life-giving (healing) remedy, one must penetrate the space behind the shifting rocks. I22e. The deceased, travelling to the afterlife, must pass by colliding rocks or other moving obstacles. I22f. The character must pass small objects (trees, logs, blades) that constantly collide and diverge, fall and rise. I22g. Mountains (rocks) are mentioned that constantly collide and diverge, or a crevice or gap in a vertical rock that opens and closes. Cf. motif I22g1, Colliding rocks. I22g1. In another world, the hero sees many strange things, including colliding stones (but they do not block his path). I22h. The character must jump over a gap (abyss) beneath his feet, which alternately widens and narrows, or a river whose banks converge and diverge. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of I22's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A38D | 99.83% | Because the Sun has harmed the character (ruined or burned his cloak, the fur on his skin, etc.), he catches it in a trap or kills it. |
| M80 | 99.79% | The character insults a partridge bird, kills or offends its chickens; the partridge suddenly takes off in front of the offender, he falls (usually into a lake or river). |
| D4N | 99.47% | A boy or (among the Kutené) a woman cries, demanding the absent elements - summer, fire, rain. See motif D4A (demand for summer). |
| F68 | 99.02% | A woman pretends to be dead or actually dies. Her (former) lover comes to her grave. She goes with him, trying to avoid exposure, puts on men's clothes, but is eventually recognised. |
| M29C | 99.02% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| M53 | 98.35% | The character invites others to gather around him, focusing on an activity (usually dancing with their eyes closed or lowered), and then kills the crowd (usually one at a time). |
| J19B | 98.02% | An evil spirit kills a woman by burning through her body. |
| K19G | 96.92% | One star is an old man, the other is a young man; both stars differ in brightness or colour, but it is impossible to determine the age of the star-man by these characteristics (a dim star may be young and vice versa); usually two girls want to marry stars of different types (one bright, the other dim, one red, the other blue, etc.). See motif K19B. |
| K19B | 96.91% | The star man takes an earthly woman as his wife. |
| L1A | 96.74% | A young woman turns into a bear (in Asia, a tigress) and attacks her close relatives or husband. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 9 traditions: Aleuts, Eastern Cree, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Plains Cree, Assiniboine, Crow, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Nez Perce, Alabama, Koasati