The Mythology and Folklore Database
K41 - Thunder against the snake.




122 Myths, Legends and Folktales
121 Unique Narratives for Motif K41
56 Cultures & Traditions where K41 is told
198 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif K41


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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 character representing a thunderstorm or a giant bird fights a snake or other large creature living in water or underground.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

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



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
J12D94.32%After a girl marries a worthy suitor, the rejected suitor or his relatives kill the rival. See motif J12.
J4092.55%The sky is inhabited by creatures that descend to kill people. Usually, the creature carries away a person or many people, or a human head. The hero (usually a close relative of the deceased) avenges the killer and/or returns the kidnapped person (persons; the carried-away body part).
B52A90.62%Flying over the world, a bird (usually a vulture) dries the earth after a flood with its wings or otherwise gives it its present appearance.
L2889.88%A person who eats unusual or forbidden meat or fish, or touches something forbidden, turns into a reptile or a fish.
I13A89.73%A huge aquatic or celestial serpent, dragon, or snake-like creature with horns on its head.
K27O89.67%The confrontation between heroes and antagonists unfolds in the form of a ball game.
L15B89.63%The character can only be killed with a specific plant, which is not usually used for making weapons.
M24A87.05%turtle man goes to war, kills people (usually a woman). He gets caught or killed. In his animal form, he continues to live on. See M24 motif.
M6586.64%trickster bakes meat obtained by trick, deception; immobilized by sticking to a tree, ground, or stone; at this time, another character (fox, wolf, coyote, birds) eats all the meat. See M53 motif.
L2986.54%A person catches fish where it should not be, usually in a small forest pond isolated from running water; those who eat this fish die, undergo metamorphosis and/or are attacked by monsters. See motif L28.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 56 traditions: Ugarit, Phoenicia, Burmese, Intha, Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Early Chinese written sources, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Ancient Greece, Armenians, Bashkirs, Mongols (Khalkha), Chukchi, Inland Tlingit, North Alaskan Inupiat, Haida, Nootka (Nu-chah-nulth), Makah, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Naskapi, Montagnais, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Tuscarora, Winnebago, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Arapaho, Teton (incl Oglala), Mandan, Iowa, Arikara, Pawnee, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Gros Ventre, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Crow, Hidatsa, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Comox, Pentlatch, Caddo, Cherokee, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Mayo, Yaqui, Sinaloa, Tzutujil, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Chorti, Lacandon, Paya (Pech), Sumu, Misquito, Bribri, Cabecar, Terraba; Chiriqui (AD 800-1500) iconography, Northern Peru: Sierra (Kechua-speaking communities, Cajamarca, Ancash, Huanuco and San Martin departments; Chavin pre-Columbian iconography; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Pasco, Junin, Huancavelica departments: Central Peru, Sierra (Kechua-speaking communities in Spanish sources XVI-XVII centuries), Lima dep: Costa and adjacent Sierra (Spanish, Kechua, and Jacaru-speaking communities, mostly in Pachacamac, Cajatambo, Canta, Huarochirí; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Mocovi; Kechua of Santiago del Estero with probable Guaikuruan substratum; Abipon


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