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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 ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I9 | Colours of the cardinal points. | Each (or at least three) of the four cardinal directions (as well as the zenith and nadir) and/or the objects located there have their own colour. Abbreviations: E: east, S: south, W: west, N: north. (Cf. Podosinov 2000: 143-147). | 81 | 154 |
| J23 | Late children defeat the monster, ATU 312D. | People in general or older brothers (siblings, older sister) disappear one after another. A woman raises a boy or twins from infancy. Sometimes, left alone, she miraculously conceives a son or finds a baby. He defeats the antagonists, usually reviving or freeing the missing ones. | 121 | 154 |
| M23 | Feigned fear of imaginary danger, ATU 1310–1310C; K581. | The character pretends to be afraid of only one method of killing, which in reality is not dangerous for him (K581: turtle: If you throw me into the water, I will drown! ). {All American variants with a rabbit are most likely of African origin and are not included in the correlation table}. | 100 | 154 |
| E32 | Progenitor plants. | The first humans or the first woman (progenitor, goddess) are born from trees, emerge from a tree, stump, flower, or reed. | 90 | 155 |
| K27e In K27 family | Eat or drink a lot, ATU 1088). | The character is offered to eat or drink an unusually large amount or poison. | 133 | 155 |
| L19b1 In L19 family | Seven-headed monster. | Describes or depicts a monster (usually a reptile) with seven heads (except in cases where snakes with an increasing number of heads are described sequentially and "seven" is not the largest number). | 85 | 155 |
| M152 | Why only one wolf? ATU 1149. | Seeing a predator (a giant, etc.) approaching, the weak character pretends to thank the one who is leading the predator for his promise to bring prey, or his wife and children (rarely: he himself) begin to talk aloud about how they are going to eat the predator or how they have eaten his companions before. | 96 | 155 |
| B87 | Alcor. | Alcor (a faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) stands out as a separate celestial object. | 99 | 156 |
| H36a In H36 family | False news: the origin of death, A1335.1. | The character distorts the message conveyed to him, deliberately lies, brings the wrong thing, loses what he is carrying, delays (and is overtaken by another messenger). As a result, people become mortal (they do not revive after death). | 79 | 156 |
| N20 | We have achieved our wishes | fairy tale text ends with a formula that says that the characters have achieved their desires, goals and/or happiness, or that God has fulfilled their wishes. | 22 | 156 |
| B46 | Seven Star Brothers. | Each of the seven stars of the Big Dipper is an adult male. | 80 | 159 |
| K33h In K33 family | Cat, dog and magical object, ATU 560. | A person finds a magical object that grants any wish. This object is stolen. It is returned by animals (which the hero had previously saved). | 119 | 159 |
| M85 | Fox is bluffing, ATU 56A | character unable to climb a tree threatens to knock it down or climb a trunk if a bird or squirrel does not drop a cub or egg. The third character explains that the threat is untenable. | 88 | 159 |
| H54 | Veki Vija, F571.1. | In order for a character's eyes to be (wide) open, their eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) must be raised, propped up, spread apart (rarely: cut off). | 62 | 160 |
| M53 | Game dances around the hunter, K826 | The character invites others to gather around him, focusing on an activity (usually dancing with their eyes closed or lowered), and then kills the crowd (usually one at a time). | 58 | 162 |
| B125 | Animals exchange characteristics. | The absence or presence of certain organs in animals (less often in plants) and the peculiarities of these organs are caused by the fact that during the era of creation, one species exchanged with another or, having borrowed a foreign organ, refused to return it. In some cases, a reverse exchange and return to the original state is described, as well as the transfer of part of one's body to another animal without compensation. Instead of one of the animals, there may be a human or a deity. | 116 | 163 |
| L15a In L15 family | Vulnerable spot on the body, | The character's vulnerable spot is located on the surface of the body, but not in vital internal organs. | 115 | 163 |
| J44 | The collapsed bridge. | The hero lures the enemy onto a rickety bridge. The enemy falls into the water, into the abyss (see motif J46). See motif J52. | 108 | 164 |
| K103 | The cow as helper, ATU 511. | A domestic animal (horse, cow, bull, goat, ram, sheep) helps an orphan, a lonely child, or an unfortunate young woman. | 118 | 164 |
| L9 | Cutting and stabbing body parts. | The character's body parts resemble cutting or stabbing weapons. | 123 | 164 |
| J58 | Chain of arrows, F53. | Characters shoot arrows (darts) that stick into each other and form a chain. They usually climb up the chain to the upper world. | 79 | 165 |
| K102a2 In K102 family | Conflict between son and mother. | The mother seeks to destroy her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair. Cf. motif L86: Children flee from their demon mother. | 111 | 165 |
| K38d In K38 family | The serpent covers the water. | A powerful and dangerous character prevents others from using water (or causes floods), but in most cases allows them to take water (promises not to cause floods) in exchange for people or valuables {italicised in the list of traditions}. | 94 | 165 |
| K47a In K47 family | Woman and dog: the origin of humans. | A woman mates with a dog. Her children grow up to be humans and usually become the ancestors of certain ethnic groups. | 98 | 165 |
| M171 | Mena: from a pea to a horse, ATU 170, 1655, 2034F. | The character stops at a house and in the morning claims that the worthless object or animal he brought has disappeared; either he or other characters use or spoil what the deceiver gives them. Each time, the character receives something more valuable in return and, repeating his trick several times, obtains a truly valuable object, an expensive animal, or a person. (All texts of motifs M171A and M171C are also included in motif M171). | 131 | 165 |
| B1 | Two creators, A50. | Two anthropomorphic creators compete in the creation of the earth and/or humans. One is or becomes the master of the underworld or is associated with the spirit world, in contrast to the first, who is associated with the human world. | 90 | 166 |
| K14 | Dear advice, ATU 677, 910A, 910B. | A person receives or buys simple advice, the meaning of which is initially unclear (travel with a companion, do not skip breakfast, etc.) and either follows it, achieving success, or violates it, getting into trouble. | 121 | 166 |
| B2d In B2 family | Marriage of heaven and earth, A625. | The sky (the Sun, Thunder, the Wind living in the sky) is considered male and marries the Earth, who is female; The sky is combined with the female Water; with the daughter of the Earth; the creator (master) of the sky and the creator (mistress) of the earth are husband and wife; rarely: the female Sky (or Sun) is combined with the male Earth. | 111 | 167 |
| K18 | Recognition of father or mother, H481, ATU 675. | A boy is born whose father (rarely mother) is unknown. He chooses his true father (mother), who usually occupies the lowest social position. Usually, a group of men or women gather together, each of whom wants the boy to choose him or her. | 118 | 167 |
| L103 | Magical flight: Atalanta, R231. | The fugitive throws or creates objects behind him, which the pursuer, wasting time, collects, eats or destroys, even though they do not hinder his progress. | 128 | 167 |
| H18 | Released animals, A1421. | Hunted animals were concentrated in one place. A certain character creates them there or allows them to scatter. | 130 | 168 |
| I28 | Animals underground, F127. | Wild or domestic animals live inside a mountain, in a cave or in the underground world, or once came out of there into our world; often animals take on human form underground and have an owner. See motif H18. | 39 | 168 |
| J47 | The pursuer falls from a height. | A character climbs up to the sky using a rope, ladder, etc., or climbs a tree or rock, or descends from the sky to the ground, or rises to the ground from the underworld. Another character climbs after them, but the rope or ladder breaks or is cut, and the character falls. | 96 | 168 |
| M29b1 In M29 family | The wolf is a loser and a loser | As a result of his stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolf dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 162 | 168 |
| I39 | Rainbow bridge, F152. | The rainbow is a bridge, a road, a staircase. | 102 | 169 |
| F18a In F18 family | Long penis. | The penis of a male character is much longer than normal or becomes so. During intercourse, it usually crawls towards the woman like a snake. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are included, not anecdotes). | 118 | 170 |
| J42 | Parting waters. | The character creates a dry passage across the bottom of the water body, and after passing through, the waters close again. | 117 | 170 |
| N14 | A storyteller at a wedding | fairy-tale text ends with a formula stating that the narrator attended a feast and/or wedding arranged by the characters of the fairy tale. | 57 | 170 |
| F2 | Birth from the leg T541; V52. | The child is born from a tumour on the character's body, either placed there temporarily or emerging from blood that has flowed from a cut. | 111 | 171 |
| A31 | The Moon in Love. | As a result of intimate contact or romantic conflict, the night light takes on its current appearance – rising from the earth to the sky and/or spots appearing on it, which are now visible. | 107 | 172 |
| K27n2 In K27 family | The task giver – a mythical character. | The character who gives the hero difficult tasks or subjects him to trials is a mythical creature or animal. See motif K27. | 226 | 172 |
| L100 | The Unrecognised Fugitive, D671. | A young man and woman fleeing from their pursuers take on the appearance of different but associatively related creatures or objects (a pond and a duck, a minaret and a muezzin, etc.). Usually, their pursuers do not recognise them. | 91 | 173 |
| L70 | Aborted fruit. | The character is killed or maimed by an object dropped from above, the fall of which he expects, but has a false idea of its nature or weight (fruit, piece of bark, turtle, log, etc.). | 126 | 173 |
| I25 | Bribed guards, B325.1, B567.1. | The path to the house or the entrance to the character's house is guarded by dangerous creatures. The hero appeases them with gifts or words, they let him pass back and forth, sometimes punished for this by the owner. | 110 | 174 |
| K80 | The indestructible woman. | The character transforms into objects or creatures, which another character systematically destroys. However, the character (usually a young woman) is reborn each time in a new form and eventually in her original form. | 106 | 174 |
| L104 | The fugitive and the pursuer change their appearance (ATU 325). | The fleeing character successively takes on the appearance of various creatures or objects; the pursuer also changes his appearance, each time transforming into someone who is dangerous to the pursued in his current form. | 135 | 174 |
| L37a In L37 family | To learn the causes of misfortune, Th H1291, ATU 460A. | On the way to a powerful being, a person meets characters who ask him to ask questions on their behalf (usually to find out the cause of their misfortunes). | 113 | 174 |
| A21 | Luminaries thrown into the sky, A700.I, A714, A741. | The sun and/or moon were objects that were thrown or placed into the sky. | 95 | 175 |
| E31a In E31 family | Creators and saviours of girls, ATU 653, 653A, 653B. | Several men (women) participate in the rescue, creation or revival of a girl (man), or mourn her (his) death. The question arises as to whom the revived person should belong to or who contributed more to the revival. Alternatively, three men create something valuable, each contributing their part. The question arises as to whose contribution is more important. | 133 | 175 |
| I37 | Mushrooms. | Mushrooms are mentioned in a mythological context. | 109 | 175 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.