Motif
animal messenger failure determines later condition
animal_messenger_failure_determines_later_condition
A motif of the Cosmic Origin and Creation family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
khoisan south african
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South-African Folk-Tales SOUTH-AFRICAN FOLK-TALES / INTRODUCTION / ORIGIN OF THE DIFFERENCE IN MODES OF LIFE BETWEEN HOTTENTOTS AND BUSHMEN / THE LOST MESSAGE; lines 354-411 confidence: high
The Insect-king chooses Beetle as messenger, but Beetle never arrives; ants remain discordant and prey to enemies.
Beetle's failure to deliver the message is directly linked to the ants' continuing discord and vulnerability.
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