The Mythology and Folklore Database
J41C - Trials before meeting the antagonist.
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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 goes to fight a dangerous enemy. Along the way, he is given tasks to complete. This is a sign that he will defeat his enemy. Usually, the same tasks were previously given to another character who was unable to complete them and was defeated by the enemy.Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
J41 has 4 other sub-motifsJ41. The hero leaves for a long time. When he returns, his relative does not immediately believe that it is really him. All this time, someone has been mocking him or her, imitating the voice of the departed, saying that he has returned and/or throwing ashes in his or her face. J41a. The son returns and finds his mother, who has been humiliated and tortured in his absence. The son turns his mother (and usually himself as well) into a bird of a certain species. J41b. The son returns, finds his mother, who was humiliated and tortured in his absence, and burns his tormentor and his men, summoning fire and heat with magic. J41c. The character goes to fight a dangerous enemy. Along the way, he is given tasks to complete. This is a sign that he will defeat his enemy. Usually, the same tasks were previously given to another character who was unable to complete them and was defeated by the enemy. J41d. The strongman orders an iron club (sword, etc.) of monstrous size to be made, but breaks it and demands a new one, even heavier (often throwing it into the air and exposing his forehead, etc. – the club breaks). Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of J41's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M202 | 98.49% | A man pulls a thorn out of the paw (a bone out of the throat) of a strong and dangerous animal or demon, who is grateful. |
| M170 | 98.11% | Pretending to be concerned only with performing religious rituals or following rules (confessing sins, going on pilgrimages, giving up meat, etc.), a zoomorphic character kills those who trust him. |
| I76A | 97.94% | After a certain period of time, a snake or fish transforms into another creature, usually a dragon. |
| K14A | 97.85% | The antagonist orders the killing of the first person to arrive at the agreed place in the morning. The hero is accidentally delayed, and the antagonist himself or his wife or son are killed. |
| M116A | 97.56% | A man drags his father, intending to leave him to die in a deserted place, give him to an almshouse, throw him into a precipice, etc. He stops on the way. The father says that he also stopped at this place when he was dragging his father. Or the boy asks to keep the sledge, the skin, etc., on which his father is dragging his grandfather (or takes half of the cloak with which his father covered the old man): it will come in handy when he drags his father himself. Or the old man is given a wooden (broken, etc.) plate to eat from, and the boy says that he will give his father the same one when he grows old. The man brings his father home (begins to take care of him). |
| K106 | 97.47% | The hero (a miraculous infant, a magical rooster) is thrown at the feet of animals, but they do not trample him. |
| K36 | 97.24% | The hero (heroine) is temporarily transformed into an animal (usually a dog/coyote or a donkey, with the face of the former]: 151-152t to the ground; and the strength of 99 men; if she had taken the hundredth, she would have remained a woman; if the young man had ground, a horse). When he or she is helped to regain their former appearance, the antagonist is transformed into an animal. In some texts, either only the hero or only the antagonist undergoes metamorphosis. Cf. motifs K62B, J62b1 (the character transforms many people into animals). |
| K118A | 97.22% | Upon seeing the portrait of a beauty, a man strives to meet her. |
| K27F | 97.21% | An authoritative character demands that the hero obtain a woman. |
| K119 | 97.21% | An animal promises to make a poor man rich (usually by marrying him to a rich bride; or by marrying a poor girl to a prince) and, resorting to deception, fulfils its promise. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 23 traditions: Kabylia and other Berber of Northern and Central Algeria: Beni Snous, Beni Menacer (incl Zuav), Shaui, etc.), Northern Luzon: Apayao, Bontoc, Nabaloi (Ibaloi), Ifugao, Igorot (highland people, not specified), Ilocan, Ilongot, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanay, Tingian (Tinggian, Bilongan Itneg); Ibanag, Kasiguran Agta, Keley-i Kallahan, Chin-Naga: Ao, Mao, Sema, Zeme, Kolren, Kom, Lhota, Rengma, Angami, Kabui, Tangkhul, Koirenf, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Western Ukrainians, Persians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Nogai, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Chuvash, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Udeghe, Olcha (Ulch), Kamayura, Maldives, Kordofan, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Lutsi (Ludza), China, Russian Federation