The Mythology and Folklore Database
M90A2 - What did the tree grow from?
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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
It should be guessed that the plant grew from a part of the body of a man or a snake or from dirt scraped off from the bodyBerezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
M90 has 9 other sub-motifsM90. Someone asks a riddle about the material from which a particular item is made or originated. It is almost impossible to guess, but the character learns the secret, forcing the hero or heroine to fulfill the conditions set. (Usually requires a girl to marry him). M90a. The girl will marry the person who guessed her name, or someone who will fit the ring, or someone who says what material a particular object is made of or originated, etc. The deceiver fulfills the condition. M90a1. It is required to sew clothes from the skin of lice (fleas) or guess the origin of a large animal, a large skin, the contents of the box; the animal (skin) arose from lice (fleas), in the box - louse. M90a2. It should be guessed that the plant grew from a part of the body of a man or a snake or from dirt scraped off from the body M90a3. plant grows from a killed snake or part of a snake's body. M90a4. A tree is described on which jewelry or ornaments hang instead of fruits; individual parts of the tree are made of different metals or (semi) precious stones. M90a5. The story mentions the golden fruits (rarely leaves) of a tree, usually golden apples. M90a6. Owning some apples ensures eternal youth. M90b. The character was wrong when he claimed that the sun would never rise in the west or go down after midnight. M90c. man agreed with another that he could take the first thing he touched from his house. The visitor is going to take his wife, but when he takes up the stepladder to go up to the woman, he is told to pick up the stepladder and leave. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of M90's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K143 | 95.26% | The protagonist of the narrative is a bird catcher or bird hunter, or the son of a bird catcher (hunter). |
| M90B | 94.87% | The character was wrong when he claimed that the sun would never rise in the west or go down after midnight. |
| I100C | 94.56% | God turned the husband into a cuckoo, and the wife and children into the Pleiades. |
| M114J | 93.33% | A woman does not refuse those who harass her, but calmly explains that there is no point in trying to possess many, since they are all the same (they differ no more than eggs painted in different colours). |
| L4A | 92.68% | To test the loyalty of the heroine (hero), the demon demands that she eat food that humans should not eat. Usually, when the heroine reports that the food has been eaten, the demon asks where the food is, and the food answers him. |
| M197 | 92.00% | Seriously or demonstrating the absurdity of such actions, the character tries to fry or cook something on a fire (source of light) located far from the object that needs to be heated. |
| I46E | 90.74% | Rainbow - sword, cutting weapon. |
| K56AB | 90.27% | A girl marries a monster. On their wedding night, he orders her to take off her shirt, and she orders him to take off his skin. The girl survives, and the monster becomes handsome – usually because she has more shirts (or skins worn in advance) than he does. |
| L19B1 | 90.22% | Describes or depicts a monster (usually a reptile) with seven heads (except in cases where snakes with an increasing number of heads are described sequentially and "seven" is not the largest number). |
| K27U1 | 90.20% | Some people demand that the child be born the morning after conception or speak immediately after birth. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 11 traditions: Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Emberre, Mwimbe, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Sicily, Sicilians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Albanians, Balkarians, Nogai, Svans, Georgians, Armenians, Kurds, Shor