The Mythology and Folklore Database
K66D - Bear fosterling.
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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
A boy who grew up (was conceived) in a bear's den (lion's cave) becomes a bogatyr.Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
K66 has 4 other sub-motifsK66. Each of several companions or brothers excels others in some way (sees, hears, runs, etc. better than anyone else). Cf. motif K2B, "Gorynya and Dubyna". K66a. The princess (inheritance) is given to the one who builds (obtains) a ship capable of moving on land (flying through the air). K66b. Travelling from one place to another, the hero leaves one of his companions in each place (usually marrying them to the princesses he has received as a reward), and continues on his way. When he gets into trouble, his companions come to his aid. K66c. A bear (lion) takes a woman away, or a she-bear takes a man away. They have children who are either human or bear-like in appearance. Less commonly, a woman gives birth to a son in a den because she was pregnant at the time of her abduction by the bear. K66d. A boy who grew up (was conceived) in a bear's den (lion's cave) becomes a bogatyr. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of K66's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| L94A | 99.45% | When a person leans over the water, a demon grabs him by the beard and releases him on the promise that he will fulfil his demand. |
| H6C | 99.44% | The raven (crow, vulture) is associated with death or contrasted with humans as immortal among mortals (sent to bring the elixir of immortality or water that revives the dead; drinks this water himself; teaches people funeral rites; etc.). |
| K15B | 98.70% | By secretly switching the vessels containing living and dead (giving and taking away strength) water (rarely: oil, etc.), from which the combatants drink during a duel, the hero defeats his opponent. |
| H48 | 98.58% | Illnesses – female sisters (less often male brothers), usually children of an evil spirit. |
| B52B | 98.57% | The character regurgitates the earth hidden (usually in his mouth), thereby creating mountains, swamps, and other inconveniences. See motif B52. |
| K74A | 98.46% | A demonic character arrives and mocks one of the men remaining in the house. When the hero remains, he defeats the demon and follows in his footsteps to where he dwells. Cf. motif K74 (an unassuming and weak-looking man approaches a warrior preparing dinner; he eats everything, ties up, beats or kills the cook. When the hero remains to cook, he defeats the demon). |
| K62A1 | 98.35% | A man saves (spares) and nurses a wounded bird. Having regained its strength, the bird puts him on its back and carries him to a distant land or to the sky. |
| C32C | 98.30% | Nails (and hair) have special significance for a person's fate, their soul or the world as a whole. (Compound motif). |
| M38D | 98.19% | Two or more characters, which are small objects or small animals, live or travel together and die one by one while committing protozoa actions. |
| E9I1 | 98.03% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a swan. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 57 traditions: Sinhalese; Vedda, Koreans, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Aragon, France, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Livonians, Karelians, Western Sami, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Uzbek, Rushani, Shughni, Khufi, Bartangi, Yagnobi, Tajik, Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Ossetians, Ingush, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Georgians, Armenians, Kalmyk, Kazakh, Uyghur, Bashkirs, Mordvins, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mansi, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Daur (Daghur), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Khakas, Shor, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Chuvans, Russian-speaking Creols of Markovo, Chukchi, Lima dep: Costa and adjacent Sierra (Spanish, Kechua, and Jacaru-speaking communities, mostly in Pachacamac, Cajatambo, Canta, Huarochirí; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Galicians, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Bosnians, Russian Federation, Spain