The Mythology and Folklore Database
J23C - The younger brother defeats the monster, ATU 312D.
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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
People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy from infancy or, left alone, miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones.Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
J23 has 6 other sub-motifsJ23. People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy or twins from infancy. Sometimes, left alone, she miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones. J23a. A woman cries, and the discharge from her nose (her tears) turns into a boy, who grows up and defeats strong opponents. J23b. To defeat the monster, the young man (twins) prepares spears in advance and leaves them along the supposed retreat route. Fleeing from the monster, the young man throws spears at it one after another and eventually kills it. J23c. People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy from infancy or, left alone, miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones. J23D. People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises two twins (or several children) from infancy. They defeat their antagonists, usually reviving or freeing those who have disappeared. j23e. Wanting to make sure that the enemy is really dead, an insect or bird penetrates its body from one end and exits from the other. j23f. Something inanimate incarnates in a human being to solve people's problems and then returns to its original state. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of J23's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M81C | 94.31% | A person goes to heaven or (rarely) to the lower world, where he meets blind people (one or two), usually makes them sighted, and returns to earth himself. |
| B1B | 94.28% | Two female progenitors participate in the process of creation. The actions of one bring good, the other evil. |
| J67 | 92.58% | At night, the character places light-coloured stones or shells over his eyes. Thinking that the character's eyes are open, the antagonist either does not dare to attack him or takes the stones away instead of gouging out his eyes. |
| J57 | 88.59% | Conceived by the Sun, a woman gives birth to sons or a son; when they come of age, they visit their father. See motif J56. |
| B16A | 88.39% | The sea is formed from urine or blood. |
| M81D | 88.39% | A person meets (most often in the sky) one or two blind people and restores their sight. |
| M29M | 87.71% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| F15 | 86.60% | The character sticks his plant-like penis out of the ground (provoking a woman to sit on it). |
| D13E | 85.28% | Hunters perish because they laughed at the killed (and revived) animal. |
| H12A | 85.28% | The wife dies, the husband comes for her, or he kills her himself for adultery; she turns into a monster and haunts him. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 2 traditions: Southern Vanuatu: Tanna, Aneiteum (Polynesian component not included), Eromanga, Wallis (=Uvea, different from Melanesian Uvea), Futuna