Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F33 — Connection with a water creature.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewA woman or group of women take a water animal or water monster as their lover. The husband(s), brother(s) or (adopted) children of the woman(s) kill or maim the lover and (in some cases) the woman(s).
Berezkin category: Gender and sex
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| F53 | 97.21% | An unattractive man marries, but hides his face. When he is seen, the marriage is dissolved. |
| M11 | 97.10% | 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. |
| B29 | 96.56% | People turn into animals, birds or stones, living beings acquire their current characteristics at a general meeting, festival, after a festival, after performing a ritual or after defeating a common enemy. |
| F51 | 96.56% | Someone under cover of night/incognito approaches a person of the opposite sex. The marriage partner deliberately (to determine who it is) or accidentally (thereby exposing the visitor) makes a mark on his/her body (clothing). See motif A31. |
| K10 | 96.45% | A monstrous bird (bat) attacks people, heroes engage in battle with it. See motifs K10A â K10G. |
| G26 | 95.97% | After swallowing or hiding food in their mouth, the character brings it to earth (passes it on to people). |
| M8A | 95.45% | Animals, and more often birds, find it difficult to break through a rock from the outside or inside, make a hole in the tree, in the body of an absorber creature, tear fetters, etc., to help a character or get out of the confined space by yourself. The list <b><i>includes</i></b> groups whose texts deal with the exit of the first ancestors to earth from a confined space. |
| M76 | 95.00% | A woman cuts off a man's leg when he climbs a tree; a man cuts off a woman's leg when she climbs a tree. See K13A motif. |
| K13C | 94.89% | The cannibal's daughter takes revenge on her husband for her mother's death and manages to cut off his leg. See motif K13A. |
| M8 | 94.56% | 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. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
67 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 67 traditions: Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Hawaii, Karen, Pa-O, Padaung, Kayah, Stieng, Chrau, Sre (Koho), Maa, Mnong, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Ainu, Olcha (Ulch), Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Chukchi, Central Yupik, Hare (K'ahsho Got'ine), Tahltan, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, Labrador Inuit (Koksoagmiut), Eyak, Haida, Malecite, Passamaquoddy, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Carrier, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lillooet, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel (Pend d'Oreille; incl Spokane), Kutenai, Caddo, Yana, Navajo, Jicarilla, Cuiva, Yaruro, Trio, Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Chayahuita , Urarina, Karijona, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Wanana, Tucano proper, Pira-Tapuya, Arapaso, Cubeo, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Baniwa (incl. Wakuenai), Bare, Piapoco, Curripaco, Siusi, Guarikena , Tariana, Andoque, Asurini, Parakana; Arawete, Tenetehara, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Tacana, Mundurucu, Curuaia, Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Kuikuro, Kalapalo, Calapalo, Kamayura, Bororo, Caraja, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje), Shavante, Chamacoco (Ishir), Selknam, Yamana (Yaghan), Alacaluf, Manao, Katawishi (Teffe lake); groups of uncertain affiliation mostly from Rio Jamunda, Greenland
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements Š Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.
Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.
Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
Š 2024â2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.