The Mythology and Folklore Database
L40B - Absurd actions aimed at luring a character out.
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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
To make the character come closer, absurd actions are performed in front of him. The character does not understand the deception and comes closer to explain how to act correctly.Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
L40 has 3 other sub-motifsL40. The character discovers (rarely: cannot discover) another person on a tree or rock, noticing their reflection or shadow. See motif L39. L40a. An unattractive woman sees the reflection of a young man sitting in a tree in the water and thinks that she has become beautiful. L40b. To make the character come closer, absurd actions are performed in front of him. The character does not understand the deception and comes closer to explain how to act correctly. L40c. Relying on the ambiguity of the statement, the buyer of a cheap item claims rights to a much more valuable one. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of L40's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K75B | 98.74% | Wanting to show that it is time for them to marry, daughters of different ages send their father fruits of varying degrees of ripeness (bread baked in different ways). |
| M127C | 98.29% | Seeing an object that has been deliberately left behind or accidentally dropped, or hearing a sound it makes, the character sees it as a sign of danger and reacts inappropriately. |
| M197A | 98.28% | A man took a cauldron (pot) and returned it with a small cauldron. The owner of the cauldron agreed that the big cauldron gave birth to a small one. The next time, the man did not return the cauldron: he died. The owner had to agree. |
| M146 | 98.11% | Knowing that the meat is in a trap or poisoned, or that there is a trap ahead, a zoomorphic character provokes another to try the meat first or to go ahead. |
| M198A | 98.09% | Brothers (rarely: one person) determine the characteristics of a domestic animal they have not seen, or of the person who stole the animal, based on subtle clues. {In ATU, plots 655 and 655A are combined; in Aarne, Thompson 1961 and in regional indexes, our motif M198A corresponds to plot 655A} (Type 655A only in Aarne, Thompson 1984. In ATU mixed with 655). |
| K102B | 97.85% | In order to destroy the hero (heroine), the antagonist must first get rid of his beloved animal (usually a horse). When the animal is about to be slaughtered, the hero (heroine) mounts it, rides away and escapes. |
| K154A | 97.81% | By solving a riddle, a boy or young man (rarely a girl) exposes the daughter, wife or assistants of an authoritative character: the daughter or wife has a lover; the assistant is plotting a conspiracy. |
| M198 | 97.81% | In the house of the khan (judge, king, etc.), three brothers (rarely one person) determine that the food and drink served to them smell of dead flesh, dog, goat, etc., and (or that) the host who receives them is illegitimate or of low birth. After questioning the servants and his mother, the host is convinced that the brothers are right. |
| K56A2A | 97.73% | A girl becomes beautiful or ugly after washing herself with water of a certain colour. |
| L96C | 97.21% | A young man is learning magic. In order for the sorcerer to let him go, he must pretend that he is incapable of learning. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Ancient Egypt, Egyptian, Aramaic (Syrians), Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Algeria Arabs, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Western Ukrainians, Persians, Ossetians, Georgians, Armenians, Gagauz, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Bashkirs, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo