The Mythology and Folklore Database
K105 - The wonderful son and the rat children.




9 Myths, Legends and Folktales
9 Unique Narratives for Motif K105
7 Cultures & Traditions where K105 is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
9 Sub-Motifs of Motif K105


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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 despised wife gives birth to miraculous children, while other wives give birth to animals.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

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


K10 has 9 other sub-motifs


K10.  A monstrous bird (bat) attacks people, heroes engage in battle with it. See motifs K10A – K10G.
K10a.  Heroes kill a dangerous bird; during or before the battle, they hide in a shelter (hut, cage, vessel, sack, well) or cover themselves with an object that protects the body.
K10b.  A huge bird carries away to its nest a cage, bag or other container in which people are located. See motif 10A.
K10c.  The hero (twins) is weighed down with the blood-filled intestines of an animal. A bird pierces them with its claw, blood flows, the bird thinks its prey is dead, and brings the man to its nest. He kills the adult bird and either kills or transforms the chicks. Cf. motif M91A.
K10d.  A flying monster carries the hero away to a distant island. The hero kills the monster and uses a boat, bridge or rope made from part of the monster's body to return.
K10e.  In the bird's habitat, the hero finds the people it has kidnapped and helps them return home.
K10f.  The character turns the children of a flying monster into ordinary eagles or owls.
K10g.  Finding himself in the nest of a giant bird on a tree or rock, a man descends to the ground with the help of an adult bird (attaching its feathers or wings to himself), and more often - a chick (grabbing its legs, sitting on the chick, attaching its feathers or wings).
K10h.  A bird carries a woman or boy to its nest, feeds them, but does not let them go. The captive runs away.
K10i.  The tree opens its trunk and hides the hero fleeing from a man-eating bird. The monster that flies in after him is held tightly by the tree, which squeezes its trunk again.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
B2G100.00%The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened.
B98B100.00%The Bat comes into conflict with other creatures in connection with someone's death or funeral.
B98C100.00%The heavenly deity could have healed the bat's mother or child, but did not do so, and they died.
C30B100.00%In response to the claims of an animal or spirit, a person offers to remove their traces from the field or to walk without leaving any traces. The spirit is unable to do so.
D13HH100.00%A person visiting another world should not laugh or show surprise when seeing strange things. Those who break this rule will perish or suffer harm.
E1B1100.00%A man who has married an unusual girl is warned that she must not perform certain tasks or eat certain foods. Other members of his household ensure that the young woman breaks the prohibition, and as a result she dies or disappears.
E31B100.00%Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him.
F73A100.00%The vulva is an unhealed wound on the body of the first women, or the first humans did not copulate because they thought that the vulva was a wound.
H1BB100.00%One character refuses to resurrect another's beloved dog, and this conflict is linked to the loss of the ability to resurrect people.
H31100.00%God summons several characters, including man and the heavenly bodies, and makes man mortal and the heavenly bodies immortal.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Shone (Shona, =Mashona, =Karanga), Makoni (Shoni dialect), Remba (=Hungwe, Wahungwe); Zezuru, Rozwi, Ndau (Vandau), Tonga, Congo (Koongo, Bacongo; incl Vili, Fioti, (Ma)Yombe, MuKunyi), Ndombo, Luango (Loango), Zombo (Sambo), Laadi (Laari), (Ba)Fioti, Woyo (Kiwoyo), Ronga, Zulu, Swazi, Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Bengali, Tonga (Tsonga; incl, Soli, Sala, Lenje)


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