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

I31. The owner and mistress of the dead .19.21.41.52.61.67.

In the afterlife, the souls of the dead are met by a pair of mythological characters - a man and a woman, or the master of the dead will appear to women as a woman and to men as a man.

Melanesia. Oz. Kutubu [Tauruabu's wife died; he went to the place where her bones were exhibited, saw a hole in the ground, walked down the aisle; the nettle parted in front of him; the huge gateibu lizard asked if he ate lizards; he replied that he ate, she closed her mouth, he went over her head; if he said, No, she would swallow it, he would have come out from the other end; there was a log trap on the trap, he carefully freed the clamp, the log fell, there was a thunder; when she heard it, the beautiful Berome came up to free her soul (aminterare), saw T. alive; taught her to walk, without looking back at her, past her mother Makorebu, to whom All men go to her father Gaburiniki; M. copulates with all the dead men who have come, G. with women; passing, T. noticed that M.'s huge ears hang, and his breasts are like tapas; in G. souls dance, have fun; sing, Korere (East, Place of the Dead), Korere, Takore (West, Place of the Living), Takore; in the morning G. returns T. to his wife, tells her not to let her work for 37 days; closing their eyes, they find themselves at home; a woman sits for 37 days, inserting her bones back into her body; brought magifono sugarcane with her, ga-dioko bananas, eaten will become immortal; on the 36th day, it remains to put the little finger bone right hand; T. tells his wife to cut off a few palm leaves; she cuts off her boneless little finger, spreads, leaves a pile of bones; T. talks about all people, dies; his body is burned; magifono and ga-dioko disappear; if it were to wait until the 37th day, people would eat them, become immortal]: Williams 1941, No. 16:151-154; the Trobrians [the dead come to the afterworld of Tuma; its owner Topileta meets them; copulates with every woman who comes, and daughter T. copulates with every man who comes; then the deceased comes to the other dead, smells the aromatic grass, forgets the past life, and begins endless sex orgy]: Malinowski 1932:362-363; Banks Islands (Gaua) [Wrisris lives on Betaas Lake, in the Diwtag area. To find out about the fate of a deceased relative, you have to go there; take a white pig with you; V. will lead to the deceased, but you must remain silent; he will lead the dead underground to the abode; you can find out if a person has died from illness or witchcraft; if a man comes to K., he himself turns out to be a man, and if a woman comes to a woman]: http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFtxt_select_e.htm.

Tibet is the Northeast of India. Cognac [the soul of the deceased must cross the bridge guarded by old Tsailopa and old woman Tsailonu; the soul pays them with the food and drink brought by relatives during the funeral ceremony (not a decree, who and how both guards ask); across the bridge from the fork in the souls of those who died unnaturally or committed numerous crimes, follow the difficult left path, the rest on the right; in as a result, the trails converge again, everyone ends up in the same underworld]: Fürer-Haimendorf 1969:94; miso (lushy) [Pawla and his wife Sanui live in a house where all roads leading to the world of the dead converge ; P. shoots balloons at everyone, except very poor people and babies who died under one year; during the burial of this deceased, an animal was sacrificed and committed by Hlamzuih; S. is engaged in babies. telling them to look for lice from her and bite them; therefore, rice is placed in the baby's grave to bite it instead of lice (S. will be deceived by the sound)]: McCall 1949:81-82.

Mesoamerica Chorty [the master of the dead causes men to die and his wife causes women to die]: Wisdom 1940:398; 196:449; lacandons [women are met by one of the masculine deities, men are met by one of the female deities subordinate to the master dead]: Boremanse 1986:73, 76-77.

Western Amazon. Maihuna [on the way to the world of dead souls, two female characters and two male characters meet que los hace pasar por diferentes etapas; they turn into stars a year after death]: Bellier 1991a: 246-247.

Bolivia - Guaporé. Guarazu [was a man with a huge penis and his sister with a huge vagina; when he met a woman, this man killed her with his penis, and the one who got down with his sister was not satisfied; Muruvysa ordered these two go away; they went across the sky to the world of the dead; the brother there copulates with all the women who come and his sister copulates with all the men]: Riester 1977, No. 25:269; tupari [like Guarazu; a man with a huge penis; is a woman his sister? After that, the dead no longer have sex]: Caspar 1975:195, 199; surui [in the world of the dead Huge Lapoti Woman copulates with all men who come; the evil ones disappear in her vagina, for the good ones become smaller; accordingly, all women lie on Gati's giant penis (aka Big Testicula, Big Penis); those who behaved incorrectly when lives, die, for good women, G.'s penis decreases]: Mindlin 1995, No. 8:139.