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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.
M - Adventures: Tricks and episodes
| Ref | Title ▲ | Summary | Traditions | Narratives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M157a3 In M157 family | The demand to milk the bull. | A character demands that another provide him with offspring or milk from a male animal. | 35 | 42 |
| M197e1 In M197 family | The demon claims the harvest. | The demon claims that the harvest in a field belonging to a human belongs to him. But if the human brings him an animal unknown to him, he will renounce his claims. The man brings his wife, smeared with something sticky and covered in feathers, standing on all fours, with her hair loose, etc. The demon admits defeat. | 13 | 16 |
| M199d1 In M199 family | The devil and the squirrel climb a tree, ATU 1073. | The devil (cannibal) challenges a man to a competition: who can climb a tree faster. The man puts his child, a squirrel, in his place. | 9 | 2 |
| M84b In M84 family | The dice are thrown into the water | An animal, bird or fish that is killed and eaten comes to life after its bones are thrown into the water. See M84 motif. | 32 | 34 |
| M91d In M91 family | The drowned shaman | The character deceives others by passing off the dead as alive, directing suspicions of murder to innocent people, etc. When a shaman (less often a shaman) is ready to discover the truth, he succeeds in it kill and avoid being charged with murder. | 18 | 20 |
| M29v In M29 family | The dwarf deer is a cunning winner | The character defeats or deceives strong opponents using cunning. The protagonists are dwarf ungulates, usually duker or deer - taxonomically distant from each other, but similar in appearance. In some publications on African traditions, it is difficult to determine which animal we are talking about, but it is certain that these are small cloven-hoofed animals, usually (always?) dukers. See the motives in square brackets. | 35 | 35 |
| M115 | The eaten wolf. | The character kills an animal that is dangerous to him by cunning. Relatives or friends of the killed animal find out about this and come to take revenge. The character escapes. | 20 | 25 |
| M70 | The elder poisons the younger ones with intestinal gases | The oldest character poisons the youngest with his intestinal gases. | 14 | 16 |
| M57a3 In M57 family | The female character exudes values | Instead of common body discharges a a woman urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular female person. See motif m57a | 112 | 187 |
| M39a4c In M39 family | The fool sells his property to the birds | Fool sells property to birds and believes that they will pay him. Trying to get his money, he finds treasure | 12 | 14 |
| M136c In M136 family | The fool takes the prediction of death seriously, ATU 1313A. | Based on indirect signs or someone's words, the fool believes that he has died and lies motionless. | 55 | 35 |
| M110 | The forgotten liver, ATU 91. | Upon learning that it is being transported by water to be eaten, the land animal explains to the transporter that it has forgotten on the shore the organ without which the meat is not tasty, which must be used as medicine, etc. The transporter agrees to return for this organ, and the animal runs away. | 42 | 47 |
| M29b3 In M29 family | The fox (jackal, coyote) is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the fox (jackal) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. If it is not specified that a “jackal”, then the protagonist is a fox. | 125 | 60 |
| M130 | The fox and the bird in one burrow. | The fox and the bird hide from the hunter in the same burrow or hollow. The bird pretends to be dead and as a result is saved – either alone or together with the fox. Cf. motif M130A. | 13 | 11 |
| M180 | The Fox and the Crane, ATU 60. | A zoomorphic character invites another to visit, but serves food in such a way that the other cannot take it in his mouth. The other, inviting the first to visit, puts him in a similar position. | 60 | 75 |
| M7b In M7 family | The fox asks for help from people passing by | zoomorphic character (usually a fox) finds himself in a place he can't get out of, and consistently asks for help from animals (fish) passing by or approaching him. The latter helps. | 15 | 16 |
| M147b In M147 family | The fox gets rid of fleas, ATU 63. | To get rid of fleas, the fox (jackal) takes a bunch of moss (hay, grass) in its mouth and dives into the water. The fleas, in order not to drown, move closer and closer to its head and then fall onto the moss or hay. The fox leaves the bunch in the water and comes ashore. | 17 | 9 |
| M143 | The fox in the well, ATU 31, 32. | Finding himself in a pit or well, one character persuades another to climb down to him, thanks to which he gets out, leaving the other at the bottom. | 64 | 46 |
| M74ab In M74 family | The fox is in the boat | Travelling in a boat or on a sledge, animal person (always the fox) steals food supplies or ruins objects and accordingly to his deeds, names different places. These names seem strange to the person’s companions (“River of broken arrows” and the like) | 17 | 23 |
| M140 | The fox on the sled, ATU 1. | The character pretends to be dead, sick or infirm, is picked up, and eats the food that others are carrying – usually after first throwing it out of the cart, sleigh, sack, etc. | 88 | 108 |
| M147 | The fox runs ahead of the tiger. | A weak animal tells a strong animal that everyone is afraid of him, the weak one, and suggests testing this. He walks in front of the strong animal, everyone runs away, and the strong animal believes that they are running away from the weak one. | 6 | 6 |
| M140a In M140 family | The fox ties up its companion. | The fox cunningly ties up the wolf or man and runs away. | 8 | 13 |
| M21 | The fugitive hides with his protector. | The character runs away from his pursuer. The person, animal or object that the character asks for help hides him (and kills the pursuer). | 170 | 258 |
| M199h In M199 family | The giant's torn belly, (ATU 1088). | The character hides a bag under his clothes, secretly putting food in it. After cutting open the bag, he pretends to have cut open his own belly. His opponent decides to do the same and, after cutting open his own belly, dies. Cf. motif M91A, "The Blood Blister." In the definition of plot 1088 in ATU, the motif of the giant's torn belly is optional. | 21 | 27 |
| M10 | The girl and the honey. | A girl or woman gets stuck in a hollow while extracting honey, or greedily sucks honey in some other way and as a result dies or undergoes a metamorphosis; a woman stuck in a narrow passage turns into honey, into a honey bee. | 16 | 19 |
| M203 | The Great Pan is dead, ATU 113A. | A supernatural being conveys a message to an unknown recipient through a passer-by. By fulfilling the request, the person provokes an unexpected reaction from another supernatural being (usually living in his house). Most of the material was collected by K.Yu. Rakhno. | 33 | 47 |
| M93a In M93 family | The guard was punished | The character punishes a part of his body (burns his ass, breaks his eyes) for not sounding the alarm. See Motive M93; cf. Motive M142. | 18 | 19 |
| M179b In M179 family | The guest ruined the house, ATU 80. | One zoomorphic character asks another (or a human) to let him in to dry off, warm up, etc. Once inside, he wreaks such havoc on the dwelling that it becomes difficult for the owner to stay there. Usually, in response to reproaches, he says that if the owner doesn't like it, there's the door. | 11 | 5 |
| M39i In M39 family | The Hangman's Treasure, ATU 910D | After going broke, a person decides to hang himself, but finds gold (specially put by the father where his son hangs). | 37 | 24 |
| M172 | The Hare Riding the Lion, ATU 72. | To show that a strong character is his slave, a riding animal, the weak one adjusts so that the strong one takes him along. Those around them are convinced of the truthfulness of the weak one. | 17 | 30 |
| M91c6 In M91 family | The hat pays the bills, (ATU 1539) | A person sells a hat to others, convincing them that it pays the bill, you just have to lift it up (throw it on the floor, etc.). He actually paid the innkeeper in advance. | 21 | 23 |
| M69 | The head gets stuck in the skull | character is attracted by the inside of a large animal's skull (small animals or insects are dancing or feasting inside, or eating some meat); he sticks his head inside , it gets stuck. | 18 | 27 |
| M47 | The head is attached to the rear | When punishing a person or animal or restoring a dismembered body, a character intentionally or accidentally puts his head to his ass. | 15 | 27 |
| M16 | The healed cripple. | The wife or relatives (often the mother) of the sick person do not care for him. He recovers, and those who treated him badly are punished. Cf. motifs F62 and F96. | 48 | 80 |
| M29gg In M29 family | The hedgehog is a cunning winner | hedgehog defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning. | 43 | 79 |
| M38a2 In M38 family | The hen boils eggs | The hen (other bird) cooks her own eggs and serves them to other animal persons (who imitated her with disastrous consequences) | 4 | 4 |
| M91c1 In M91 family | The herd from the bottom | The character (pretends to) take possession of someone's property (usually setting the owner to be killed instead of him), says that he got everything at the bottom of the river, in the abyss, etc., to him they believe. | 150 | 236 |
| M60a In M60 family | The hunter comes to the one he wounded | The creature/character runs away or swims away with a hook, harpoon, arrow, or other object thrown by the hero in his body. Local shamans can't heal an existence/character. The hero or his friend comes to the wounded man's village, takes out the object that caused the injury, or drives him even deeper into the body. The patient recovers or dies accordingly. See L105 and M60 motifs. | 53 | 53 |
| M38d4 In M38 family | The Hunting Needle, ATU 90 | Several characters that embody small objects (and a squirrel with them) travel together. The needle penetrates the body of a large animal and kills it. (In the Baltic-Finnish texts, the needle first finds items that others find useless, but after the animal was caught, everything found turned out to be in demand for cooking meat). | 4 | 5 |
| M29x In M29 family | The hyena is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the hyena dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 66 | 68 |
| M198b In M198 family | The Imaginary Diviner, ATU 1641. | A man who is unable to find lost items and expose thieves successfully does so thanks to a fortunate coincidence. | 101 | 113 |
| M198b5 In M198 family | The imaginary fortune teller: an overheard conversation. | The fake fortune teller accidentally overhears someone's conversation, otherwise he would not have been able to give the correct answer. | 5 | 6 |
| M198b4 In M198 family | The imaginary fortune teller: names of thieves. | The fake fortune teller, expecting to be exposed, utters words that reflect his state of mind. The thieves standing nearby perceive some of the words as their names, believe that the fortune teller has found out about them, and ask him not to reveal them. | 19 | 22 |
| M60a3 In M60 family | The Imaginary Physician: Punishing a Scoundrel | Avenging the seized property (a pet or a bird), the hero repeatedly comes to the offender in different guises (girl, doctor, etc.) and brutally mocks him. | 4 | 4 |
| M60a2 In M60 family | The imaginary servant licks his heels | The servant must lick the master or mistress's feet or wound. The hero comes disguised as a servant and instead of licking his heels, touches them with the animal's cut off tongue. | 18 | 19 |
| M90a4 In M90 family | The jewel tree | A tree is described on which jewelry or ornaments hang instead of fruits; individual parts of the tree are made of different metals or (semi) precious stones. | 33 | 39 |
| M144 | The King's Drum, ATU 49A. | One character manages to convince another that dangerous and inedible objects are attractive and delicious (a wasp's nest is a drum, a snake is a flute, dung is a delicacy, etc.). | 28 | 41 |
| M154 | The language of animals and the stubborn wife, ATU 670. | A man who has learned the language of animals laughs when he hears them talking. His wife or mother-in-law (rarely someone else) demands that he explain what is going on. The man is ready to comply with his wife's demand, even though he knows he will die if he reveals the secret. Usually, he hears the domestic animals condemning their master's stupidity and decides not to say anything. | 111 | 124 |
| M29w1 In M29 family | The leopard is a loser and a loser | As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, the leopard (panther, leopard) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 57 | 46 |
| M138 | The lifespan of humans and animals, ATU 173. | At first, everyone was given 20 or 30 years. For animals, this is a long time, but for humans, it is short. Humans received part of the lifespan of animals. | 40 | 31 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.