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.
I - Supernatural objects and creatures
| Ref | Title | Summary | Traditions | Narratives ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I11b In I11 family | Sky supports made from animal legs. | The pillars of the sky are made from the legs of a four-legged animal (usually a turtle). | 2 | 9 |
| I123 | Altair – herald of the sun. | Altair with a small neighbouring star from the constellation Aquila or Vega with a similarly faint star are considered to appear during or immediately after the winter solstice, although they are actually visible before that. | 7 | 9 |
| I37C In I37 family | Mushrooms: erotic associations. | Mushrooms have erotic associations. See motif I37. | 12 | 9 |
| I41c In I41 family | Celestial object – reflection of a snake. | Rainbow or Milky Way – reflection of a snake (fish) on land or in the sea. | 7 | 9 |
| I4e In I4 family | Thunder riding on a cloud. | An anthropomorphic deity (associated with thunder and rain) rides on a cloud or a cloud. | 7 | 9 |
| I70 | Reptile with trees on its back. | Trees or reeds grow on the back or head of a reptile. | 6 | 9 |
| I74a In I74 family | Stars – fireflies. | Stars – fireflies. | 9 | 9 |
| I122 | The Pleiades – a beehive. | The Pleiades – a beehive, a nest, a cluster of bees or wasps. | 11 | 10 |
| I133a In I133 family | The constellation of the great bird. | There is a constellation that represents a bird and corresponds to several large constellations in European traditions (mainly equatorial, rather than circumpolar). | 8 | 10 |
| I22h In I22 family | Pulsating Abyss. | The character must jump over a gap (abyss) beneath his feet, which alternately widens and narrows, or a river whose banks converge and diverge. | 9 | 10 |
| I34 | Dangerous tree. | It is necessary to approach a tree that is surrounded by fire, spews fire, throws sharp splinters, etc. | 10 | 10 |
| I46e In I46 family | Rainbow sword. | Rainbow - sword, cutting weapon. | 8 | 10 |
| I59b3 In I59 family | The Milky Way – the road of salt traders. | The Milky Way – the road of salt traders, "Chumak Way". | 15 | 10 |
| I59b4 In I59 family | The Milky Way – snow, hoarfrost. | The Milky Way is associated with snow, hoarfrost, and cold. | 10 | 10 |
| I7a In I7 family | Lightning snake. | Lightning is associated with a snake. | 13 | 10 |
| I87ad In I87 family | Hidden in a tooth cavity. | A giant hides a persecuted person in his mouth – usually (perhaps always) in a tooth cavity; or the person remains alive in the giant's mouth, hiding in a tooth cavity. Cf. motif M21a. | 11 | 10 |
| I92a In I92 family | Jumping over the rainbow. | A person who jumps or steps over a rainbow changes their gender. | 9 | 10 |
| I98C In I98 family | Pleiades – a flock of birds. | The Pleiades - a flock of (flying) birds. | 11 | 10 |
| I119a In I119 family | Earthquake – are there any survivors? | Creatures shake the earth, either upon learning that there are no longer any inhabitants on it, or to check whether they are still alive, or to show that they themselves are still there. | 12 | 11 |
| I20a In I20 family | Heavenly giants. | Anthropomorphic inhabitants of the upper world – giants. | 9 | 11 |
| I31 | The master and mistress of the dead. | 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 appears to women in female form and to men in male form. | 10 | 11 |
| I46c In I46 family | Rainbow rope. | The rainbow is a rope to which cattle are tied. | 9 | 11 |
| I61a In I61 family | The Milky Way – belt. | The Milky Way – the heavenly belt. | 14 | 11 |
| I132 | To the sky on deer antlers. | A deer props its antlers against the sky, and a person climbs them to reach the upper world. Alternatively, a person finds themselves in the sky when they touch the deer's antlers. | 6 | 12 |
| I20b In I20 family | Girding under the armpits. | People in the upper world are different from those on earth and gird themselves below or above the waist. | 9 | 12 |
| I24A In I24 family | The snake bridge to another world. | The body of water over which the snake bridge is thrown separates our world from another. | 11 | 12 |
| I25b In I25 family | Wiping the stove with hair. | This refers to women who work without the simplest tools, using parts of their bodies instead. | 10 | 12 |
| I117a In I117 family | The bat helps to descend. | The bat helps the hero descend to the ground from a high cliff. | 11 | 13 |
| I30 | The lord of the dead meets women. | In the world of the dead, its master or mistress copulates with all new arrivals. | 4 | 13 |
| I64a In I64 family | Race on the Milky Way. | Two different hoofed animals race across the sky. Usually, the Milky Way is the dusty trail they leave behind. | 11 | 13 |
| I76b In I76 family | A mouse becomes a bat. | After a certain amount of time or after performing certain actions, an ordinary mouse turns into a bat. | 13 | 13 |
| I77 | The lame thunderer. | A powerful character associated with thunderstorms and rain, lame. | 14 | 13 |
| I85a1 In I85 family | The North Star – a hole in the sky. | The North Star – a hole leading to the upper world. | 14 | 13 |
| I102 | The Milky Way – a tree. | The Milky Way – a tree, the trace of a tree. | 12 | 14 |
| I107 | Stars – nails. | Stars are nails or stakes driven into the sky, or stars are nailed down. | 12 | 14 |
| I5a In I5 family | Thunder tapir. | The tapir is associated with the upper world (thunder, sky, moon). | 10 | 14 |
| I68a In I68 family | The night of magical water. | Once a year, water briefly acquires unusual properties. | 12 | 14 |
| I80a In I80 family | Junior Thunder. | Upon meeting the Thunders, a person becomes one of them. | 12 | 14 |
| I18 | Wife or husband without a mouth or anus. | Visiting the world of people without an anus or mouth (the underworld, if not otherwise), the hero or heroine enters or attempts to enter into sexual relations with the local inhabitants. See motif I14. | 22 | 15 |
| I49 | Runner-earthquake. | Earthquake – an anthropomorphic character (or category of characters) that moves around, shaking the earth. | 14 | 15 |
| I81b In I81 family | Charybdis (ebb and flow). | During high tide, a certain creature spews seawater or displaces it with its body, and during low tide, it swallows the water or makes room for it (or it is simply reported that the water is either spewed or recedes). | 14 | 15 |
| I111 | Reptilian Earth. | The earth as a whole or a mountain range is the body of a crocodile, dragon, or snake (eel). | 11 | 16 |
| I17a In I17 family | Dwarfs without bodily orifices. | Creatures without an anal opening or mouth - dwarves. | 13 | 16 |
| I41a In I41 family | Rainbow from an anthill. | A rainbow rises from an anthill or termite mound. | 18 | 16 |
| I47a In I47 family | Rainbow – fox wedding. | The rainbow is associated with the wedding of a fox or jackal. | 10 | 16 |
| I84a In I84 family | The frozen son of a god. | Contrary to the warning of his father or mother, a young man or woman sets off on a journey in winter and freezes to death. Cf. motif B33A ("Frozen in Spring"). | 10 | 16 |
| I86 | Down in birds, scales in fish. | The inhabitants of the upper world produce down, wool, and scales, which turn into birds, animals, and fish. | 18 | 16 |
| I88 | The multi-tailed beast. | Describes a creature with several tails. | 13 | 16 |
| I98b In I98 family | The Pleiades – a duck's nest. | The Pleiades – ducks, nest or wild duck egg. | 10 | 16 |
| I114 | The Golden Fleece. | Describes a ram or sheep with golden wool or the skin of such a ram. | 11 | 17 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.