The Mythology and Folklore Database
L15G - The burnt log (death of Meleager), ATU 1187.
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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 person's life is connected to an object that can be burned. As soon as the object is burned, the person dies.Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
L15 has 21 other sub-motifsL15a. The character's vulnerable spot is located on the surface of the body, but not in vital internal organs. L15a1. The character's vulnerable spot is located at the bottom of the foot (heel, toe, sole, ankle). L15a2. The human body is tempered (in a furnace, etc.) to make it invulnerable, but one place remains unprotected. L15b. The character can only be killed with a specific plant, which is not usually used for making weapons. L15b1. In the battle between positive and negative creators, the positive one chooses the deer horn as a weapon – usually because this is the only weapon that the enemy fears. L15c. A dangerous character asks the hero how he can be killed, what he is afraid of. The hero lies, saying that the named object does not harm him. L15c1. A dangerous character naively reveals what he fears or what his life consists of, and the hero takes advantage of this. L15d. The object in which the character's life is concentrated is separate from him. The character dies when this external form is destroyed. L15d1. When a character is asked to reveal the location of his soul (death, power), he first gives an incorrect answer, and the questioner usually begins to show signs of attention to the corresponding locus or object. L15e. The hero's life is in a certain object, usually his weapon. An enemy steals or discards this object, the hero weakens or dies, his friends or brothers return the object, and the hero comes back to life. {In ATU, this is motif 302B; at least some of the references cited by Uther do not contain the motif in our formulation (not found in Japan or Burma); original publications are required}. L15e1. An ageing character and/or one who senses his death approaching instructs his son, a warrior, or his subjects to throw his cold weapon (sword, sabre or axe) into the sea, a lake or a river. Cf. motifs L15E and L15e2. L15e2. One character instructs another to throw a certain object (usually a sword or sabre) into the water. The messenger claims to have carried out the task, but cannot say what happened as a result, so it becomes clear that he has lied. L15f. A young woman or man dies as soon as her or his jewellery (rarely: organ) is stolen, and comes back to life when the jewellery is returned or when the antagonist removes it. L15g. A person's life is connected to an object that can be burned. As soon as the object is burned, the person dies. L15g1. A person knows a secret on which the life of a loved one (husband, son, wife) depends and, after a quarrel, commits an act that is insignificant to an outside observer but leads to the immediate death of the other. L15h. The object in which the character's life is concentrated is enclosed in another, which is enclosed in a third, and so on (like an egg in a duck, a duck in a hare, a hare in a chest). Or the animal in which the character's soul is enclosed transforms into other animals as it flees. There are three or more enclosures or transformations. L15h1. The object in which the character's life is contained is enclosed in another, which is enclosed in a third (and so on). The final container of the soul is an egg (to kill the character, the egg must be broken over his head). l15h2. The object in which the character's life is contained is enclosed in another, which is enclosed in a third (and so on). The final repository of the soul is a bird (a chick, several birds or chicks). l15h3. The object in which the character's life is concentrated is enclosed in another, which is enclosed in a third (and so on). The final vessel of the soul is an insect or worm. l15h4. The object in which the character's life is concentrated is enclosed in another, which is enclosed in a third (and so on). The final container of the soul is a needle, which the hero breaks. L15i. A man dies or loses his strength (or pretends to) if his hair is cut or pulled out. L15J. The character can only be killed by fire. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of L15's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M199H | 99.89% | The character hides a bag under his clothes, secretly putting food in it. After cutting open the bag, he pretends to have cut open his own belly. His opponent decides to do the same and, after cutting open his own belly, dies. Cf. motif M91A, "The Blood Blister." In the definition of plot 1088 in ATU, the motif of the giant's torn belly is optional. |
| M38C | 99.85% | blacksmith (supposedly) forges a person, rejuvenating or revitalizing him. |
| K107B | 99.83% | One spouse forbids the other from seeing them. When the other willingly or unwillingly breaks the prohibition, the first disappears (gets into trouble). (In the Tuscan version, the prohibition is broken by the woman's mother). |
| K56E1 | 99.83% | A man sees dwarves (spirits, witches) having fun. Their song mentions the names of the days of the week. The man sings along, naming the days that the dwarves like. He is rewarded. (Usually, someone else tries to get the same reward, but names the wrong days of the week and is punished). |
| K107D | 99.83% | After overcoming difficulties, a girl (rarely a boy) finds a magical spouse, but at first cannot wake him (her) up. |
| K132A | 99.83% | The husband (rarely: the wife) sends the rooster out to earn money, and it brings back money. The wife (husband) sends the hen (cat, her half of the rooster, etc.) and receives only mice, filth, etc. Or, instead of money, the rooster brings the wife something bad or nothing at all. |
| K27G1 | 99.83% | The character must quickly clean the stable or barn of the manure that has accumulated there over a long period of time. |
| F5A | 99.82% | God was going to make Eve from Adam's rib. The rib was stolen by a dog (cat, fox, monkey, devil). God (or an angel sent by him) chased after the thief, grabbed him by the tail and tore it off. God made Eve from this tail. Either God first made a woman from edible material and the dog ate this figure. He had to make a new one from Adam's rib. Or God cut off Adam's tail and made Eve from it. |
| B87C | 99.82% | Alcor (the faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) – rider, driver, coachman. |
| J51A1 | 99.82% | To retrieve an object from a hard-to-reach place, the girl orders it to be dismembered (or just have its fingers cut off) and then reassembled, after which it comes back to life. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 19 traditions: Algeria Arabs, Oromo (Galla), Konso, Sidamo, Darasa, Bussa (Bassa), Kambata, Guji, Ireland, Wales, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Aragon, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, France, Dutch, Flemish, 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, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Finns, Frisians