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Berezkin/Duvakin Catalogue of Motifs

English translation, enhancements and additional metadata by Jonathan Fielder-White

Source: Berezkin and Duvakin's Analytical Catalogue · Original catalogue (Russian)

About the catalogue and its sources

Unless otherwise stated, narrative and tradition data comes from Berezkin and Duvakin's Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area (Analytical catalogue).

Original Berezkin/Duvakin catalogue (Russian)

The English translation uses AI assistance alongside manual verification. Errors may occur; consult the original source when in doubt.

B - Origins of the environment

Showing 51–100 of 313 · Page 2 of 7

Ref Title Summary Traditions Narratives ▲
B124 Indentation on the foot. Ever since a piece of flesh was torn from a person's foot, a hollow has formed between the toe and the heel. 9 8
B16b In B16 family The wolverine makes the sea salty. The sea is salty because a wolverine or a fox bathed in it or urinated in it. 6 8
B1d In B1 family Two workers. Two characters are building the world, one works poorly, the other well, so different parts of the universe (or a specific island) have different appearances. 8 8
B24 Transformation into wild boars. People who have entered into conflict or violated a prohibition are transformed into wild boars or peccaries. 8 8
B27a In B27 family Transformation into thunder and lightning. The characters ponder what they should transform into and decide to become thunder and/or lightning. 10 8
B2g In B2 family The chameleon walks on soft ground. The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened. 5 8
B35 The club-footed bear. The bear hastily puts his left moccasin on his right foot and vice versa, which is why he is club-footed. 8 8
B44b In B44 family Fingers, claws, hair, feathers. The number and/or nature of the alternation of fingers, claws, feathers, hairs, and stripes on animal skins determines the number of time intervals in the calendar or daily cycle. See motif B44. 29 8
B63 The transformation of lazy children. Children lie to their mother, pretending to work in the fields. When the deception is revealed, they are left without a harvest and are transformed into atmospheric phenomena or celestial objects. 4 8
B63A In B63 family Brothers of the elements. Several brothers turn into Thunder, Storm and other elements. 4 8
B72a In B72 family Mother, child and swans. Mother (stepmother, adoptive father) does not give food to a girl or (less often) a boy. The child asks migratory birds to take him with them, they give him bird clothing, he flies away with them, becoming a bird. 11 8
B113 Women's backsides and men's knees. Due to certain events during the time of creation, women have cold backsides (and men have cold knees, or vice versa). 9 9
B115a In B115 family Knots in wood, ATU 774H. Angry at the carpenters, the character (St. Peter) asks another (Christ) to make the knots in the wood or branches iron. The latter only makes them very hard. 8 9
B68a In B68 family The bird is punished: let it carry another. Birds quarrel, and the one who claimed high status cripples the weak one. For this, the others order her to carry the crippled one on her back. 6 9
B75b In B75 family Sounds of the era of creation: the creaking of trees. The creaking or crackling of trees is the voice of a transformed character. 6 9
B75b1 In B75 family Sounds of the era of creation: the voice of a wife or mother-in-law. The character pushes his mother-in-law or wife into a hollow, and she turns into the creaking of trees or an echo. 7 9
B7c In B7 family Sprinkled water. Fresh water, which its sole owner hides in a vessel or pond, is scattered throughout the world. 8 9
B93a In B93 family Bird bridge over the heavenly river. Once a year, birds form a bridge across the heavenly river with their bodies. Usually, the feathers on their heads are worn away as a result. 5 9
B104 The chicken turns into a turtle. A guest arrived, the host hid the chicken, and when he wanted to eat it, it turned out that it had turned into a turtle. 10 10
B11B In B11 family The drowned mammoth. At the beginning of time or during the flood, the mammoth drowned or sank into the ground, and since then it has not been seen on earth. 9 10
B32 Women turn into fish. As a result of conflict with their husbands, women turn into fish. 6 10
B33e1 In B33 family Freezing in the womb. It is said that the cold, which is stronger than anything else, can freeze boiling water, a foetus in the womb, etc. 11 10
B33f2 In B33 family Following the fire, the hero ties up an old woman. At night, the fire goes out. The young man goes to look for fire and on the way ties up an old woman or an old man (usually a character responsible for the length of night and day). 11 10
B40b In B40 family The horse changes with the cow. The horse changes with the cow, gives up its horns and/or gets teeth. 10 10
B44f In B44 family The fox wants daylight. In the dispute over whether the world should be bright, the fox is on the side of light (almost always against the bear). 11 10
B61 The mole's paw. The mole had to hold up the fallen sky and sun. Since then, its paw (hand) has remained dislocated backwards. 7 10
B64c In B64 family Small bones: fish fall from the sky. Fish, together with other earthly creatures, wage war on the inhabitants of the sky. Falling to the ground, they break their bones, which is why fish have many small bones in their bodies. See motif B64. 4 10
B65 Intestines turn into vines. A mischievous character imitates other animal-people. As a result, his belly is torn open and his spilled intestines turn into vines. 9 10
B74a In B74 family Red cloths over the eyes. Red cloths are sewn over the character's eyes (threads, eyelids are painted red) or he does it himself. He sees everything in red or his eyes have turned red forever. 9 10
B76 Frozen waves. The sea waves instantly petrified, forming land with mountains on it. 9 10
B85a In B85 family Regulating the wind. The wind stops blowing (after blowing too strongly). A character approaches it and establishes the necessary balance. Since then, the wind blows, but usually not too strongly. 13 10
b87d In b87 family Alcor - infant. Alcor (a faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) – infant. 9 10
B96 The enemy turns into a sturgeon. The heroes' enemy turns into a large commercial fish (usually a sturgeon) or (rarely) a commercial aquatic mammal. 13 10
B106 The heavenly rooster. First, the heavenly rooster crows (or the underground roosters crow), and only then do the earthly roosters crow. 12 11
B120 Winter hibernation of snotty creatures. There are creatures that sleep in winter, and frozen snot hangs from their noses. (Motif identified by Evgenia Korovina). 14 11
B123 A fly instead of a nail, ATU 772*. A fly lands on the chest of the crucified Jesus. His persecutors, who intended to drive a nail into his heart, do not do so, believing that the nail has already been driven in. 8 11
B1a In B1 family Three worlds: division of the universe. Anthropomorphic characters agree to divide the tiers of the universe among themselves – heaven, earth and the underworld. 8 11
B1H In B1 family The hero and his ten brothers 4 11
B22a In B22 family Boys and the tapir. Boys climb a tree to eat fruit and refuse to throw the fruit down to the tapir, who tries to kill the boys. 8 11
B38d In B38 family Raven and owl. The Raven and the Owl paint each other. 8 11
B47a In B47 family The cow's split hoof. 33.34. A cow steps on the Pleiades stars lying on the ground, which were demonic creatures. Some of the stars slipped through her split hoof. 7 11
B48b In B48 family Piece of human flesh. The bodies of animals that are now hunted contain a piece of human flesh that has remained since these animals had an anthropomorphic appearance. 10 11
B58 The red neck of the turkey. After the first ancestors steal the original fire, a forest bird the size of a partridge (Penelope sp.; Anhima cornuta; etc.; jacu, paujil) swallows a hot coal. As a result (except for the Andoc), its neck turns red. 9 11
B64b In B64 family Small bones: war between different fish. Two types of fish shoot arrows at each other. Since then, the fish have had many small bones in their bodies, or some of their bones have split in two. 11 11
B98b In B98 family The Bat and funerals. The Bat comes into conflict with other creatures in connection with someone's death or funeral. 11 11
B115B In B115 family The slain person turns into a viburnum. One brother kills another, or one sister kills another, or a brother kills a sister. A viburnum or other shrub with red berries grows in this place. 7 12
B122 Infants and birds. Birds (cranes/storks, geese or crows) carry children away to another world or bring them back from there. See motif H6c3, "The Immortal Stork". 5 12
B16a In B16 family Sea of urine. The sea is formed from urine or blood. 14 12
B33g In B33 family Three horsemen (sun, moon, night). Horsemen or horses represent celestial bodies or different periods of the day. 8 12
B42i In B42 family Cassiopeia – deer. Cassiopeia is associated with a deer or elk. 15 12

Showing 51–100 of 313 · Page 2 of 7

Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.