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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

Showing 701–750 of 3,494 · Page 15 of 70

Ref Title Summary Traditions ▲ Narratives
A37b In A37 family The archer's severed finger. A small animal (marmot, rabbit, mole, frog) or a person who turns into such an animal tries to hit a target in the sky (a celestial body or a bird) with arrows and as a result loses their thumbs. 9 18
A39 Every day a new sun. Suns are born and die, and every day a new one rises in the sky. 9 9
A4b In A4 family The sun is afraid of the night. The sun decided to walk across the sky during the day because it is afraid of the night. 9 13
B104a In B104 family Meat turns into a toad, ATU 980D. The son was about to eat some meat (chicken). At that moment, his father came in, and the son hid the meat so as not to share it with him. When his father left and the son took out what he had hidden, the meat turned into a toad (snake) and jumped on his face. 9 5
B105 The transformation of a shy daughter-in-law. The father-in-law or mother-in-law catches the daughter-in-law in a situation she is ashamed of (with her hair down, bathing, etc.). Out of shame, she turns into a bird (usually a hoopoe) or a turtle. 9 13
B113 Women's backsides and men's knees. Due to certain events during the time of creation, women have cold backsides (and men have cold knees, or vice versa). 9 9
B11B In B11 family The drowned mammoth. At the beginning of time or during the flood, the mammoth drowned or sank into the ground, and since then it has not been seen on earth. 9 10
B124 Indentation on the foot. Ever since a piece of flesh was torn from a person's foot, a hollow has formed between the toe and the heel. 9 8
B33b In B33 family March bird. At the border between winter and spring, a bird (usually a thrush) flies away prematurely into the cold and dies, or raises chicks and they die or suffer from the cold. 9 14
B34 Caught by the first night. After the vessel of night is opened, a person caught by the onset of darkness turns into a bird or animal. 9 16
B42m1 In B42 family Ket, Selkup and Evenk. The three main stars of the Big Dipper's handle are associated with people of three different nationalities. 9 13
B58 The red neck of the turkey. After the first ancestors steal the original fire, a forest bird the size of a partridge (Penelope sp.; Anhima cornuta; etc.; jacu, paujil) swallows a hot coal. As a result (except for the Andoc), its neck turns red. 9 11
B65 Intestines turn into vines. A mischievous character imitates other animal-people. As a result, his belly is torn open and his spilled intestines turn into vines. 9 10
B67 The tree turns into stones. A fallen tree and/or its stump turns into a mountain (mountain range) or rocks. (Usually, the branches of this tree bear the fruits and shoots of various cultivated plants, see motif G5). 9 4
B72c In B72 family The blood of those who run stains objects. Children run after their mother, injure themselves, and their blood stains plants, the ground, and the evening sky. 9 13
B74a In B74 family Red cloths over the eyes. Red cloths are sewn over the character's eyes (threads, eyelids are painted red) or he does it himself. He sees everything in red or his eyes have turned red forever. 9 10
B76 Frozen waves. The sea waves instantly petrified, forming land with mountains on it. 9 10
b87d In b87 family Alcor - infant. Alcor (a faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) – infant. 9 10
B91 The sharp-eyed snail. The snail had (the most keen-eyed) eyes. Another character borrows them and does not return them. 9 14
C16a In C16 family The offended mistress of animals. The offended mistress of animals or fish takes them and food supplies away. See motif H32A. 9 1
C31a In C31 family Lights or fire promised to the devil. The master (mistress) of the underworld receives (should receive) heavenly lights or fire. Due to a trick or accident, they are not given to him or are returned. 9 11
C32A In C32 family Nails (hair) will be needed by the soul in the afterlife. Nails will be needed in the afterlife to save oneself (to climb a steep mountain, climb into the sky, build a bridge, etc.). 9 15
C6c2 In C6 family The punished loon. Birds must dive to retrieve soil from the bottom, from which land will emerge. The loon cannot reach the bottom, refuses to dive, or tries to hide the soil it has retrieved (usually punished for this). 9 10
D4c1 In D4 family A floating elk distracts attention. Animal-people come to steal summer from its owners. One of them, in the guise of an elk or caribou, distracts the owners' attention or floats a log or stump down the river, which the owners of summer mistake for an elk and rush after. 9 13
E13B In E13 family Knowledge from the sky. Sacred knowledge, objects and rituals received from the celestials. 9 7
E1d In E1 family Clay boats. (The first) boat is made of obviously unsuitable material. 9 15
E22 The swallowed gains knowledge. Once inside a certain creature, the swallowed character learns rituals, songs, ornamental motifs, obtains drugs or poison, and, once outside again, passes this knowledge on to people. 9 12
E23 Revival by fleas. A handful of fleas or lice must be thrown at the character; only this will make him or her move, which is necessary for revival or for the existence of people. 9 9
E26 Those who have become fish are turned back into humans. People, or only women, go underwater and turn into fish. Men catch them with fishing gear. Those who are caught become human (women) again. (Narratives about the transformation of only one caught fish into the hero's wife are not included; see motif F7). 9 12
E31b In E31 family Female saviours of men. Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him. 9 11
E5 The half-finished man tries to stand up. God makes man out of clay. He must wait until it dries, but tries to stand up earlier. 9 5
F42a In F42 family Men turn into birds. In the community of the first ancestors, young men or boys turn into birds or bats and fly away. 9 21
F47b In F47 family New people in the same place. In order to create new people (new women) to replace those who have been destroyed, the character leaves something (feathers or pieces of flesh) in each empty hut (in the hearth, in the hammock, in the village), from which new people (new women) appear. 9 10
F51c In F51 family Provocative behaviour after incest. Upon learning that her unknown lover is her own brother, the girl shows him her genitals or bare breasts, offering him what he so desired. After that, she runs away, and he rushes after her. 9 12
F69 Indecent invitation. A woman's husband (male relative) invites her through her children to come and make love to him; the invitation is made in a veiled form; the woman comes. 9 8
F89 The sister's cunning. A sister and brother live alone. The brother refuses to commit incest. The sister resorts to cunning, as a result of which the brother mistakes her for a stranger and marries her. 9 14
F9e In F9 family Mice in the vagina. Small mammals with sharp teeth are found in a woman's vagina. 9 14
G22 Frog/toad and cultivated plants. The frog/toad is associated with humans acquiring cultivated plants. 9 13
H36aa In H36 family False news: incorrect instructions. The messenger must tell people what they should do if they want to avoid death, but he distorts the instructions and people become mortal. In Mesoamerican variants, it is not about people in general, but about a specific character. 9 16
H36d In H36 family The hare betrays man. The hare distorts God's command and/or is responsible for the fact that humans are mortal. See motif H36. 9 25
H37b In H37 family Skunk's volley wasted. One character gives another his power (usually a skunk gives his volley). The other wastes the resource unnecessarily to test its effect. Usually, when the need arises, the resource no longer works. 9 10
H54a In H54 family The shaven old man. A man meets an old man whose face is completely covered with hair or snot. He cuts (wipes) it off and receives a reward for doing so. 9 7
H9a In H9 family Who will give birth first. Of two women, one of whom is associated with a stone and the other with a plant, only the plant woman leaves offspring, which is why people are what they are (mortal, capable of speech, etc.). Alternatively, children born to two women have opposite characteristics (skilled and unskilled, etc.). 9 9
I134 Long neck on the Milky Way. Along the axis of the Milky Way, a creature with a long neck (llama, emu, rhea) can be seen. 9 18
I20a In I20 family Heavenly giants. Anthropomorphic inhabitants of the upper world – giants. 9 11
I20b In I20 family Girding under the armpits. People in the upper world are different from those on earth and gird themselves below or above the waist. 9 12
I22h In I22 family Pulsating Abyss. The character must jump over a gap (abyss) beneath his feet, which alternately widens and narrows, or a river whose banks converge and diverge. 9 10
I46c In I46 family Rainbow rope. The rainbow is a rope to which cattle are tied. 9 11
I74a In I74 family Stars – fireflies. Stars – fireflies. 9 9
I87f In I87 family Suicide of the Narts. Before modern humans, there lived others who differed in strength, height, nobility, or other qualities. They disappeared after committing suicide. 9 7

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Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.