Folklore Database · Browse
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
| Ref | Title ▲ | Summary | Traditions | Narratives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B110 | Where the back is – swamps, where the head is – red poppies. | A character who is dragged along the ground or who runs, falls apart or hits the ground with different parts of his body. This determines the characteristics of the landscape and flora. | 23 | 31 |
| B82 | White Raven, A2411.1.1.6. | The raven (less often another bird of prey, or another black bird the size of a raven) was first white, and then turned black. | 175 | 244 |
| B50 | Whose blood is sweeter? | A dangerous character wants to find out from a blood-sucking insect where it drank blood or whose blood (flesh) tastes better. Usually, the insect deliberately lies, or another character prevents it from telling the truth (by pulling out its tongue). As a result, the dangerous character chooses animals or plants as the object of its aggression, rather than people. (The motif is related to the story of Noah's flood (see motif C3); †: There are versions in which the motif is presented separately, as well as those in which it is included in the story of Noah's flood.) | 83 | 126 |
| B85b In B85 family | Wind in a bag. | The wind was or is in a small container, released from it or flying out of it from time to time. | 30 | 38 |
| B72d In B72 family | Wings from a cutting board. | A woman makes herself wings (beak, tail) from clothing accessories and turns into a bird or a flying creature. | 10 | 22 |
| 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 |
| B45A In B45 family | Winter versus summer. | The alternation of seasons and/or differences between the climates of different localities are explained by the struggle between characters associated with warmth and those associated with cold. See motif B45. | 64 | 77 |
| B33 | Woman-wind. | There is a female character who embodies the wind or is considered the mother or mistress of the winds. | 48 | 74 |
| B31 | Women turn into aquatic mammals. | A woman (usually after coming into conflict with a man or being left alone), or a man and a woman (spouses, lovers, brother and sister) turn into aquatic mammals. | 42 | 55 |
| B32 | Women turn into fish. | As a result of conflict with their husbands, women turn into fish. | 6 | 10 |
| 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 |
| B3d In B3 family | Worm excrement. | The earth is obtained by a worm; it arises from worm excrement, extracted from the worm. | 18 | 40 |
| B42s In B42 family | Wounded by a spear. | The Big Dipper or Polar Star – a small animal (ermine, marten, forest marmot) or anthropomorphic character with animal features, struck by a spear or arrow. | 14 | 14 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.