Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

I37F — Mushrooms - ears.

78 Myths, legends and folktales

78 Unique narratives for motif I37F

53 Cultures & traditions where I37F is told

8 Sub-motifs of motif I37F

Please log on to view the narratives.

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

Overview

Mushrooms are called "ears".

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 7, Etiology of plants and animals and of their peculiar features, particular animals as protagonists of cosmological stories, metamorphoses, weather and calendar.

I37 has 8 other sub-motifs

I37.  Mushrooms are mentioned in a mythological context.
I37A.  A mushroom is a substitute for a real object: 1) inferior, imaginary food (people ate mushrooms before the advent of hunting and agriculture; a character offers mushrooms instead of real food; real food appears as a result of the metamorphosis of mushrooms); 2) a preparation for creating or imitating a complete object (fish, birds, animals arise as a result of the metamorphosis of mushrooms; a copy of a lost or non-existent object is made from mushrooms); 3) characters of low status (lice, turtles) are engaged in mushroom picking; 4) the appearance of mushrooms is associated with a violation of the rules of interpersonal relations. See motif I37.
I37B.  Mushrooms are associated with the dead, the afterlife, evil spirits, and disease. See motif I37.
I37C.  Mushrooms have erotic associations. See motif I37.
I37d.  Mushrooms are the excrement of a mythological character. See motif I37.
I37d1.  St. Peter secretly eats bread, and when Christ asks him what he is doing, he chokes, spits out the crumbs, and they turn into mushrooms.
I37e.  Tree mushrooms cry out like people.
I37f.  Mushrooms are called "ears".
I37g.  A tree mushroom is a step, a platform; an object that helps or hinders movement; provides shelter or refuge. See motif I37.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of I37’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
I96	90.10%	A rainbow consisting of blood either heralds war and death.
G8F	89.06%	Characters cut down a tree, but the trunk grows back. They manage to finish the job after the splinters are carried away or burned.
E27	88.98%	People arise from drops of blood from a wounded anthropomorphic creature.
C25B	88.66%	In the sky, on the moon (rarely – on the sun), somewhere outside our world, a certain character spins, weaves, knits, embroiders or makes bast fabric.
E12	88.63%	A character draws an object or creature on sand, ash, a wall or the surface of water, and it comes to life.
E9N	88.39%	A man marries a female seal, seal or dolphin that has taken the form of a woman and lives with her among people.
I133A	88.13%	There is a constellation that represents a bird and corresponds to several large constellations in European traditions (mainly equatorial, rather than circumpolar).
M7	86.77%	The character goes to the lower world, to the sky, to the country on the horizon, etc. and waits for someone to give him a ride to his goal. Usually, some animals/birds or celestial bodies follow by, and the last (often the Sun or Month) delivers.
D13E	86.32%	Hunters perish because they laughed at the killed (and revived) animal.
A12E	84.89%	The spider attacks the sun or moon (usually causing lunar eclipses).

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

Drag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below

🌐 Open as Airocean (Dymaxion) map ↗

Traditions

53 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 53 traditions: Melanesians of Admiralty Islands (incl Manus); Seimat (Western Islands), Fiji, Rotuma, Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), Society Islands: Tahiti, Borabora, Raiatea, Southern Cook Islands: Mangaia, Rarotonga, Atiu, Iatutakim Pukapuka, Tubuai (=Austral Islands, incl Rapa), Tuamotu, incl Pukapuka (different from Pukapuka in Cook Islands), Vahitahi, Anaa, Hao, Fangatau, Gilbert Islands, Nauru, Banaba (Ocean island), Chamorro (Guam and other Marianas), Palau (Western Carolines), Ifaluk, Woleai, Lamutrek, Faraulip Satawal, Elato, Western Fayu, Truk, Eastern Fayu, Losap, Pulap, Puluwat, Mortlock (incl. Satawan), Ponape, Ngaik, Mwoakil (Mokil), Kusaie (Kosrae), Marshall Islands, incl Ailinglapalap, Arno, Jaluit, Kili, Lae, Maloelap, Majuro, Ratak, Wotho, Ujae, Jaluit (=Jalooj), Namdrik, Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken), Simeulue, Nias, Northern Luzon: Apayao, Bontoc, Nabaloi (Ibaloi), Ifugao, Igorot (highland people, not specified), Ilocan, Ilongot, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanay, Tingian (Tinggian, Bilongan Itneg); Ibanag, Kasiguran Agta, Keley-i Kallahan, Negrito (incl. Mamanwa), Central islands and Bikol: Vizaya, Mansaká, Bikol, Mangyan, Panayan, Sulod, Cebuano (Cebu), Capiz, Romblomanon, Manuyu, Southern Taiwan: Rukai, Paiwan, Puyuma, Saaroa, Ketangalan, Northern Taiwan: Atayal (Tayal; Taruko (Toda, Taokas, Torok, Taroko), Pazeh, Sedeq (Sediq, Seedeq, Sazek), Saisiyat (Saixia), Kachin (Singpho), Chak, England, British, Bretons, Spain, Spaniards, Catalan, Sicily, Sicilians, France, Dutch, Flemish, Albanians, Balkarians, Nanai, Nivkh, Chukchi, Central Yupik, Denaina, Koyukon, Santee, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Huastec (Teenek), Gulf Nahuatl, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Yucatec, Itza, Kekchi; Mopan, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Mundurucu, Curuaia, Rikbaktsa, Botocudo, Fiji, China, Palau, Russian Federation

Please log on to view the narratives.

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 © 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.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.