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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.
K - Adventures: Acts of heroes
| Ref | Title | Summary | Traditions | Narratives ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K95 | Together and after death, ATU 970. | Two people who love each other (usually a man and a woman) die prematurely and are buried in the same grave or nearby. After or during the burial, something unusual happens that is connected with the story (special plants grow in that place, the smoke from the two funeral pyres joins together, the dead turn into two birds, two stars, etc.). | 77 | 77 |
| K87 | Marriage to an animal ends badly. | A woman becomes the wife of an animal (rarely another non-human creature). The husband takes care of her, but the marriage ends with the murder of the husband, the woman, their offspring, the woman's relatives, the transformation of the woman herself into an animal, leading to hostility between humans and animals, etc. | 47 | 78 |
| K92a In K92 family | A woman builds a house, ATU 923B. | A girl who has been driven from her home or has become the wife of an insignificant pauper becomes rich and respected. | 58 | 78 |
| K67c In K67 family | Skin torn from the back. | The character agrees that under certain conditions another person may tear the skin from his back or cause him some other bodily harm. | 57 | 79 |
| K48 | The hero's singing bird, ATU 550. | The antagonist orders the wonderful bird captured by the hero to sing or talk, but it remains silent or cries out inappropriately. The bird begins to sing (talk) after the hero has triumphed over his opponents. | 64 | 80 |
| K49 | Dead mother nursing a baby, E323.1. | A woman who has been transformed into an animal or found herself outside the human world returns to her child to feed and care for it. Cf. motif K33. | 73 | 81 |
| K56a In K56 family | The unworthy fail, the worthy succeed, ATU 431. | Two or three sisters successively go to a powerful character. The first or the first two act incorrectly, perish or fail to achieve their goal. The last one acts correctly, is saved or rewarded. | 51 | 81 |
| K88b In K88 family | Food in exchange for eyes. | The character suffers from thirst or hunger. His companion promises to share water or food with him (to make him rich) if he allows himself to be blinded. | 64 | 81 |
| K93b1 In K93 family | Conception from eaten fish. | After eating fish, a childless woman gives birth to a boy or twins. | 44 | 81 |
| K86 | The Crying Child. | A small (usually capricious) child is ignored, sent away from home, abandoned on the road, or given to another person for a time. As a result, the child is carried away by an animal or a spirit. | 71 | 83 |
| K100b In K100 family | The Grateful Dead Man, ATU 505. | A person helps to bury a dead man (pays his remaining debt, honours a saint). The revived dead man (saint) helps him overcome difficulties. See motif K100A. | 55 | 85 |
| K132 | The Invincible Rooster, ATU 715, 715A. | A small character (usually a rooster) comes to a powerful enemy. Thanks to creatures and objects that he encounters along the way and hides in his body or bag, the character remains unharmed after all attempts to destroy him. Cf. motif L126. | 64 | 86 |
| K27f1 In K27 family | Building a bridge. | A character builds a bridge (usually from precious materials) in an implausibly short time. | 51 | 86 |
| K73b In K73 family | Punishment of the innocent. | A woman falsely accused of murdering her newborn child, or of giving birth to a puppy instead of a child, etc., is subjected to cruel and humiliating punishment or execution. See motif K73. | 66 | 86 |
| K27g In K27 family | To bathe in boiling water. | The character is ordered to bathe in (hot) milk, in boiling water, to jump into the fire; he remains unharmed, while his opponent usually perishes. | 62 | 87 |
| K34 | Dangerous swings, K855. | The character puts others on the swing and, after swinging them, throws them (or threatens to throw them) into the water, onto rocks, etc. | 61 | 87 |
| K76b In K76 family | Son-snake and husband-snake. | The son or foster son of snake spouses. He turns into a human. The snake is the princess's magical spouse, lost and returned. | 69 | 89 |
| K38d1 In K38 family | Girl sacrificed to the dragon. | Fearing a monster living in the water or wishing to end a flood or drought, a girl is sacrificed or voluntarily hides in the waters. | 63 | 90 |
| K73a8 In K73 family | Miraculous children: brother and sister. | A woman gives birth to a miraculous boy and girl. They are replaced by animals or objects and thrown away, but they escape and triumph over their enemies. | 58 | 90 |
| K106 | Thrown to the cows. | The hero (a miraculous infant, a magical rooster) is thrown at the feet of animals, but they do not trample him. | 61 | 91 |
| K80d In K80 family | The stuck pin. | A young woman or man is enchanted (turned into a bird, animal, immobilised) when a pin or other sharp object is stuck into their body. | 52 | 91 |
| K128 | Graze without loss. | A character orders the hero to graze animals (or birds) and promises to execute him (deprive him of his reward) if even one animal is lost. Cf. K128B (ATU 570). | 59 | 92 |
| K99 | The Untold Dream, ATU 725. | A person dreams about an upcoming celebration for himself or a member of his family (rarely: he daydreams about it). Either another person buys the dream and becomes the protagonist of the story, or the person who saw it hides its content from everyone, or he is persecuted for excessive conceit, as evidenced by the content of the dream. The meaning of the dream is revealed at the end of the story. Often, the young man ascends to the throne and marries the heiresses of two kingdoms (in the dream, these were two suns or the sun and the moon). | 70 | 92 |
| K160a In K160 family | The demon's answers to his wife's questions, ATU 461. | A woman living in the house of a supernatural character hides a man who has come to her and asks the character questions, the answers to which the man must find out. | 72 | 93 |
| K1f In K1 family | Conflict over a woman. | One man traps another, driven by jealousy or the desire to possess his rival's wife. See motifs K1A, K1E, K2A. | 172 | 93 |
| K100a In K100 family | Tobiah, (ATU 505). | Setting off on a journey, a young man releases a caught fish or animal, or he or his father does someone a favour. As a reward for their help, a person or creature in the guise of a stranger or animal comes to the young man, becomes his companion and protector. | 62 | 94 |
| K123 | The old woman's curse. | A boy, a young man, or, less commonly, a girl deliberately or accidentally offends an elderly woman (or a cripple). She utters words that cause him or her to want to do something dangerous (most often to find a marriage partner). | 51 | 94 |
| K35 | The replaced man. | The deceiver pretends to be a hero in order to take his place (to possess his woman). (This motif includes all texts with motif K35a3). | 71 | 94 |
| K121 | The knight at the crossroads. | At the crossroads, it is indicated that one road is safe, another is neutral, and the third is deadly dangerous. There can only be two roads – dangerous and safe. The hero travels along the dangerous road. | 57 | 95 |
| K129 | Enchanted and brought to life, ATU 709, 709A. | (Due to the intrigues of an antagonist) a girl falls into a deep swoon, but is not dead. A male character of high status (either the girl's spouse or blood relative) revives her. {In sub-Saharan Africa, except for Swahili, borrowing from Europeans is more likely than from Arabs}. | 71 | 95 |
| K33c In K33 family | Girl found inside a foetus, (ATU 408). | A young man obtains a girl who is inside a fruit or (rarely) a flower, stem, leaf, or egg. | 57 | 95 |
| K22 | Cranes and pygmies, F535.5.1. | The inhabitants of a distant land, who differ from (ordinary) people, occasionally fight off enemies of a non-human nature who attack them. | 58 | 97 |
| K82 | The evil sister-in-law. | A man's wife or another woman tries to destroy his sister. | 68 | 97 |
| K8d In K8 family | Jonah: swallowed by an anthropomorphic creature. | The character enters the body of an anthropomorphic creature, kills it from within (K952) and/or returns to the outside without outside help. | 67 | 97 |
| K120 | Prevented incest (daughter and father), (ATU 510B, 510B*), 706C. | The girl's father (rarely: stepfather) intends to marry her (since she is the only one who meets the requirements for a bride). Usually, the girl manages to avoid the marriage. | 64 | 98 |
| K135 | Seven with one blow, ATU 1640. | By accidentally defeating powerful opponents, a physically weak and timid person gains honour. | 84 | 98 |
| K96 | Fifty Sons, ATU 303A. | Several (more than three) brothers marry or must marry in such a way that their wives are sisters. | 73 | 99 |
| k80a6 In k80 family | Talking pipe made from a plant that grew there. | A musical instrument is made from a plant that grew where the character was killed (fell, touched the ground). When played, it produces a text with a specific meaning. | 33 | 100 |
| K79 | The snake shows how to recover. | Finding himself in a helpless situation, a man sees how a small animal finds a cure for itself or another animal. The man uses the same cure, saves himself or saves another. | 88 | 101 |
| K19b In K19 family | Star-man. | The star man takes an earthly woman as his wife. | 57 | 102 |
| K26 | The earth seen from the sky. | Approaching an opening or making one, the character sees the world below (usually seeing the earth from the sky). See motif K25. | 76 | 102 |
| K107a In K107 family | Wear out iron shoes, Q502.2. | Before reaching their goal, the character must wear out iron shoes or an iron staff. | 51 | 103 |
| K100g In K100 family | Sacrifice a son, (ATU 516C). | In order to revive or heal a friend (to heal oneself, to fulfil a vow), the character agrees to sacrifice his son (children). The slain person usually comes back to life, or the person's willingness to make the sacrifice is sufficient to satisfy supernatural forces. | 74 | 104 |
| K38f1 In K38 family | Severed tongues. | After killing a monster or animal, the hero cuts off and hides a part of its body, usually the tongue. (In most cases, the deceiver takes credit for the feat, after which the hero presents the hidden item, thus exposing the deceiver). | 57 | 104 |
| K33d In K33 family | Donkey Skin, ATU 510B. | A man discovers that a beautiful girl is hiding under the guise of an ugly hag or under the skin of an animal. | 87 | 107 |
| K75a In K75 family | Throwing an apple at a suitor, H316. | The character chooses one of many suitors (a woman chooses a husband, a boy chooses a father, a young man chooses a bride) by throwing an object (often an apple) at him. Cf. motif K113A (throwing an object at random, not at a person who is nearby). | 68 | 107 |
| K93 | Twins and a woman, ATU 303. | After a series of adventures and victories, the hero finds himself in trouble. His twin or brother follows in his footsteps, meets the same characters, but when he encounters the final enemy, he defeats him and revives (frees) the hero. | 94 | 107 |
| K130a In K130 family | The Girl in the Brothers' House, (ATU 709A). | Several young men (brothers) live far away from other people. A girl comes to them, or she is miraculously born in their house, and they treat her like a sister. After some time, the girl finds herself in danger, but is ultimately saved. | 77 | 108 |
| K27q In K27 family | Milk of a wild animal. | Task: to obtain the milk of a wild animal or milk possessed by a dangerous creature. See motif K27. | 80 | 108 |
| K19a In K19 family | Star Wife, T111.2.1. | A man marries a star woman. | 50 | 109 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.