Plains Ojibwa



Tradition title rus: 
Степные оджибва
Areal ID: 
12.4.4.2
Language: 
Tradition analysis result motif count all: 
73.00
Tradition analysis result motif count cosmo: 
28.00

Linked Motifs

MotifNameDescription
a3Male sun and female moonThe Moon is female or bisexual, the Sun is male
a38The Sun caught in snarePerson prepares a snare, loop, noose, etc. to catch the Sun and/or the Sun is caught in a snare, tied by a rope, etc.
a38bMouse gnaws snare openAfter the Sun is caught into snare only mouse, shrew or other small animal is able to cut it open
b2aThe female earthThe earth is a female person (alone or together with a male person); she is female being or associated with a woman
b3aPrimeval watersWater is the original element, the dry earth appears later
b3bEarth grows bigOriginal earth was small and later increased in size or the fertile soil grew from a small amount of original substance
b3eEarth falls on watersIn the beginning there are only air and water. 1) Person descends from the sky, creates the dry land or a hard support created for her or him grows into the earth. 2) The earth is sent or dropped from the sky, put on the surface of the water. 3) The earth is brought from somewhere (not from the underworld) and put on the water
b57Blood reddens worldWhen some person or animal is killed, blood paints the sky (origin of the sunrise or sunset, of reddish colors of Aurora borealis) or other natural objects (Moon, autumn vegetation)
b57aRed sunset contains a messageWhen person gets to see that the sky becomes red he or she understands that another person's blood is shed or that another person spilled a red liquid
c19Acquisition of the sunThe Sun (the day light) that was absent, stolen or hidden appears (again)
c34The deluge because of a wounded creatureKilling (injuring, offending) of some cruature (usually related to water) triggers deluge
c5bAnimal-scoutsDuring the creation of the world or after the world cataclysm animals run around making the earth big, reporting about its condition or they are sent to report the size of the growing earth
c6Valuables brought from the lower worldPersons or animals dive or otherwise decend to the lower world to get a desired object and to bring it to earth (besides episodes in the fairytales, cf. motif k27x9)
c6bThe diver is muskrat (otter, beaver)A muskrat (more rare beaver or otter) brings the desired object from under the water
c6dThe aquisition of the earth from the lower worldThe dry land (the earth) grows from a small amount of solid substance (sand, clay, dirt and the like) brought from the lower world (usually from the bottom of the ocean)
e9The mysterious housekeeperPerson observes traces of some activity that takes place in his (rare: her) house in his (her) absence and then takes by surprise the responsible one
f10Vaginal teeth knocked outWoman has another toothed mouth (usually in vagina) or biting animals in vagina. Man inserts there a stone, bone, stick, etc. breaking or knocking out the teeth or extracting from there dangerous animals
f35Feeding with the paramour’s meatPerson feeds another with the meat of his or her sexual partner who cooks or eats it without knowing whose meat it is
f9A dangerous womanFor different reasons, sexual contact with a woman is deadly dangerous for a man
f9cSnake in vaginaSnake (Pacific snake-eel in Polynesia) is in vagina; around the woman's thighs; vagina is a mouth of a snake; a woman with toothed vagina is associated with a snake; a snake crawls out of woman's mouth to bite off the man’s penis during the copulation
f9e1Dangerous animal in vaginaWoman is dangerous because biting or stinging animal or animals is (are) inside her genitals (and not only the head of such an animal)
h43aBroken figure of the first manAfter making human body, creator goes away for a time. In his absence another person makes attempt to break human figure that was not yet alive
h9Strong and weakPeople are mortal because they have been likened to something subject to decay and easy destruction (e.g. to the soft wood and not to the stone)
i1The thunderbirdsCreatures that produce rain and/or thunderstorms are birds or anthropomorphic beings with wings; or (rare) some or all birds are connected with thunder, lightning or rain though Thunder is not a bird
i13aThe horned serpentGiant water-chthonic or sky serpent or dragon has horns or antlers on its head
i2Lightning from eyesLightning emerges from eyes or mouth of the being who is thought to produce thunderstorms
i9Colors of the cardinal directionsFour cardinal directions and/or some objects associated with them are associated with different colors
i9aZenith and nadirThe zenith and/or nadir are described together with four cardinal directions as the fifth (and the sixth) ones
j41Foxes jeer at the abandoned personWhen the hero returns home after a long absence, his relation does not believe at first that it is really he because all this time somebody jeered at him or her imitating the hero's voice, telling that the hero is back, etc.
j46Enemy drownsAntagonist perishes falling into the water or trying to cross a water body
j59aFlight after the arrowShooting and an arrow (rare: throwing a ball), person flies on it, after it or ahead of it or sends on the arrow another person
k102a2Conflict between mother and son Mother tries to kill her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair
k176A man in search of the womanA (young) man sets off to find or to return his bride or his wife
k25Magic wifeA man consciously marries a woman related to the non-human world
k27 (motif is not in the correlation table)Competitions and difficult tasksPerson is suggested to fulfill tasks that are mortally dangerous or cannot be fulfilled without supernatural helpers or capacities. The person fulfills the tasks and remains alive. A contest between persons has form of a competition or game in which the loser is deprived of his status or life
k27x5Helpful persons of different ageSetting off for a search of a woman or magic objects, a man comes across several (usually three) supernatural (often demonic) persons who help him. All the persons are similar but usually every next one is older (younger) than another
k35False husbandAn imposter pretends to be the hero to take his position and/or to marry or to violate his woman
k37Recognition-testTo return or to get his or her son, wife, husband, domestic animal or (rare) object, person must recognize her, him or it among several identical persons, animals or objects
k41Thunder against a serpent Thunder or giant bird fights against a reptile, big water animal or other big and strong creature who lives in water or under the earth
k8cJonah: swallowed by terrestrial animalPerson gets into the belly of ground animal or bird. He kills it from the inside and/or returns to earth by himself (i.e. not extracted by other people)
k8dJonah: swallowed by anthropomorphic beingPerson (often an animal-person) gets into the belly of anthropomorphic being. He kills it from the inside and/or returns to earth by himself (i.e. not extracted by other people)
k8eGetting inside via anusPerson or animal gets into another being through its anus
l15bTo kill with a reedPerson can be killed only with a particular plant that normally is not used as a weapon
l5cRolling head is a dangerous monsterRolling head is a dangerous mobster (pursues celestial bodies, people etc.)
l5eWife’s headless body pursues her husbandThe beheaded woman pursues her husband while her head pursues her children
l5e1The demonic woman pursues her childrenA woman who had changed into demon pursues her own children
l72The obstacle flightRunning away from a dangerous being, person throws small objects behind him or her which turn into mighty obstacles on the way of the pursuer
l86Demonic mother pursues her childrenA woman turns into demon and pursues her children
l99Bring me a spit to roast you!An ogre sends a man to bring him a roasting stick and/or firewood to cook him. The man intentionally does it slowly, brings unfit objects An ogre sends a man to bring a roasting stick and/or firewood to cook him. The man intentionally does it slowly, brings unfit objects or a an animal helps him to escape
m13The short-sighted wish is grantedSome person makes a wish not taking in mind that his words can have other meaning or accidentally replacing one word with another. As a result, something quite undesirable takes place
m13aTransformed into stoneGod agrees or suggests to fulfill a demand of a man. As a result the latter is transformed into a stone
m23Mock pleaPerson or creature pretends to be afraid of a particular sort of treatment that really cannot do him any harm
m24Turtle’s war partyTurtle goes to war and/or is captured by enemies
m29kThe turtle (tortoise, toad, frog) wins thanks to his smartnessBeing smart and persistent, the turtle (toad, frog) overcomes strong adversaries
m30Trickster falls downPerson or creature who has no wings or is unable to fly on a long distance attempts to ascend to the sky or to fly far away but falls down or, deprived of his wings, remains in a place from which he is unable to return
m32aEating pieces of flesh that fall outPerson's intestines or pieces of flesh from his bottom part fall out. He eats them up taking for a good meat or fat
m4A wrong stepCrossing a body of water or descending a tree, person steps on an certain part of a body of an animal or on a certain animal that have made a chain (usually despite warning that he should not do it) and falls down or drowns as a result
m49Man in a skin of anotherHero comes across a (animal-)person from an enemy group and takes his or her appearance, usually dressing himself in a skin of his victim; after this he penetrates the enemy camp
m49aThe substituted medicine-womanThe hero has to come unrecognized to the meeting place of his enemies. He meets an old woman (usually a shaman, a medicine-woman) who goes there, puts on her skin and acquires her appearance
m53Hoodwinked dancersPerson invites birds or animals (usually geese and ducks) to dance or stand around him and concentrate their attention on some activity (usually to dance with their eyes shut), kills them, usually one by one. Or (rare) he dances himself with his eyes shut and then kills water fowl who gather around him
m53cRed eyesTrickster suggests water fowl to dance around him with their eyes shut, kills them one by one. He warns that eyes of a bird who would open them become red. In some versions, the bird who opened its eyes got them really red
m65Trickster jammed, meat stolenTrickster cooks meat that he got by deception but is unexpectedly jammed between trees or stuck to a stone. An animal (usually fox, wolf or coyote) steals all the meat
m65aSqueaking tree Trees squeak in the wind. Trickster hears a noise, climbs up the tree and is caught between limbs
m65bThe lost quarryPerson kills game (usually by deception), gets to see how thieves carry it away but is unable to intervene
m69Getting fast in an animal skullSmall animals or insects dance or feast inside a big animal skull or food is there. Person inserts his head into the skull and cannot take it out for a long time
m75aRevenge for falling from the skyVulture suggests person to carry him in the sky but drops to earth. The person attracts vulture to revenge on him. Or the vulture drops the person (or abandons him on a high rock) to revenge on him for his attempt to catch him
m79Dancing with reedsPerson joins dancers but then understands that these are trees or reeds moved by the wind
m80Quail scares tricksterPerson insults a partridge-like bird, kills or injures her chickens. The partridge scares him, he falls, usually into a river or lake
m82Animal person ties rattles to its tailAn animal person sees that another has something tied to his tail, wants the same tail for himself and has a trouble as a result
m93Body part as a guardBefore falling asleep, person tells his eyes (which he extracts and puts aside) or his anus to awake him in case of danger. Eyes or anus do not make an alarm or person himself does not react to it. As a result he suffers a damage
m93aGuard punishedPerson punishes the part of his body which he selected as his guard for the time of his sleep or absence (he burns his buttocks, breaks eyes)
m97The blind is directed by treesPerson is lost or becomes blind. He walks asking different trees their names and makes decisions according to their answers reaching ultimately his destination
m97a2The blind person asks trees their names to find his was to the waterThe blind person walks asking different trees their names and thus finds his way to the water


Similar traditions based on Cosmology and Etiology motifs:
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 5 Tradition: Western Ojibwa (Chippewa)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 5 Tradition:
Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 5 Tradition:
Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree, Northern Saulteaux)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 4 Tradition:
Hare (incl. Sahtu, or North Slavey, and Bearlake)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Beaver
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Gwich'in (Kutchin, Loucheux)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Malecite, Passamaquoddy
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Menominee
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Western Swampy Cree (incl. Rock Cree)

Similar traditions based on Adventures and Tricks motifs:
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 6 Tradition:
Western Ojibwa (Chippewa)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 5 Tradition:
Plains Cree
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 5 Tradition:
Menominee
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 5 Tradition:
Western Swampy Cree (incl. Rock Cree)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 4 Tradition:
Eastern Swamy Cree
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 4 Tradition:
Assiniboine
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 4 Tradition:
Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree, Northern Saulteaux)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 3 Tradition:
Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario)
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 2 Tradition:
Iowa
Shared motifs (from a list of 10 less used): 2 Tradition:
Blackfoot