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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| M21b In M21 family | Every deception is the beginning of the next. | The character consistently harms others in such a way that each person who has been deceived is used as a tool to harm the next. | 7 | 10 |
| M22 | The crane as saviour. | A long-necked bird living near water (crane, heron, bittern, swan) helps a fugitive escape from his pursuer (indicated in brackets). See motifs J44-J46 (a long-legged bird helps cross the river, drowns the pursuer; the pursuer is most often a bear). | 56 | 50 |
| M22a In M22 family | The crane as a watchman. | In a foreign house, in a foreign country, where the hero finds himself, the crane or heron is a watchman who must raise the alarm in case of strangers appearing. | 8 | 12 |
| 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 |
| M23a In M23 family | The turtle asks to be soaked, ATU 122G(2). | The turtle says that before eating it, it must be properly soaked in water, but once in the water, it swims away. | 4 | 4 |
| M24 | The turtle is going to war | turtle goes to war and/or is captured. See M23 motif. Cf. motif K77 “Verlioka”. | 24 | 31 |
| M24a In M24 family | Kills a woman, captured | turtle man goes to war, kills people (usually a woman). He gets caught or killed. In his animal form, he continues to live on. See M24 motif. | 1 | 1 |
| M25 | A holiday in heaven, K1041 | To take part in a festival in heaven or visit a deity, a flightless character manages to climb high into the sky. He usually cannot go down the same way, falls and as a result dies, maims or metamorphoses. | 40 | 64 |
| M26 | Ducks carry the catcher (grabbed by the legs) | The character dives under waterfowl and ties a rope to their legs to catch them. Birds soar into the air, lifting the catcher with them. It later falls. | 16 | 18 |
| M26a In M26 family | Ducks carry the catcher (strung on a rope), ATU 1881 | The character catches birds by feeding them bait tied to a rope, which they swallow one by one, or by shooting several birds with one bullet, or by soldering birds drunk and tying up. Birds usually take off and carry away a catcher holding a rope. | 16 | 7 |
| M27 | Returning from Heaven | The tree or staircase that people took to heaven collapses; on the way back, people fall down. Usually some stay in the sky forever or longer than others. | 11 | 26 |
| M28 | Icarus(failed flight on artificial wings), K1041.1. | When able to take off, the character takes off but falls or stays in a remote place from where he can no longer take off. | 47 | 82 |
| M29 | Trickster: identification with birds and animals | trickster is defined as a protagonist in the following characteristic episodes. | 0 | 0 |
| M29a In M29 family | Trickster - Raven (a) | See the motives in square brackets. | 80 | 65 |
| M29a1 In M29 family | Raven(s) - main trickster | In three or more different episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is raven (crow) | 37 | 39 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| M29b2 In M29 family | The bear is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the bear dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 183 | 131 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| M29E In M29 family | Trickster - Skunk | See the motives in square brackets. | 17 | 7 |
| M29f In M29 family | Wolverine is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolverine dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 30 | 24 |
| 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 |
| M29g2 In M29 family | Cancer is a cunning winner | Cancer (crab) defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning. | 30 | 45 |
| M29gg In M29 family | The hedgehog is a cunning winner | hedgehog defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning. | 43 | 79 |
| M29h In M29 family | Trickster - Owl | See the motives in square brackets. | 17 | 11 |
| M29i In M29 family | Trickster - Hawk | See the motives in square brackets. | 13 | 5 |
| M29j In M29 family | A trickster is a waterfowl or marsh bird | See the motives in square brackets. | 14 | 9 |
| M29k In M29 family | The turtle (toad, frog) is a cunning winner | A turtle (toad, frog) defeats strong opponents by cunning or perseverance. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle. | 172 | 83 |
| 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 |
| M29l In M29 family | Trickster - Possum | See the motives in square brackets. | 25 | 7 |
| M29m In M29 family | The Trickster is the Rat | See the motives in square brackets. | 22 | 8 |
| M29n In M29 family | Trickster - Mouse | See the motives in square brackets. | 13 | 8 |
| M29nn In M29 family | Trickster - Earth Squirrel (Xerus inauris) | See the motives in square brackets. | 8 | 10 |
| M29o In M29 family | Trickster - Monkey | See the motives in square brackets. | 53 | 34 |
| M29o1 In M29 family | A monkey is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the monkey dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 39 | 25 |
| M29p In M29 family | Trickster vs Spider | See the motives in square brackets. | 25 | 37 |
| M29q In M29 family | Trickster - Raccoon | See the motives in square brackets. | 11 | 7 |
| M29qq In M29 family | Trickster - Anteater | See the motives in square brackets. | 10 | 5 |
| M29r In M29 family | Trickster - Porcupine | See the motives in square brackets. | 18 | 8 |
| M29S In M29 family | Trickster - Crane | See the motives in square brackets. | 3 | 3 |
| M29T In M29 family | Trickster - Armadillo | See the motives in square brackets. | 4 | 2 |
| 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 |
| M29w In M29 family | Jaguar (ocelot, puma) is a loser and a loser | As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, a jaguar (puma, ocelot) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a puma or ocelot; otherwise, a jaguar. | 53 | 38 |
| 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 |
| M29w2 In M29 family | The tiger is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the tiger dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 74 | 84 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.