F9G — Brünnhilde, ATU 519.

A powerful woman defeats and kills her suitors. The hero or his assistant defeats her (usually on their wedding night, subduing her with rods or a whip). The hero marries the heroine.

Berezkin category: Gender and sex

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.

F9.  For various reasons, sexual intercourse with a woman is deadly dangerous for a man, or so it seems to him: Teeth, blades or sharp stones in the vagina or on the inside of the thighs; the vagina is a toothy mouth. See motif F9A.
F9a.  There are teeth, blades or sharp stones in a woman's vagina or on the inside of her thighs; the vagina is a toothy mouth. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are taken into account, not anecdotes).
F9a1.  A girl or young woman says (pretends) that she has a predatory mouth in her vagina. {Unlike variants characteristic of the circum-Pacific region, the corresponding texts do not suggest that the female womb is actually dangerous}.
F9b.  A biting piranha in a woman's genitals.
F9c.  Snake (in Oceania – moray eel) in the vagina; vagina – snake's mouth; snake crawls out of a woman's mouth and bites off a man's penis during intercourse; woman with a toothy womb is associated with a snake.
F9d.  Small stinging creatures dangerous to the partner are found in the genitals of women or men.
F9e.  Small mammals with sharp teeth are found in a woman's vagina.
F9e1.  A woman's womb is dangerous because it contains a toothy or stinging animal (not just its mouth) or many such creatures.
F9f.  Without the woman's knowledge, the demon regularly kills her suitors on their wedding night.
F9f1.  Inside the woman there is a snake (snakes, scorpions, just poison) that comes out of her mouth. {Motifs F9f1 and K100C are almost identical, but the first can be included in the cosmological-etiological category and is associated with the idea of a dangerous woman, while the second belongs to the adventure category}.
F9f2.  A woman places a piece of flesh from her slain snake lover in her handbag and poses a corresponding riddle. If her husband fails to guess the answer, she has the right to kill him. The husband accidentally learns the secret and kills his wife.
F9g.  A powerful woman defeats and kills her suitors. The hero or his assistant defeats her (usually on their wedding night, subduing her with rods or a whip). The hero marries the heroine.
F9g1.  On her wedding night, the bride-heroine throws herself on her groom to crush him.

This motif has been recorded in 59 traditions: Yemen, Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Egypt, Berbers of Morocco and adjacent parts of Algeria, Berbers of southern Tunisia and adjacent part of Libya (Matmata and Ghadames areas), Algeria Arabs, Arabs of Sudan, Sudanese, Nuba, Mongo (Mongo-Nkundu), Nkundu, Ngelima, Ngombe, (Ba)Tetela), Pende, Wu(Kusu), (Ba)Mbala (incl Saie, Kwilu), Fula (Fulbe, Fulani, Pular), Burmese, Intha, Ireland, Poles, Czech, Czechs, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Vepsians, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Uzbek, Rushani, Shughni, Khufi, Bartangi, Abaza (Abazins), Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Ingush, Dargin (Dargwa), incl. Müregin, Khürkilin, Kubachi, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Nogai, Tats, Armenians, Kalmyk, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Udmurt, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Central Yakuts (Sakha), Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Lutsi (Ludza), Frisians, Iraq, Yemen, Russian Federation