The Mythology and Folklore Database
J58C - Bridge of arrows.




10 Myths, Legends and Folktales
10 Unique Narratives for Motif J58C
10 Cultures & Traditions where J58C is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
3 Sub-Motifs of Motif J58C


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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

A chain of arrows forms a bridge across a water barrier.

Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures


J58 has 3 other sub-motifs


J58.  Characters shoot arrows (darts) that stick into each other and form a chain. They usually climb up the chain to the upper world.
J58a.  To cross the river, each of the three men uses his own magical method.
J58b.  With the help of a chain of arrows, the sky or the sun is pulled down or pushed up, or a hole is made in the sky.
J58c.  A chain of arrows forms a bridge across a water barrier.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
F7694.11%People learn how to make love by watching birds, fish or animals mating; animals teach people how to make love or arouse desire in them.
H491.90%Those who change their skin (bark, clothing) are immortal (forever young). (Cf. motif K56a5a: Skinning oneself to become young: To become a young beauty, an old or ugly woman asks to have her skin skinned off).
I591.65%Thunder (lightning, rain) has the appearance of a four-legged mammal - a pig, buffalo, camel, anteater, tapir, dog, cat, leopard, monkey, etc.
E2491.29%Joints appeared in humans after the first ancestor (or several first ancestors) fell from a height, breaking their arms and legs.
F489.18%In the days of the first ancestors, children were conceived not through sexual intercourse, but in vessels, piles of earth, lumps of clay, etc.
L2188.21%A cannibal or demon under a tree intends to grab a person who has climbed a tree; the person throws his prey or some object far away, and while the cannibal is looking for, picking up or eating what has been thrown, he runs away.
M3387.23%The character plugs or seals his anus tightly (with wax, clay, grass, etc.), or someone else does it. See M32 motif.
J56A86.60%Heroic brothers are transformed into pots or frying pans, but only the elder is able to sit in the fire long enough.
I4185.57%A rainbow is a reptile (usually a snake), less often a fish or snake-like, usually dangerous, object (snake tongue, scorpion tail).
H1185.48%People are mortal or defective because they respond to the call (or pronounce the name) of a creature that brings death, or do not hear the call (do not pronounce the name; do not respond to the call, do not notice) of a creature that promises immortality (power).

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 10 traditions: Hausa, Fula (Fulbe, Fulani, Pular), Gola, Lepcha, Nivkh, Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Tenetehara, Kayabi, Mataco, Vanuatu


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