μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Deceptive scratching contest.

Deceptions. · Contests won by deception. · Contests in other physical accomplishments won by deception. · view the constellation · filed as K83

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“She began to sew her moccasins, and all at once she stuck the awl in one of her fingers. The woman threw it away, and it came back and said: “Brother Turtle, I hurt a woman badly. She was using me while she was sewing her moccasins, and I stuck one of her fingers; she threw me away.” “Well done, brothers, now it is my turn,’ said the turtle. The turtle went into camp, and people saw him and said: “What does this mean?”

Tales of the North American Indians, Tale 38 · served from our shelf  receiptuncorrected OCR — being verified against the scan

Attested across traditions
Scholars’ trail — 1reference

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.

  • N. Am. Indian*Thompson Tales 306 n. 109ee.
Within the index

Filed under Contests in other physical accomplishments won by deception.

2 finer motifs beneath it
Scratching contest: man's wife shows wounds. The man sends his wife to meet the ogre with whom he is to have a scratching contest. She tells the ogre that her husband has gone to have his nails sharpened. She shows him deep wounds that her husband has scratched on her body (obscene). The ogre leaves in terrorContest in scratching skin off each other: covering self with several ox-hides
Filed beside it
Deceptive eating contestDeceptive drinking contestDeceptive vocal contestsContest in seeingContest in hearingDeceptive laughing contest
Keeps company with — shares receipted episodes
Trickster's burnt flesh becomes gum on treesTransformation to be put in food-bagTransformation to seduceMagic treasure animal killed. (Goose that laid the golden egg)Magic garment (robe, tunic)Magic reawakening of memory. (Cf. D1360, D1910.)Killed game revives and flies awayDisintegration: man eats himself up or dismembers himselfPerson eats self upTrickster joins bulrushes in a dance. He thinks they are dancing when he sees them wavingPerson frightened into falling down a cliffThief frightens owner from goods

wander