The Mythology and Folklore Database
M198A - The Clever Brothers (The Lost Camel), (ATU 655A).
Please log on to view the narratives.
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
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).Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M198 | 99.74% | 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. |
| L72C | 99.17% | Fleeing for his life, the character throws a mirror behind him, which turns into an obstacle for his pursuer (ice, lake, etc.) or attracts his attention and causes him to lose time. (In the Udmurt version, objects destroy obstacles in the character's path). |
| K75B | 99.02% | 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). |
| M39A6D | 98.98% | One of the relatives or spouses transfers a text or object to the other through third parties. Only the recipient understands the meaning of the words or the item handed over, saves the sender and/or destroys his enemies. |
| M197A | 98.79% | 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. |
| K100C | 98.62% | A woman (rarely a young man) does not know that inside her (him) there is something dangerous for her (his) marriage partner (usually a snake), or that on her wedding night she will turn into a snake, or that a snake will crawl in on her wedding night. The hero or his companion eliminates the danger. {Motif K100C is similar to F9f1, but the latter belongs to the cosmological-etiological category and is associated with the idea of a dangerous woman, while K100C is adventurous}. |
| M91C3 | 98.46% | A person releases an animal or a bird - supposedly with his wife instructing his wife to cook food, etc. Another does not understand deception and buys an animal. |
| K102B | 98.43% | 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. |
| C31B | 98.36% | The owl is wiser and more intelligent than other living creatures. |
| M198A3 | 98.33% | One of the brothers secretly takes valuables belonging to all of them or is illegitimate. The brothers come to an authoritative figure to determine who is the thief or illegitimate child. Usually, the figure tells a story and determines the culprit based on the reaction of those who have come. |
See more...
Please log on to view the narratives.
Map of Motif Dispersal
Click here for a clustered map
Drag the map around by clicking and using the mouse, use the wheel to zoom
This motif has been recorded in 38 traditions: Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Arabs of Sudan, Sudanese, Malawi (incl Nyanja, Banyanja, Manganja), Tumbuka (incl Henga), Nsenga, Matengo, (Ba)Wenda, Hausa, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Koreans, Portuguese, Portugal, Catalan, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Estonians, Finns, Western Ukrainians, Uzbek, Yazgulami, Tajik, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Ingush, Georgians, Armenians, Kalmyk, Anatolia Turks, Kurds, 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, Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Tajik of Sistan, Tunisia