Tabu

1,250 motifs · page 1 of 7

• Tabu: contact withsupernatural. C0
• Tabu: profanely calling up spirit (devil, etc.). C10
• Druidism forbidden. C10.1
• The Old Man and Death. Weary old man wishes for death. When Death appears at the summons he asks for help with the load. C11
• Devil invoked: appears unexpectedly. C12
• Devil called on for help. When the devil appears man excuses himself. C12.1
• Man wishing to be conjurer fears helper he has called. C12.1.1
• Oath: "May the devil take me if.". Devil does. C12.2
• Oath: "May the devil whet my scythe." Devil leaves only the handle. C12.3
• Man commends wife to devil. Devil takes the charge seriously and guards woman's chastity during husband's absence. C12.4
• Mother wishes lazy daughter may marry devil. Devil appears and marries her. C12.4.1
• Devil's name used in curse. Appears. C12.5
• Noah's curse admits devil to ark. Devil persuades Noah's wife to stay out of ark till Noah shall call devil in. Noah at last loses patience and calls out, "The devil! Come in!" The devil comes in and turns himself into a mouse. C12.5.1
• Man curses and devil fulfills his wish: takes the stone away. C12.5.2
• Girl fond of dancing uses devil's name. (Cf. Q386.1.) C12.5.3
• Lost parson says he would rather have devil for guide than clerk who is with him. Devil appears, causes death of both. C12.5.4
• Man calls on devil to descend chimney when angry at wife. The devil comes, makes pudding black. C12.5.5
• Man swears he will chastise devil for poaching. The devil appears; the man runs; the devil takes man's wife. C12.5.6
• Wife curses wicked husband: "May devil take you!" Devil does. (Cf. M432.) C12.5.7
• Man vows he will cross water "in spite of devil." Devil takes him. Origin of place name: En Spuyten Duyvil. C12.5.8
• The offended skull (statue) (Festin de Pierre). A skull (statue) is invited to dinner. Attends the dinner and takes his host off to the other world. C13
• Prince invites angel to wedding. Taken to other world. C13.1
• "Adversity" summoned: king says he has heard people speak of adversity but has never seen it; genius of adversity appears. C14
• Wish for supernatural husband (wife) realized. (Cf. C26.) C15
• Wish for star-husband realized. C15.1
• Wish for star wife realized. C15.1.1
• Wish for tree as husband realized. Tree comes to life. C15.2
• Tabu: offending spirits of the dead. C16
• Tabu: calling on ogre or destructive animal. C20
• "Ah me!": ogre's name uttered. He appears. C21
• "Bear's food." To urge on his horses a man threatens them with the bear, calling them "bear's food." The bear hears and comes for them. C25
• Child threatened with ogre. Latter takes child off. C25.1
• Wish for animal husband realized. Girl says she will marry a certain animal. Latter appears and carries her off. (Cf. C15.) C26
• Tabu: offending supernatural relative. C30
• Tabu: offending supernatural wife. Upon slight offence the wife leaves for her old home. C31
• Tabu: looking at supernatural wife. C31.1
• Tabu: looking at supernatural wife too soon. C31.1.1
• Tabu: looking at supernatural wife on certain occasion. (Mélusine). The husband must not see the wife when she is transformed to an animal. C31.1.2
• Tabu: looking at supernatural wife naked. C31.1.3
• Tabu: husband looking at supernatural wife in childbirth. (Cf. C151.) C31.1.4
• Tabu: opening gourd in which star-wife is kept. When curious girls do so, she flies up to sky. C31.1.5
• Tabu: mentioning origin of supernatural wife. (Cf. C33.1, C35.1.) C31.2
• Tabu: disobeying supernatural wife. C31.3
• Tabu: blaming supernatural wife. C31.4
• Tabu: questioning supernatural wife. C31.4.1
• Tabu: scolding supernatural wife. C31.4.2
• Tabu: boasting of supernatural wife. C31.5
• Tabu: calling on supernatural wife. C31.6
• Tabu: lousing supernatural wife. C31.7
• Tabu: striking supernatural wife. C31.8
• Tabu: revealing secrets of supernatural wife. (Cf. C420). C31.9
• Tabu: giving garment back to supernatural (divine) wife. C31.10
• Tabu: reproaching supernatural wife about her sisters. C31.11
• Unfaithful husband loses magic wife. C31.12
• Tabu: offending supernatural husband. (Cf. C36.) C32
• Tabu: looking at supernatural husband. C32.1
• Tabu: wife seeing transformed husband. C32.1.1
• Tabu: showing surprise when supernatural husband resumes his true shape. C32.1.2
• Tabu: questioning supernatural husband. C32.2
• Tabu: asking name of supernatural husband. (Cf C430.) C32.2.1
• Tabu: asking where supernatural husband comes from. (Cf. C421.) C32.2.2
• Tabu: asking for caste of supernatural husband. C32.2.3
• Tabu: not to touch too soon supernatural husband on visit. C32.3
• Offending supernatural child. C33
• Tabu: mentioning origin of supernatural child. (Cf. C31.2, C35.1.) C33.1
• Tabu: offending animal wife. C35
• Tabu: mentioning origin of animal wife. (Cf. C31.2, C33.1.) C35.1
• Tabu: offending animal husband. (Cf. C32). C36
• Tabu: burning animal husband. C36.1
• Tabu: spying on animal husband. C36.2
• Tabu: offending other animal relatives. C37
• Tabu: offending spirits of water, mountain, etc. C40
• Tabu: offending water-spirit. C41
• Tabu: rescuing drowning man. C41.1
• Tabu: letting ball fall into water. C41.2
• Tabu: crossing water when spirits are offended. C41.3
• Tabu: skating over water when spirits are offended. C41.3.1
• Tabu: poisoning fish causes storm. C41.4
• Tabu: offending mountain-spirit. C42
• Tabu: offending wood-spirit. (Cf. C51.2.2, C64.) C43
• Tabu: offending spirit of banyan tree. C43.1
• Tabu: cutting certain trees lest tree-spirits be offended. C43.2
• Felled tree restored for failure to make proper offerings to tree-spirit. C43.3
• Tabu: offending guardian spirits. C44
• Tabu: offending devil. A smith or priest continually insults the devil's statue or picture (cf. C13). The devil brings the offender into dangerous situation (suspicion of theft or murder), and saves him miraculously when he promises never again to abuse the devil's likeness. C45
• Tabu: offending fairy. C46
• Tabu: breaking promise to fairy: death on twelfth day. C46.1
• Tabu: offending the gods. C50
• Tabu: offending goddess of fortune. C50.1
• Tabu: touching possessions of god. C51
• Tabu: profaning shrine. C51.1
• Tabu: using altar for secular purposes. C51.1.1
• Tabu: stealing from altar. (Cf. C51.2.) C51.1.2
• Tabu: stealing from sacred booty. C51.1.2.1
• Tabu: breathing on sacred fire. C51.1.3
• Tabu: misuse of money in alms box. C51.1.4
• Tabu: dancing in churchyard. C51.1.5
• Tabu: discontinuing use of a church. C51.1.6
• Tabu: peeping at sacred font. (Cf. C300.) C51.1.7
• Tabu: allowing a drop to fall upon altar. C51.1.8
• Tabu: unworthy men to enter or see sanctuary. (Cf. C300.) C51.1.9
• Tabu: to enter sacred places closed to the female sex. (Cf. C51.1.2.) C51.1.10
• Visits of goddess cease when her sacred spring is disturbed. C51.1.11
• Tabu: striking tree which belongs to deity. C51.1.12
• Tabu: treating scornfully statue and dress of goddess. C51.1.13
• Tabu: leaving corpse at shrine. C51.1.14
• Tabu: wearing shoes at shrine. C51.1.15
• Tabu: stealing from god or saint. (Cf. C51.1.2.) C51.2
• Tabu: wearing unauthorized sacred robe (jewel). C51.2.1
• Tabu: cutting sacred trees or groves. (Cf. C43.) C51.2.2
• Tabu: taking fruit and fish dedicated to goddess. (Cf. C221, C225, C241.) C51.2.2.1
• Tabu: stealing wife of god. C51.2.3
• Tabu: stealing from holy statue. C51.2.4
• Tabu: violating refuge with saint. C51.2.5
• Tabu: revealing name of god. C51.3
• Tabu: desecration of God's name. C51.3.1
• Tabu: revealing secrets of god. C51.4
• Tabu: betraying privacy of god. Emperor visited by God conceals his wife so that she may hear. God ceases his visits. C51.4.1
• Tabu: spying on secret help of angels. C51.4.2
• Tabu: spying on secret help of fairies. C51.4.3
• Tabu: imitating god. C51.5
• Tabu: falsely claiming the powers of a god. C51.6
• Tabu: touching stone image of deity with unwashed hands. C51.7
• Tabu: giving away idol. C51.8
• Tabu: pointing boat toward island of the gods. C51.9
• Tabu: being in presence of god. C52
• Direct communication with god fatal to all except special devotees. C52.1
• Tabu: coming suddenly on supernatural creatures. C52.2
• Tabu: refusing credit to god. C53
• People taught by God to work: claim they learned by own efforts. C53.1
• Tabu: arrogance toward deity. C53.2
• Tabu: rivaling the gods. C54
• Tabu: losing consecrated wafer. C55
• Tabu: stepping on sacred bread. C55.1
• Tabu: shooting at consecrated wafer. Man's ghost wanders. C55.2
• Bee-master puts consecrated host into beehive. Has success with his bees. (Cf. B259.4.) – When he dies, his spirit haunts the place. C55.3
• Tabu: unseemly acts while carrying divine image. C56
• Tabu: defecating while carrying image of a god. C56.1
• Tabu: stopping enroute while carrying image of a god. C56.2
• Tabu: neglect of service to deity. C57
• Tabu: neglect of sacrifice to deity. C57.1
• Tabu: fraudulent sacrifice. C57.1.1
• No man with a wound to be sacrificed to goddess. C57.1.2
• Tabu: eating from offerings made to gods. C57.1.3
• Punishment for having refused to take part in Bacchic rites. C57.2
• Tabu: profaning sacred day. C58
• Tabu: diminishing number of sacred days. C58.1
• Tabu: disbelief in religious teachings. C61
• Tabu: disbelief in God. C61.1
• Tabu: disbelief in immortality. C61.2
• Tabu: disbelief in scriptures. C61.3
• Tabu: disbelief in particular supernatural power. C61.4
• Tabu: idolatry. C62
• Tabu: attacking deity (sacred person). C63
• Tabu: failing to heed message of god. C64
• Tabu: changing ritual. C65
• Tabu: murmuring against deity. C66
• Tabu: neglect of sacred fires. C67
• Tabu: neglecting to fulfill vow made to god. C68
• Tabu: offending other sacred beings. C70
• Tabu: disobeying the king. Man dies as result of failure to obey. C71
• Tabu: offending heavenly bodies. C75
• Tabu: offending the moon. C75.1
• Other tabus in connection with sacred beings. C90
• Tabu: stealing from spirits. (Cf. C51.2.) C91
• Tabu: stealing garment from a rock. The rock pursues. (The offended rolling stone.) C91.1
• Tabu: stealing fruits from sacred tree. (Cf. C262.3.) C91.2
• Tabu: killing sacred beings. C92
• Tabu: killing sacred animals. C92.1
• Tabu: killing animals for sacrifice. (Cf. C57.1.) C92.1.0.1
• Tabu: killing raven (Odin's bird). C92.1.1
• Tabu: killing sacred calf. C92.1.2
• Tabu: killing shrew-mouse, sacred to the gods. C92.1.3
• Tabu: killing stork. C92.1.4
• Tabu: killing scald-crow (goddess of war). C92.1.5
• Tabu: killing other sacred bird. C92.1.6
• Tabu: killing sacred dragon. (Cf. B11.) C92.2
• Tabu: trespassing sacred precinct. C93
• Tabu: sleeping in saint's bed. C93.1
• Tabu: profaning hallowed clothes and vessels. C93.2
• Tabu: digging in churchyard. C93.3
• Tabu: crossing bridge sacred to the gods. C93.4
• Tabu: slaughtering buffalo in temple. C93.5
• Tabu: use of palanquin within temple. C93.5.1
• Tabu: cutting down tree wherein resides deity. C93.6
• Tabu: erecting fort on holy ground. C93.7
• Tabu: landing on floating island of the gods without invitation. C93.8
• Tabu: rudeness to sacred person or thing. C94
• Tabu: uncivil answer to holy (or supernatural) being. C94.1
• The cursed dancers. Dancers rude to holy man (Jesus) cursed and must keep dancing till Judgment Day. C94.1.1
• Tabu: failure to give alms to Brahmans. C94.1.2
• Tabu: discourtesy toward priest (rabbi, etc.). C94.1.3
• Tabu: false and profane swearing of oath. C94.2
• Tabu: mocking animal. C94.3
• Tabu: rudeness to sacred animal. C94.3.1
• Tabu: offending sacred cow. C94.3.1.1
• Tabu: calling profanely on God. Daughter of Emperor says to Rabbi: "Your God is a builder; so let him build a tent here." She becomes leprous and must be placed in a tent. (Cf. C51.3.1.) C94.4
• Tabu: calling profanely on the members of God. C94.4.1
• Tabu: masking as ghost in graveyard. C94.5
• Tabu: throwing away holy image. C94.6