The Mythology and Folklore Database
I40 - Rainbow bow.
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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
The rainbow is a bow.Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
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 |
|---|---|---|
| F70B | 96.99% | A woman takes revenge on a man who rejected her love (but does not necessarily pretend that the man tried to force himself on her). |
| K38D | 96.55% | A powerful and dangerous character prevents others from using water (or causes floods), but in most cases allows them to take water (promises not to cause floods) in exchange for people or valuables {italicised in the list of traditions}. |
| K154 | 96.27% | A person finds a skull on which a mysterious and gloomy prophecy is written or which utters it. Then it becomes clear what it means. |
| M152C | 96.15% | The weak companion of a large predator pretends to be strong and brave. When he is carried away by the river or drowns in a swamp, and the predator pulls him out, the companion pretends to be angry (for preventing him from catching fish, etc.). |
| M39E | 95.81% | When reviewing the dispute, the judge asks about the secondary circumstances of the case. The offender is exposed by showing that he knows (or, on the contrary, does not know) about them. |
| K27Q | 95.51% | Task: to obtain the milk of a wild animal or milk possessed by a dangerous creature. See motif K27. |
| K38D1 | 95.40% | Fearing a monster living in the water or wishing to end a flood or drought, a girl is sacrificed or voluntarily hides in the waters. |
| K77B2 | 95.40% | The goat (goat, ram, etc.) responds to the predator's questions in the sense that parts of its body are weapons and other objects designed to kill the questioner, or that the goat is actually armed. |
| K27N1 | 95.31% | A character who gives the hero tasks that are impossible for an ordinary person (subjecting the hero to difficult trials), or a character who requires the suitors of his daughter to fulfil certain conditions, is the head of a community or supra-community collective and is neither a member of the same family collective as the hero nor a mythical creature. See motif K27. |
| E31A | 95.14% | Several men (women) participate in the rescue, creation or revival of a girl (man), or mourn her (his) death. The question arises as to whom the revived person should belong to or who contributed more to the revival. Alternatively, three men create something valuable, each contributing their part. The question arises as to whose contribution is more important. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 54 traditions: Aramaic (Syrians), Yemen, Mehri; Harsusi, Jibbali (Shahri, Shauri), Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Algeria Arabs, Somali, Sanye (Aweer), Geez, Tigrai, Tigre, Amhara; Zay, Harari; Silte, Gogot, Yao, Makua, Tonga, Malawi (incl Nyanja, Banyanja, Manganja), Tumbuka (incl Henga), Nsenga, Matengo, (Ba)Wenda, Kerewe, Sukuma, Kwaya, Kumbi, Busiba, Gusii, Suba, Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Emberre, Mwimbe, Hausa, Akan, Ashanti, Akwapim; Ga (Accra), Kra, Twi (Chwi, Chi), Simeulue, Nias, Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Konds (Khonds; language is Kui, incl Kuttia, Konda-Dora), Koya; Pengo, Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Telugu (incl. Yanadi, Chenchu), Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Kashmiri, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Gujarati, Sinhalese; Vedda, Wales, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Catalan, Romansh (Rhaeto-Romance), Poles, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Bosnia Muslims, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Estonians, Finns, Western Sami, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Yagnobi, Tajik, Ingush, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Bashkirs, Evens (Lamuts), Assiniboine, Parachi, Ormur