The Mythology and Folklore Database
M16A - Gains sight by diving.




22 Myths, Legends and Folktales
22 Unique Narratives for Motif M16A
19 Cultures & Traditions where M16A is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
1 Sub-Motifs of Motif M16A


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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 (usually a loon) restores a person's sight and/or health by diving into the water with them. See motif M16.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes

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


M16 has 1 other sub-motifs


M16.  The wife or relatives (often the mother) of the sick person do not care for him. He recovers, and those who treated him badly are punished. Cf. motifs F62 and F96.
M16a.  A character (usually a loon) restores a person's sight and/or health by diving into the water with them. See motif M16.

 Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of M16's motifs?



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
K32C99.69%The deceiver takes the place of the real wife, and the real wife becomes an owl. See motif K32.
M12399.69%A bird of prey or scavenger (raven, owl, hawk, coyote) marries (or attempts to marry) a partner who (or whose brothers) are geese or other waterfowl. The marriage is disrupted or proves unsuccessful.
M61A199.69%The character (always a raven) provokes a seagull to quarrel with another bird, telling each one that the other was hostile or offensive towards her.
C19A99.68%The character (except Quileut: Raven) turns into a child, asks for and receives heavenly bodies to play, or (Chukchi) comes to play with the little daughter of the owner of the stars.
A13A199.23%The raven rescues or obtains the hidden or stolen sun (daylight).
L10299.05%A girl or woman (for various reasons, jokingly or seriously) calls an animal or animal remains her husband, or steps on bones and addresses them. The animal (comes to life and) carries her away. Her human husband, parents or brother come for her, and they flee; usually the animal husband pursues them, but stops the chase or dies.
M46C99.02%The character turns into a needle, a garbage, a small insect. A woman swallows it and becomes pregnant. See M46B motif.
L1099.01%The character has a sharp (biting) tail or a protrusion on its back. See motif L9, cf. motif L9C.
M2099.01%The character does something unacceptable, is caught, and his beak or jaw is damaged. Usually (except for the Koryaks), people keep the torn-off beak (jaw) in their homes, and the character comes and takes it back.
B97A98.77%A strip of light or dark feathers (rarely: wool) on the neck of a bird (animal) is its necklace (scarf).

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 19 traditions: Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Chugach, Hare (K'ahsho Got'ine), Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Tutchone, Tagish, Tahltan, Kaska, Athna, Tanana, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Assiniboine, Carrier, Chilkotin, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Zuni


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