525 motifs match “mother” — showing the first 100; narrow the words for the rest  ·  back to the chapters

• Creative mother source of everything. A3
• Creator's grandmother. Casually mentioned in the course of the creation myth. A31
• Goddess as mother of Pacific Ocean. A109.2
• Mother of the gods. (Cf. A116.2.) A111.1
• God born from mother's ear. A112.7.1
• God born from mother's armpit. A112.7.2
• Goddess born from mother's eyes. A112.7.3
• Mother-son marriage of the gods. A164.1.1
• Mother Earth. The earth is conceived of as the mother of all things. (Cf. A431.1.) A401
• Mother Earth pregnant with Adam. A401.1
• Culture hero snatched from mother's side. A511.1.1
• River flows from corpse of mythical mother of culture hero. A511.1.1.1
• Culture hero in mother's womb indicates direction to be taken by her. A511.1.2.2
• Hero formed by god out of mother's apron. A511.1.4.2
• Culture hero son of deer mother. A511.1.8.1
• Culture hero's grandmother. A512.1
• World parents: sky-father and earth-mother as parents of the universe. The sky-father descends upon the earth-mother and begets the world. A625
• Heaven-mother – earth-father. A625.1
• Raising of the sky. Originally the sky is near the earth (usually because of the conjunction of the sky-father and earth-mother). It is raised to its present place. A625.2
• Pre-existing world of gods above. Such a world is assumed before the real creation of the universe. Though this belief is not explicitly set forth in many mythologies, it seems to be implied in most of the North American Indian systems. See, for example, motif A31, Creator's grandmother. A631
• Sun and moon from breasts of mother earth. (Cf. A401.) A715.4
• Cause of eclipses: mother's curse laid upon her third son. A737.2
• Mother of the moon: the most distant star in the sky. A745.2
• Mark of her mother's hand to be seen on moon's shoulder. A751.5.3
• During day moon stays with his mother under the earth. A753.3.3
• The four world-columns fastened immovably by two gods with their mother's hairs. A841.0.1
• Earth as virgin mother of Adam. A1234.1
• Primeval human pair spring from womb of Mother Earth. (Cf. A1270.) A1234.1.1
• The mother of men. A1282
• Mother of the world gives birth to three sons. A1282.1
• Origin of death when early people put on new skins. Child fails to recognize mother, who puts old skin back on. A1335.4
• Origin of relation of mother and children. A1575
• Why a mother has prior claim on her children. A1575.1
• Why a certain tribe wear clothes like dogs (supposed descendants of a bitch mother). A1683.2
• Hare weeps for mother when forbidden: moon hits him and cleaves lip. (Cf. A2211.2, A2231.8, A2342.1.) A2234.4
• Hawk (vulture) loses grandmother: still hovers and seeks her. (Cf. A2471.3.) A2275.5.2
• Why hawk (vulture) hovers over camp-fire: seeks grandmother. (Cf. A2275.5.2.) A2471.3
• Plant from mother's milk. A2615.2
• Plantain disobeys mother: hence bears but one stalk. (Cf. A2771.2.) A2722.1
• Will-o'-the-wisp is girl cursed by her mother for gathering plants for dyestuffs on Sunday. Will-o'-the-wisp is seen where girl disappeared. A2817.2
• Wise mother eagle distinguishes between stupid and intelligent eaglets. B122.5
• Newly-born divine twins cared for by mother-of-tigers. B241.2.8.1
• Helpful animal reincarnation of parent. The dead mother appears to the heroine in the form of an animal. B313.1
• Saint cures the blind young ones of a hyena or wolf by the sign of the cross and the application of his saliva. (Cf. D1500.1.8.1.) The animal mother is grateful. B384
• Supernatural bird prevents mother from killing babe. B524.4
• Eagle cares for baby while mother works in field. B535.0.12
• Son warns animal mother. B631.0.1
• Animal mother of man helps him. B631.1
• Culture hero licked by deer mother. B635.3.1
• Mother wishes lazy daughter may marry devil. Devil appears and marries her. C12.4.1
• Tabu: son seeing mother perform sex act. C114.1
• Mother-in-law tabu. Mother-in-law and son-in-law must not have anything to do with each other. C171
• Tabu: eating of magic catch before mother does. C231.3.1
• Tabu: listening to mother's counsel. C815
• Magic porridge-pot keeps cooking. Against command, mother of owner bids pot to cook. It fills house with porridge and will not stop until ordered by mistress. C916.3
• Death by smothering for breaking tabu. Man given secret box conveying the power of making women love him. He disobeys warning and opens it. The women smother him to death. (Cf. C321.) C922
• Unborn child affected by mother's broken tabu. C993
• Despondent mother curses herself and children into trees. D525.1
• Transformed mother suckles child. D688
• Disenchantment of monster when prince promises to marry the monster's mother. The prince imagines falsely that the mother is also a monster. D741
• Disenchantment of monster when his mother acknowledges him as son. D741.1
• Transformed mother called by her child. Comes and is rescued. D792
• Magic object received from mother. (Cf. D842.) D815.1
• Magic object received from godmother. D815.3
• Magic object received from girl's foster-mother. D815.7.1
• Magic root acquired by tricking mother bird into searching for it in order to disentangle her young. D839.1
• Magic object found on mother's grave. (Cf. D815.1.) D842.1
• Spring augments milk of nursing mothers who drink its water. D927.3
• Divining rod (twig) points out spot where unwed mother had drowned child. D1314.2.4
• Cures by the milk of the mothers of saints. (Cf. D1500.1.10.) D1500.1.33.1.1
• Line drawn by saint's bachall separates calves from their mothers. (Cf. D1272.1, D1277.) D1574
• Mentula loquens. A man's member speaks and can be silenced only by his mother-in-law. D1610.6.2
• Magic power from mother. D1737.1
• Love-compelling man sickens of bargain. A man given the power of making all women love him is smothered to death by them. D1904
• Longing of human child of sky-mother to visit father on earth. D2006.2.1
• Crying induced by magic as trick to force child's mother. D2034
• Foster-mother summoned by saying her name. D2074.2.4.1
• Saint forces a beast (leopard, wolf) to bring back stolen child (domestic animal) to his mother (owner). D2156.3
• Man advised how to resuscitate his mother: break waternuts on her head: she would revive and live one year for each nut broken. E181.1.1
• Dead mother's malevolent return. E222
• Mother haunts daughter. E222.0.1
• Mother's ghost tries to tear daughter to pieces. E222.1
• Dead mother haunts daughter who marries against mother's will. E222.2
• Dead mother returns to invoke curse on murderer-son. E222.3
• The dead daughter reproaches her mother for putting her dowery into coffin. E228
• Dead mother's friendly return. E323
• Dead mother returns to see baby. E323.1
• Dead mother returns to suckle child. E323.1.1
• Dead mother returns to care for neglected baby. E323.1.2
• Dead mother returns to aid persecuted children. E323.2
• Dead mother (in animal form) returns to aid persecuted children. E323.2.1
• Dead mother called up from grave to give her son charms. E323.3
• Advice from dead mother. E323.4
• Mother returns to search for dead child. E323.5
• Mother returns to encourage daughter in great difficulties. E323.6
• Dead mother makes son strong. E323.7
• Voice of son answers his mother from the grave only when called by his pet name. E324.1
• Dead son tells mother that no mortal escapes death. E361.3
• Mother of unbaptized child cannot rest in grave. E412.2.2
• Soul of unborn son comes out of mother's mouth (in form of stone), is kept by her, and later is given to son. (Cf. E711.7.) E726.2