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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.
All motif categories
| Ref | Title | Summary | Traditions | Narratives ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M46e In M46 family | The Sun is a Toy | They (promise to) give a child the Sun (and or the Moon) to play with | 26 | 59 |
| M94 | Mountain riding | One character invites the other to roll down the mountain to destroy him. Cf. Motive L42C. | 31 | 59 |
| N7 | Three apples | fairy-tale text ends with a formula that says that three apples fell from the sky or tree, at least one of which went to the narrator. Or it is said that someone give/should give the narrator one or three apples. | 17 | 59 |
| A23a In A23 family | Who will be the first to see the sun? ATU 120, | Arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide in favour of the one who first sees the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely. (In Uther 2004(1), No. 120: 87, the definition of the motif includes the detail that the winner looks not to the east but to the west and sees the tops of trees illuminated by rays of light. In Europe, in most cases (except for the Scots) that have been verified, this detail is indeed present. However, it is absent in American and some Asian traditions). | 48 | 60 |
| B42f In B42 family | Ursa Major – hoofed animal. | The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with a large hoofed animal (elk, deer, mountain sheep). Unless otherwise specified, see motif B42 in the description of cosmic hunting. | 49 | 60 |
| D4o In D4 family | Dry by the fire. | In order to steal fire from its owner, the character pretends to be wet and cold, and after receiving permission to dry off, runs away, bringing fire to the people. | 31 | 60 |
| F1 | Transformed man. | The first woman, female deity, or female animals were originally men (males) who then changed their gender. | 41 | 60 |
| H43aa In H43 family | Spat-upon figures. | Having created the human body, the creator leaves. At this time, his opponent spits on the figure, which has not yet come to life, smears it with mud, etc. | 42 | 60 |
| I22f In I22 family | Talking trees. | The character must pass small objects (trees, logs, blades) that constantly collide and diverge, fall and rise. | 41 | 60 |
| I42 | Rainbow – a pair of creatures. | The rainbow is a pair of creatures, usually a man and a woman, male and female. | 40 | 60 |
| K117c In K117 family | Dancing against their will, ATU 592. | When a character plays a pipe (violin, horn, etc.), people and animals begin to dance against their will. | 59 | 60 |
| K120a1 In K120 family | Three dresses, (ATU 510B). | To get rid of an unwanted suitor (her own father, brother, monster), a girl demands that he obtain a dress for her (usually three dresses in succession) made of unusual material (gold, fly wings, etc.), and when the condition is fulfilled, she runs away. | 35 | 60 |
| K33e In K33 family | Chosen and returned children (Griselda), ATU 887. | Newborn children disappear (die) one after another, but are returned to their wife or husband grown up and in good health. | 47 | 60 |
| K8c4 In K8 family | The elk dies after swallowing a mouse. | A small animal (bird, mouse, porcupine, fox) or (rarely) a tiny human being allows itself to be swallowed by a large ungulate (elk, deer, bison, tapir) in order to rip open its belly (and eat it). | 41 | 60 |
| L15e In L15 family | The life of a hero in a sword, ATU 302B. | The hero's life is in a certain object, usually his weapon. An enemy steals or discards this object, the hero weakens or dies, his friends or brothers return the object, and the hero comes back to life. {In ATU, this is motif 302B; at least some of the references cited by Uther do not contain the motif in our formulation (not found in Japan or Burma); original publications are required}. | 43 | 60 |
| 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 |
| M39g In M39 family | Crying for an unborn child, ATU 1450 | The girl weeps, imagining the dangers that threaten her future child; remembering an incident that could end badly; jealous of the fiancé she does not have; distracted from urgent matters, considering the name of the future child instead of meeting the groom. | 58 | 60 |
| B33c In B33 family | Borrowed days. | The month on the border between winter and spring (usually March) takes (rarely: buys, steals) a few days from its neighbour. | 29 | 61 |
| B41 | The talking dog. | Because the dog spread certain information, argued with its owners, and spoke at inappropriate times, it lost the gift of speech. | 62 | 61 |
| C32c In C32 family | Nails must be preserved. | Nails (and hair) have special significance for a person's fate, their soul or the world as a whole. (Compound motif). | 40 | 61 |
| F39 | Women's time. | In the past or in distant lands, women dominated men, were the active party in marital relations, and engaged in male activities. Men engaged in female activities. Later, the situation changed. Either women missed the opportunity to gain superiority. See motif F38. | 57 | 61 |
| I64 | Animal tracks on the Milky Way. | The Milky Way – traces of animals that walked or ran. | 45 | 61 |
| K113a In K113 family | The bride where the arrow fell. | A young man throws an object, shoots an arrow, etc. Where the arrow lands (where the object falls), the young man finds a wife or a means of obtaining one. | 47 | 61 |
| K136a In K136 family | The girl's floating hair. | Seeing the girl's hair carried away by the water, the man decides to marry the girl to whom the hair belongs. | 48 | 61 |
| K174 | The thrown ring. | To signal their arrival, a person places, or more often discreetly throws, a ring or other small item of personal jewellery or toiletries into the jug of a maid or servant. Upon discovering it, the other person understands that the first is nearby. | 48 | 61 |
| K27r2 In K27 family | Dancing apples. | Task: bring objects (fruit, wood, water, etc.) that perform actions characteristic of humans (sing, dance, yawn, laugh, etc.). | 37 | 61 |
| K65 | Spirits of loci. | Having been cast out, discarded, or born of the first ancestors, creatures of a certain category acquire individuality, transforming into spirits who are the masters of various loci. | 40 | 61 |
| K99a1 In K99 family | The condemned riddle-solver is freed. | A man thrown into prison is released and exalted because he alone manages to solve the riddles set by the king or save the princess (king, prince, etc.). | 45 | 61 |
| M38d In M38 family | Item characters die one after another, ATU 85, 295 | Two or more characters, which are small objects or small animals, live or travel together and die one by one while committing protozoa actions. | 55 | 61 |
| M63 | An enumeration of body members | Before reaching the part of the body that is most suitable for certain purposes, others are named or tried. (Cf. Motive F22: The enumeration is related to finding the partner's genitals). | 52 | 61 |
| M99 | The threat to exterminate birds, AA 981.1. | The character is going to abuse all birds or (less commonly) animals, but after hearing wise advice, he abandons his intention. | 43 | 61 |
| A1 | The ancient sun. | Another sun — less powerful or less favourable to humans — existed before the appearance of the current one. | 54 | 62 |
| C14 | Monsters destroy people. | During or on the eve of a global catastrophe (flood, darkness), animals or monsters attack people. (See motif C13A (rebellion of things: animated objects and/or domestic animals threaten people, attack them).) | 48 | 62 |
| E4 | Creation from mud on the skin, A1263.3. | From mud on the skin (rarely: from under the fingernails), the character creates the earth, people or other creatures. | 36 | 62 |
| H3A In H3 family | Violated sexual taboo. | People die (fall ill) and cannot come back to life because a taboo related to sexual contact or pregnancy was once violated. {The motif may be composite, including historically unrelated variants}. | 52 | 62 |
| I110b In I110 family | Orion – reapers. | Orion – people or agricultural tools associated with harvesting or haymaking. | 29 | 62 |
| I138 | Glass Mountain. | The glass mountain (tower, bridge) is mentioned as an unusual (inaccessible) locus. | 36 | 62 |
| I20c1 In I20 family | Dwarves – inhabitants of rocks and hills. | Dwarves do not live deep underground, but inside hills, in rocks, in mines, etc., and usually come out from there onto the ground. | 22 | 62 |
| I35c In I35 family | Craftsman god. | One of the mythological characters who, using his craft skills, first makes (usually forges) tools and natural objects; he is the patron of craftsmen (usually blacksmiths). | 36 | 62 |
| I45a In I45 family | Do not look at the moon or stars. | Pointing at or staring at the moon or stars will cause illness (death) or the pointing finger to rot or wither. | 49 | 62 |
| I87a2 In I87 family | What are two? Dialogue, ATU (812*), 2010, H602.1.1., †H602.1.1. | The antagonist names numbers from one to 7, 12, etc., the hero answers what each number corresponds to, and the antagonist is unable to refute him. | 53 | 62 |
| I8i In I8 family | At first, the earth swayed. | Initially, the earth rocks, unstable, and must be specially secured. | 45 | 62 |
| K32d In K32 family | The replaced one grazes cattle. | As a result of the antagonist's intrigues, a noble girl (young woman) or boy (young man) is turned into a servant or servant, sent to graze cattle or chase birds in the field. Everything is revealed – usually after people hear a song in which the hero or heroine tells about the substitution. Most often, the hero or heroine goes to relatives or (less often) to the groom. The deceiver accompanies her or him and is accepted as a relative or bride. The deceiver is executed. Comoros: the deceiver becomes the mistress, turning the girl's parents into peacocks. | 44 | 62 |
| L73c In L73 family | The scarf opens and closes the way. | By waving a piece of cloth (towel, scarf, item of clothing) or throwing it, placing it on water, etc., the character creates obstacles (in the path of the pursuer) or a means of overcoming them (bridge, etc.). | 35 | 62 |
| M101a In M101 family | Predators learn to fear humans, ATU 157A. | Learning that humans are supposedly stronger than him, a large predator finds a human and challenges him to a contest of strength. This ends badly for him. Cf. motif M101. | 67 | 62 |
| M14 | Brutal murder of wife or son. | A man brutally murders his wife (rarely: children, fiancée, sister) and/or eats her flesh himself, or brings her flesh to her relatives (if he kills children, he brings the flesh to his wife). | 39 | 62 |
| M169 | Medicine from a wolf's skin, ATU 50. | In the presence of an authoritative figure, one of the subordinates plots against another. The latter says that the problem can be solved by maiming the former (usually using a part of his body as medicine). The schemer is killed or maimed. | 54 | 62 |
| M44b In M44 family | Food thieves are women | The character discovers that someone is stealing game or fish from his trap, mountain, etc. or ravages his garden, vegetable garden, field; he or his messengers wait and catch the thief. The kidnappers are women, or the aquatic animal is the kidnapper, but when caught, it gives the hero a woman. | 47 | 62 |
| M8 | A destroyed obstacle | Some characters (not humans) are struggling to break a strong barrier that prevents access to the desired location or to a high-value object. See also M8A - M8D motifs; they are included in the M8 motif in the correlation tables. | 42 | 62 |
| F58 | The trickster and women. | The character spends the night with a group of women, concealing his nature and/or intentions. In the end, he is either identified and punished, or he slips away to continue his mischief. | 59 | 63 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.