The Mythology and Folklore Database
M42 - Eyes taken out and lost, E781
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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
The character takes his eyes out of his orbits and loses them. He usually regains his eyes later, makes new ones, takes away from another character, etc. See the M41 motif.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
M42 has 3 other sub-motifsM42. The character takes his eyes out of his orbits and loses them. He usually regains his eyes later, makes new ones, takes away from another character, etc. See the M41 motif. M42a. The character (usually after losing his own eyes) inserts seeds or berries into his eye sockets and sees again. M42b. After losing his eyes, the character makes new ones out of resin or wax, sees again (often this is an episode on the way to finding good eyes, while tar eyes do not see well). M42c. Falling off a cliff and breaking his leg, the character eats his bone marrow. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of M42's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I117 | 97.48% | A spider or spider woman lifts a hero or heroine up to the sky, helps them descend to earth, or otherwise helps them cross the path leading to another world. |
| I112 | 96.82% | The boat is a living creature with a mouth, a fish. |
| J13 | 96.50% | Not one woman or girl, but two sisters (or more than two, but only two play an important role in the narrative) wander and meet an unwanted deceiver instead of a desired husband or fiancé, or encounter dangerous creatures. See motif J12. |
| F58 | 96.42% | The character spends the night with a group of women, concealing his nature and/or intentions. In the end, he is either identified and punished, or he slips away to continue his mischief. |
| M22 | 96.38% | A long-necked bird living near water (crane, heron, bittern, swan) helps a fugitive escape from his pursuer (indicated in brackets). See motifs J44-J46 (a long-legged bird helps cross the river, drowns the pursuer; the pursuer is most often a bear). |
| B51 | 96.22% | Thanks to a deliberate lie, Thunder did not learn from the bloodsucking insect that it had drunk human blood. |
| J38 | 95.88% | A mighty bird sinks its claws into a huge aquatic creature. The claws get stuck in its body. The bird is dragged underwater or struggles to free itself. |
| E30 | 95.80% | A man has no wife or a woman has no husband, and uses a wooden substitute as a spouse. |
| M41 | 95.62% | The character throws his eyes (an inhaler has a tooth) up or into the distance. At first they return to the eye sockets, but then they disappear. |
| M19 | 95.50% | The character ties another person (usually a child) to the end of a line, using them as bait or forcing them to catch fish with their hands. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 57 traditions: Shilluk, Anuak, Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Truk, Eastern Fayu, Losap, Pulap, Puluwat, Mortlock (incl. Satawan), Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Nganasans, Kerek, Chipewyan, Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Inland Tlingit, Tanana, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Eyak, Tsimshian, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Winnebago, Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Arapaho, Osage, Iowa, Arikara, Comanche, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Tillamook, Kalapuya, Takelma, Alcea, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Wappo, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Achomavi, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Upland Yuma: Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Navajo, Jicarilla, Hopi, Seri, Pima, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Locono, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Mundurucu, Curuaia, Rikbaktsa, Caraja, Chorote, Kono (=Kone), Wai, Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet, Papua-New Guinea Southern Lowland Papuan groups (Trans New Guinea and unclassified): Gimi, Kiwai, Bina, Mawabula, Mawatta, Keraki, Gambadi (incl. Kwavaru), Purari River delta, Masingara, Wiram (=Suki), Ngain, Daga, Elema