The Mythology and Folklore Database
L1C - Fugitives turn into stars.




18 Myths, Legends and Folktales
18 Unique Narratives for Motif L1C
12 Cultures & Traditions where L1C is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
8 Sub-Motifs of Motif L1C


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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

Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations


L1 has 8 other sub-motifs


L1a.  A young woman turns into a bear (in Asia, a tigress) and attacks her close relatives or husband.
L1b.  A young woman turns into a monstrous bear and kills most people except her younger sister (Ojibwa: the younger sister of her former husband). Their brothers (or one brother) return from hunting and kill the bear, or she dies while chasing them. Cf. motif L65D.
L1b1.  A woman comes into conflict with her brothers and turns into a dangerous demon.
L1c.  Those fleeing from the monstrous bear ascend to the sky and turn into stars.
L1c1.  Fleeing from demonic characters, a group of men – relatives of a girl – ascend to the sky and remain there. See motif L1C.
L1c2.  Fleeing from a demonic creature, the characters hide their children (younger brother or sister) in a camouflaged pit, usually under the hearth. See motif L1C.
L1d.  The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives.
L1e.  A monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch.
L1f.  The sister, using magic or transforming herself into a monster, kills her brothers in revenge for the death of her lover or husband.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
B44D100.00%Night and day alternate because the slain beast was black and white, spotted.
I37E100.00%Tree mushrooms cry out like people.
K27V100.00%The character must hit the bird with an arrow or a stone. (Cf. motif K27M, where it is not the accuracy of the archer that is important, but the unusual appearance of the creature that needs to be caught).
M29D100.00%See the motives in square brackets.
J3999.93%The antagonist makes the woman his slave. Other characters secretly come to her and kill a small animal or bird for her. The antagonist suspects that the woman could not have caught the game herself, but she insists that she did.
I10599.76%One of the constellations is associated with the hand (with five marked fingers).
L1B99.53%A young woman turns into a monstrous bear and kills most people except her younger sister (Ojibwa: the younger sister of her former husband). Their brothers (or one brother) return from hunting and kill the bear, or she dies while chasing them. Cf. motif L65D.
M3799.23%Although the character's head or entire body is cut in two with an ax or split with a stick, the character remains unharmed. Cf. motive J22.
L33F98.98%A rock or boulder pursues a character. The character calls for help, and the nightjar splits the rock into pieces.
K1H98.88%The character finds himself inside a tree trunk or inside a rock; someone frees him by making a hole from the outside.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 12 traditions: Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Arapaho, Arikara, Pawnee, Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Kiowa, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Crow, Jicarilla


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