Yu.E. Berezkin, E.N. Duvakin

Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area

Analytical catalogue translated by Jon F White

Introduction
Bibliography
Ethnicities and habitats

H7f1. Death is an Eater. 17.23.34.36.43.

Death devours the dead and thus satisfies its hunger.

Ugarit, Bhuya, Gondas, Khakas, Western Evenks, Kalapuya.

Western Asia. Ugarit [Motu tells Ba'lu to take everything he needs to the afterlife: clouds, wind and rain, as well as warriors and daughters. Explains to Ba'lu how to get to the world of the dead (same description as above when Messenger Ba'lu went to see Moth). Before entering the afterlife, there is a field; Ba'lu discovers a cow there. Ba'lu copulates with a cow many times, she becomes pregnant and gives birth to him a son. Copulation occurs 77 or 88 times. A lacuna. The messengers bring Il the news of Ba'lu's death: he lies dead on the field before entering the afterlife. Ilu cries for Ba'l, asks what will happen to people now, and says that since Ba'lu is dead, he will have to go down to the afterlife himself. Anat searches for Ba'la, finds his corpse on the field before entering the world of the dead, mourns Ba'la. She asks the sun goddess Shapsha to help and put her body on her shoulders; Shapsha helps, Anata drags the corpse to Mount Tsapana. Anata buries Ba'la and organizes a funeral meal. Then she goes to Ilu's home and tells Asirat that she can rejoice with her sons: Ba'lu is dead. Ilu: We must choose a new king of the gods. Asiratu suggests that it be Astara. Astara takes Ba'lu's throne, but it turns out that his legs do not reach the stand and his head does not reach the top of the seat. Then Astara renounces his tsarist status. Anat comes to Motu and demands that the deceased Ba'la be returned to her. Motu explains that he ate Ba'lu because he could not satisfy his hunger without meeting people). Then Anat stabs Mota with a knife, pierces him with a pitchfork, burns his body, grinds him with millstones, scatters ashes over the field, and birds peck him (Motu's paraphrase below says that she scattered the ashes over the sea) ]; Ugarit [Motu (Death) says his hunger is like the hunger of a lion in the desert and a whale in the sea, he is ready to drink like wild bulls and deer at a watering hole. His goblet holds an entire river, his bowl holds seven servings]: KTU 1.133.

South Asia. Bhuya [Mahaprabhu came to the Middle World, told people that they should die; people said they would be happy, but did not know how; to teach them, M. died, telling him to take his body for the boundaries of the village, otherwise he will become an evil spirit, will devour the living; since then he has done so, death has appeared in the world]: Elwin 1949, No. 3:415; gondas [in the Lower World, menstrual blood is 62 yogini accumulated on the cow's skin, the shadow of a kite that flew by fell on her, a girl Chamarin was born; asked what to eat, the yogini sent her to the Middle World to eat people; she ate people as a kite, but they immediately passed through her body and came to life because they owned the water of immortality; C. complained to the yogini that she could not get enough; then Mahadeo took the water of immortality, people began to die for good, C. devoured bodies, and she attributed souls to Jam Raja, who put them in a pumpkin vessel; she was tired of it, she suggested that JR send his own messengers for souls; he does so]: Elwin 1949, No. 11:420.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Khakas: Balter 1958 [=1986:27-32; {cf. Yenisei Evenks}; the boy goes to hire workers; at the fork, Batozhok says that buy to the left with his seven daughters, to the right - Death; the boy goes to the left, works for the bay, wants a daughter to pay, he drives him away; the boy walks along the right road; towards the Old Man Death, goes to the gods to find out who is; the boy offers to run away instead of him; the gods command There are thin old people for three years, the boy tells Death as if they told Death to eat bark for three years; next time the gods tell them to eat children for three years, the boy tells Death to eat seaweed; three years later Death has difficulty climbing the stairs into the sky for the boy; he says that there is a human in his snuffbox; invites Death to turn into a mosquito, climb into a snuffbox; slams it shut; comes to the deceived he bayu, releases Death, asking them to eat all the fat ones]: 9-16 (=Koptelov 1956:149-154); Katanov 1907, No. 582 (Kachins) [first it was a duck; having made another friend, sent her to the bottom of the river for sand; that brings it three times and gives it to the first; the third time it left some of the sand in its mouth, this part became stones; the first duck scattered the sand, crushed for nine days, the earth grew; the mountains grew after the messenger duck spit stones out of her mouth; because of this, the first refuses to give her land; agrees to give her land the size of a cane; the messenger pierces a hole in the ground, goes into it; the rest sends a swallow behind man's soul, telling the dog to watch and bark at Erlik Khan; E. created winter, gave the dog a fur coat, spat on man; God poured his soul on man, made him a wife out of a rib; ordered him to eat red currants at sunrise but not at sunset; the wife broke the ban and ate, God wrote it down in a book; a woman with a child and a mare with a foal eat grass, a woman has crossed seven slides, a mare After one; God has decided that if people eat grass, they will eat it all; God gives the moon and sun to Erlik Khan; it is becoming dark; God gathers birds and tells them not to laugh if the Corncrake comes; the head of the birds Stork laughed; the corncrake was offended and left; sent the Owl to overhear what the Corncrake was talking at home; Let Erlik Khan catch the echo of the rocks, his shadow, the tramp of a hundred horses; E. is forced to return sun and moon, because he could not fulfill God's requests; God sent Swallow to steal Erlik Khan's flint; she stole it, meets Komar on the way back; he says that E. was sent to find out whose blood is sweeter, turns out to be human; the swallow asks him to show his tongue, bites off; the mosquito only buzzes; E. chases the Swallow, tears off her middle tail; she threw half the flint on the rock; the young man was watching the door to God; Erlik Khan came: what should I eat? God replies that old and old women, and the young man said that trees are rotten; next time: children are young willow branches; young people are dried and hardened trees; for the fourth time E. breaks into God; everything was explained, E. now eats everyone, and the young man was driven to the ground]: 522-527 (=196:154-156; quail in Troyakov 1995:6-7); Torokova, Sychenko 2014, No. 35 [the orphan boy went to look for work; found a staff; on he does not tell you to go to the right side at the fork, there is death, but to go to the left, where buy with seven daughters; the bay has a bronze house; the guy worked for two years, asked for payment for his youngest daughter; buy him away; the guy forgot road, went along the road where Old Man Death {in the Khakass text, the Russian word DEATH}; he says that he is going to Skinny to ask who to eat; the guy volunteers to go instead of him; climbed the stairs into heaven, entered the house, there are nine chayans at the table; they tell him to eat old people for three years; the guy told Death that he was told to eat larch bark for three years; three years later, the same; he was ordered to eat average people age, the guy said that water mud; three years later, Old Death does not trust the guy, but could not get in, sat down to rest; the guy says that he has a human in his snuffbox, and to eat, you have to become a yellow fly; the guy took a snuffbox, came to Khan's city; stabbed and plucked the goose, cooked it, carried the goose to Khan as a gift, but ate one leg on the way; explained his business, the khan ordered Bayu to give his youngest daughter for the guy, especially since they have been living together for two years; the khan asks why the goose has one leg; the guy shows sleeping geese: all on one leg; the khan drove the geese, they ran on two legs; the guy hit the khan with a stick, he ran on all fours; both the khan, if hit, will run on all fours, and geese on two legs; the guy also now demands the khan's daughter, since he even mastered Death; released Death from a snuffbox, the khan gave him his daughter and khanate out of fear; but the guy did not take her, but took that daughter bay, and made the khan's daughter servants, servants, slaves free]: 519-533.

Eastern Siberia. "Yenisei Evenks" {Russian or Turkic-Mongolian borrowing?} [old Bambay leaves the Kemchugi River with his children, leaves an eight-year-old orphan named Henukychan ("hazel grouse") in the forest; Chimera (from Russ. "death") tries to eat it, his mother H. takes him to God; he is assigned to watch the entrance to heaven; Chimera comes, God tells her to eat middle-aged people for three years, boy reports that God ordered to eat middle forests for three years; three years later, God tells us to eat three years of children, an orphan says that the twigs are talnik; next time they are "old people", and says that "dry trees" ; after that, Chimer flies to God, he is angry, tells her to eat the liar; he asks for three days; asks how Chimera got to God, asks him to show him, get into the hollow with a fly; closes him; when H. was old, God told him to release Chimera; people began to die again]: Rychkov 1936, No. 1:273-266.

Coasts - Plateau. Kalapuya: Jacobs 1945, No. 1 [(=Romanova 1997, No. 118:412-413); More is approaching, people are running, birds are taking them to heaven; the Coyote has been carried by his brother Cathartes aura; he feels pleasant to him the smell bites off a piece from Vulture's neck; The fly, flying by, screams, He eats his brother; Coyote: She said - Treat your brother with care; the third time Vulture hears correctly He throws off the Coyote; he turns into a feather, takes on the ground; pretends to be Moore, meets the real Mohr; he sees people swarming in his mouth, believes that he eats them; at night The coyote sends mice to steal some of Mohr's power, who is no longer so strong]: 89-90; Gatschet et al. 1945, No. 5 [like Jacobs; all animal people flee to heaven; Mohr kills and eats Coyote]: 356-358.