World-fire. A conflagration destroys the earth. Sometimes (as with the flood legends) the tradition is somewhat local and does not refer to an actual destruction of the whole earth; sometimes the fire marks the end of the world

Motif

World-fire. A conflagration destroys the earth. Sometimes (as with the flood legends) the tradition is somewhat local and does not refer to an actual destruction of the whole earth; sometimes the fire marks the end of the world.

Mythological motifs. · World calamities and renewals. · World-fire. · view the constellation · filed as A1030

“Then he went out and along the course that the racers were to go over, and hid himself, leaving his head just sticking out of a hole. By this time all the racers had started, and among them Coyote’s son. He was Coyote’s only child, and was very quick. He soon began to outstrip all the runners, and was in the lead. As he passed the spot where Rattlesnake had hidden himself, however, Rattlesnake raised oe en and bit the boy in the ankle.”

— Tales of the North American Indians, Tale 8 · served from our shelf receiptuncorrected OCR — being verified against the scan

Attested across traditions

North American IndigenousTales of the North American Indians, Tale 8 receipt
North American IndigenousTales of the North American Indians, Tale 9 receipt
North American IndigenousTales of the North American Indians, Tale 75 receipt

Scholars’ trail — 12references

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

GreekGrote I 94
LithuanianBalys Tautosakos Darbai VI 133f.
JewishNeuman
BabylonianMeissner Babylonien und Assyrien II 118
SiberianHolmberg Siberian 368ff.
HinduKeith 105
IndiaThompson-Balys
ChineseEberhard FFC CXX 84. – Maori: Dixon 47 n. 33
N. Am. Indian*Thompson Tales 287 n. 57d.
general *Olrik Ragnarök 483 s. v. "Weltbrand", *Danske Studier (1913) 204ff.
general *Eisler Weltenmantel und Himmelszelt 452. – Icel.: MacCulloch Eddic 336ff., Boberg
general S. Am. Indian (Yuracare, W. Brazil): Alexander Lat. Am. 313, (Araucanian): ibid. 330, (Chaco, Tupinamba, Apapocuva-Guarani, Tembé, Shipaya, Carajá, Mura, Cashinawa, Witoto, Arawak, Yuracare): Métraux MAFLS XL 36 (Mataco): ibid. 35, (Toba): ibid. 33, (Tucuna): Nimuendajú BBAE CXLIII (3) 724, (Bacairi): Lévi-Strauss ibid. (3) 347.

Within the index

5 finer motifs beneath it

Causes of world-fire Quenching the world-fire Earth recreated after world-fire Men hide from world-fire and renew race. (Cf. A1006.1., A1045.)World-fire – miscellaneous

Travels with

Flood puts out world-fire. (Cf. A1030.)

Keeps company with — shares receipted episodes

Hierarchy of worlds. A series of worlds, one above the other World-tree. Tree extending from lowest to highest world. (Cf. A878.)World-columns. Four (two, etc.) columns or supports sustain the earth Atlas. A man supports the earth on his shoulders Deluge. Inundation of whole world or section Flood from fluids of the body Flood from belly. It flows from pierced belly of monster Creation of man Confusion of tongues. Originally all men speak same language. Because of a sin they come to speak different languages Origin of death Distribution of tribes Birds cling to sky in flood: cause of tail colors. (Cf. A2412.2.)

wander