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.
M - Adventures: Tricks and episodes
| Ref | Title ▲ | Summary | Traditions | Narratives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M60b2 In M60 family | To make the bear beautiful, ATU 8 | A large predator asks (agrees with the proposal) to make his skin beautiful (variegated). The deceiver burns it (scalds it, burns his eyes, etc.). | 10 | 14 |
| M39g2 In M39 family | To rake nuts with a pitchfork, ATU 1229* | Numskulls try to shovel nuts with a pitchfork. F stranger shows them how to do this work more easily with a shovel (a basket) | 14 | 11 |
| M39a8b In M39 family | Tongueless Robber | Using a stratagem, someone who hides in a tree cuts (bits) off the tongue of a dangerous person and the latter is unable to describe situation to his partners | 12 | 12 |
| M78b In M78 family | Too many kids | Wishing a baby, a childless woman gives birth to many tiny boys. She or her husband kill them or throw them away, but she stays alone and helps their parents. | 13 | 15 |
| M158 | Tops and roots, ATU 1030. | A human and an animal (devil) or two animals decide to cultivate a field and divide the harvest so that one gets the above-ground part and the other gets the underground part. One of the characters (always) loses out. | 87 | 139 |
| M134 | Tower of Wolves, ATU 121. | Animals, demons or people stand on top of each other to reach something. The one at the bottom jumps off (leans, jerks), and everyone falls after him. | 54 | 68 |
| M164 | Traces in one direction, ATU 50A. | The character refuses to enter the predator's lair when he sees that all the tracks lead inside, but not outside. | 35 | 30 |
| M9 | Trapped in a hollow | The character puts his head or hand in a hollow or (rarely) another hole), gets stuck in it, or falls into a hollow. Usually, as a result, the character dies or undergoes a metamorphosis. | 30 | 39 |
| M75c In M75 family | Treasures on the mountain, ATU 936 | A person is offered to climb a rock or tree to get treasures. A return descent is not possible. Doomed to death, the hero remains alive. | 50 | 51 |
| M29qq In M29 family | Trickster - Anteater | See the motives in square brackets. | 10 | 5 |
| M29T In M29 family | Trickster - Armadillo | See the motives in square brackets. | 4 | 2 |
| M29x1 In M29 family | Trickster - Badger | See the motives in square brackets. | 9 | 7 |
| M29S In M29 family | Trickster - Crane | See the motives in square brackets. | 3 | 3 |
| M29nn In M29 family | Trickster - Earth Squirrel (Xerus inauris) | See the motives in square brackets. | 8 | 10 |
| M29b In M29 family | Trickster - Fox, Jackal, Coyote | Fox (a), Jackal, Coyote (or Wolf when, apparently, we mean a steppenwolf, i.e. the same coyote). See the motives in square brackets. | 352 | 447 |
| M29g In M29 family | Trickster - Hare, Rabbit | See the motives in square brackets. They include traditions in which the hare/rabbit appears only as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox or jackal) often occurs. | 176 | 199 |
| M29g1 In M29 family | Trickster - Hare, Rabbit (main trickster) | In episodes involving deception, ridiculous, obscene, or antisocial behavior, the hare or rabbit is the main trickster. Traditions in which 1) a hare or rabbit occurs only once as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox/jackal/coyote) is typical; 2) Mesoamerican traditions in which a small rabbit is associated with a small a set of episodes and a high probability of recent African influences. See the motives in square brackets. | 110 | 146 |
| M29i In M29 family | Trickster - Hawk | See the motives in square brackets. | 13 | 5 |
| M29c In M29 family | Trickster - Jay | See the motives in square brackets. | 10 | 9 |
| M29d In M29 family | Trickster - Mink | See the motives in square brackets. | 12 | 8 |
| M29o In M29 family | Trickster - Monkey | See the motives in square brackets. | 53 | 34 |
| M29n In M29 family | Trickster - Mouse | See the motives in square brackets. | 13 | 8 |
| M29h In M29 family | Trickster - Owl | See the motives in square brackets. | 17 | 11 |
| M29r In M29 family | Trickster - Porcupine | See the motives in square brackets. | 18 | 8 |
| M29l In M29 family | Trickster - Possum | See the motives in square brackets. | 25 | 7 |
| M29q In M29 family | Trickster - Raccoon | See the motives in square brackets. | 11 | 7 |
| M29a In M29 family | Trickster - Raven (a) | See the motives in square brackets. | 80 | 65 |
| M29E In M29 family | Trickster - Skunk | See the motives in square brackets. | 17 | 7 |
| M29y In M29 family | Trickster - Wren | See the motives in square brackets. | 10 | 9 |
| M29p In M29 family | Trickster vs Spider | See the motives in square brackets. | 25 | 37 |
| M29X2 In M29 family | Trickster other creatures | See the motives in square brackets. | 41 | 28 |
| M108a In M108 family | Trickster-adopted child. | A lonely elderly couple adopts a trickster. He steals from them (and runs away). | 17 | 18 |
| M29 | Trickster: identification with birds and animals | trickster is defined as a protagonist in the following characteristic episodes. | 0 | 0 |
| M75b3 In M75 family | Trojan horse: victory over enemies | Enemies are shown a life-size or larger image of a horse or bull. Not realizing that this is a ruse, they bring the figure to their own territory and are defeated as a result. | 7 | 19 |
| M56c In M56 family | Try on a snake | The character promises to bring a snake. The snake agrees to have the character measure its length. He ties the snake to a stick or, while measuring, finds out where to hit it to kill it. | 10 | 11 |
| M62c In M62 family | Tug of war, ATU 291 | A weak character takes turns negotiating with two strong ones to compete in a tug of war. They don't know they're pulling each other's rope or that they're tied to a tree. | 34 | 53 |
| M13a In M13 family | Turned into stone. | A deity and a human meet so that the former can fulfil the latter's request. As a result, the human is turned to stone. Usually (except for the Squamish), one of the supplicants wants eternal life and is turned to stone. See motif M13. | 12 | 2 |
| M9a In M9 family | Turning into a tree frog | A character who eagerly sucks honey from a hollow and/or gets stuck in a hollow turns into a tree frog. See M9 motif. | 10 | 2 |
| M29k1 In M29 family | Turtle, Toad, Frog are a loser trickster | A turtle (toad, frog) gets into unpleasant situations due to its own stupidity or carelessness. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle. | 63 | 15 |
| M195 | Two horses: which one is older? | The character must guess which of the two horses or cows is older. He does this by knowing the behavioural characteristics of these animals. | 25 | 36 |
| M181 | Two people are going to a festival. | Two characters are invited to a festival. (On the way and) upon arriving at the destination, one deceives the other. | 28 | 34 |
| M135 | Two Rams and a Wolf, ATU 122K*. | Two ungulates – usually after the wolf agrees to share the meadow between them – gore the predator from both sides, killing or maiming it. | 35 | 28 |
| M11 | Unclean food. | The character gives others food extracted from his or someone else's body or contaminated with bodily secretions, without revealing the source of the food. | 114 | 148 |
| M21a In M21 family | Under the pretext of illness. | The character is pursued by an enemy. An animal hides the fugitive in its mouth or on its body, and when the pursuer appears, it refuses to open its mouth or expose part of its body. (Usually simulates illness – toothache, etc.). Cf. motif i87ad. | 20 | 30 |
| M39e In M39 family | Under which tree? ATU 1543D* | When reviewing the dispute, the judge asks about the secondary circumstances of the case. The offender is exposed by showing that he knows (or, on the contrary, does not know) about them. | 30 | 33 |
| M197e In M197 family | Unknown beast, ATU 1091. | A man smears himself with resin, rolls around in feathers, crawls backwards on all fours, lets his hair down, etc. The demon thinks he is facing an unknown beast. The man escapes. | 36 | 38 |
| M91c5 In M91 family | Unprofitable sale, ATU 1551 | The person himself or his little son goes to the bazaar to sell a cow (or another large pet). The crook convinces him that it is a sheep (or another animal that is smaller and cheaper). Each of the crook's friends confirms the score or gives an even lower grade. A man at a loss sells a cow for the price of a sheep. | 46 | 30 |
| M123c In M123 family | Unsuccessful flight south. | A non-migratory bird sets off south with migratory birds, but is unable to reach its destination. | 23 | 27 |
| M81a In M81 family | Vivid female ducks | The hero meets two blind women and makes them sighted. These women are birds (geese, ducks, hazel grouses, partridges). | 13 | 20 |
| M75d In M75 family | Vulture knife | A man bereaves vultures of their hunting weapons or amulets | 10 | 11 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.