93 motifs match “upper”  ·  back to the chapters

• God of the upper world. A200
• Witch-woman of upper world. A205
• Goddess divides time between upper and lower worlds. Persephone spends six months on earth and six in Hades. A316
• Culture hero returns to upper world. A566
• Demigod and witch woman of upper world have son. A592.1
• Creation from duck's eggs. Upper vault from half shell, lower vault from half shell, moonbeams from whites, sunshine from yellows, starlight from motley parts, clouds from dark parts. A641.2
• Series of upper worlds. A651.1
• Seven heavens. A series of seven upper worlds. A651.1.4
• Series of upper worlds – miscellaneous. A651.1.8
• Tree hanging from sky. A tree hangs upside down in the sky. By its branches men pass back and forth to the upper world. A652.2
• Tree in upper world. A652.3
• River connecting earth and upper and lower worlds. A657
• Nature of the upper world. A660
• Heaven. A blissful upper world. A661
• Upper world (heaven) as a mountain. The sky is the hollowed under side of the mountain. A662
• Nature of the upper world – miscellaneous. A669
• Judges in the upper world. A669.1
• Rain from sea in upper world. A1131.3
• Where horse got his upper teeth. Borrowed them from buffalo. (Cf. A2241.) A2345.1
• Why cow has no upper teeth. A2345.7.1
• Man-hedgehog. Upper half of body like hedgehog. B29.8
• Garuda-bird. Lower part man, upper part bird. B56
• Fish carries man to upper world. B551.1.0.1
• Giant whale cast ashore on the night of Christ's Nativity: "fifty men were on the upper parts of its head, and (there was) the limit of vision between each two of them. Such was the amount of ground which the animal occupied. B874.3.2
• Tear from upper world of mortals falls on departed in lower world. Dead brother sends message of comfort to living. E361.1
• Journey to upper world. Most references for F0 discuss this motif. F10
• Return from upper world. F10.1
• Man taken to upper world sees all that happens on earth. F10.2
• Journey to heaven (upper-world paradise). F11
• Journey to see deity. Usually to the upper world. F12
• Man seeks his mother (star-maiden) in upper world. F15.1
• Inhabitant of upper world visits earth. F30
• Temptress sent from upper world by deity (Pandora). F34
• Access to upper world. F50
• Sky-rope. Access to upper world by means of a rope. F51
• Sky-basket. Ascent to or descent from upper world in a basket. F51.2
• Ascent to upper world on seat attached to cord. F51.2.1
• Ladder to upper world. F52
• Ladder of glass to upper world. F52.1
• Columns of smoke as ladder to upper world. (Cf. F61.3.1.) F52.2
• Ascent to upper world on arrow chain. Hero shoots arrows which join one another in the air to form a chain. F53
• Tree to upper world. F54
• Sky-window. An opening into the sky gives access to upper world. F56
• Sky-window from digging or uprooting plant (tree) in upper world. F56.1
• Bird pecks hole in sky-roof to give access to upper world. F56.2
• Wall as path to upper world. F57.4
• Tower (column) to upper world. F58
• Access to upper world – miscellaneous. F59
• Pursuit of game leads to upper world. F59.2
• Gate to upper world. F59.3
• Transportation to or from upper world. F60
• Descent from upper world on magic feather (like ladder). F61.2.1.1
• Ascent to upper world in smoke. F61.3.1
• Bird carries person to or from upper world. F62
• Bird flies to upper world. F62.0.1
• Birds carry person to upper world. F62.1
• Birds carry person from upper world. F62.2
• Cock carries god to upper world. F62.3
• Person carried to upper world by deity (spirit). F63
• Ascent to upper world by holding on to morning star. F63.4
• Journey to upper world by keeping thoughts continually on heaven. F64
• Giant shot into upper world by means of magic bow. F65
• Ascent to upper world on arrow. (Cf. F53.) F65.1
• Journey to upper world on horseback. F66
• Journey to upper world in chariot. F66.1
• White sheep carries to upper world, black to lower. F67
• Ascent to upper world by magic. F68
• Time involved in upper world journey. F76
• Giant with upper lip reaching heaven; lower earth. F531.1.4.1
• Upper lip curls over nostril; lower hangs down to neck. F544.1.1
• Cannibalistic spirits in upper world. G11.10.1
• Quest to the upper world. H1260
• Quest to upper world for fire. H1264
• In dividing property clever younger brother takes hind part of buffalo, upper part of tree, and use of curtain during night. J242.8
• The laughing ass. King has trickster's horse's tail cut off. Trickster retaliates by cutting off part of upper lip of king's ass. At trial the animals are brought forth. Everyone laughs at the ass. Trickster: "If everyone laughs at the ass, how could the ass help laughing at her companion without a tail?" Freed. J1169.5
• Priest may eat communion supper. Thief about to be hanged is told that if he truly repents he will eat Lord's Supper in heaven. "If that is true, won't you eat the supper for me; I'll reward you well." J1261.2.3
• Hired man shows in saying grace how better food has resulted from arrival of unexpected guests. Nebraska text: O Lord of Love who art above|Thy blessings have descended:|Biscuits and tea for supper I see|When mush and milk was intended. J1341.12
• The sheep's teeth. Two thieves caught with stolen sheep. One says that he told the other than sheep have lower teeth but no upper, and that they caught the sheep to see. J1391.3
• Poor suitor served good supper prepared for rich one. Recites a satirical rhymed grace. J1561.3.1
• Deceptive division of shared wife. Evil takes lower half of wife, Good takes upper half. Child begotten by Evil not permitted to nurse the top half which belongs to Good. K171.7
• Trickster pollutes house so that he is left in possession. He is in upper room and throws filth on those below (Cf. K344.) K355
• Supper won by trick: the mutual friend. A parasite makes the host believe him to be a friend of a certain guest and the guest to think him a friend of the host. K455.1
• Supper won by disguising as an invited guest. K455.2
• Greatest liar to get his supper free. Wager. Each lie is corroborated by a confederate, who poses as a newly arrived stranger. K455.7
• Hero tests the rope on which he is to be pulled to upper world. By placing stones on the rope he discovers his companions' treacherous plan to cut the rope. K677
• Importunate lover kept overlong at supper: must leave. K1227.9
• Woman enticed to upper world on a stretching tree. K1339.2
• Making sheep laugh and dance. Told to bring in sheep laughing and dancing, trickster cuts off their upper lips and breaks their legs. K1445
• Treacherous relatives. Distinction between treacherous relatives and cruel relatives (S0–S99) is frequently impossible to make. Relatives whose treachery seems to be uppermost have been listed here; those usually possessing power over their charges and exercising their power in a cruel fashion have been listed under cruel relatives. K2210
• Judas Iscariot spills salt at the Last Supper. N131.3.1
• Refuge in upper world. R323
• Jealous father sends son to upper world on stretching tree. S11.2
• The boy eats breakfast, dinner, and supper one immediately after the other; then lies down to sleep. W111.2.6