Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L38A — Sticky trap – resin stump.
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
OverviewThe character sticks to an object, usually by successively sticking individual parts of their body to it. The object is either a trap for a demonic creature or is itself a creature of a non-human nature. Cf. motif M182 (tar doll), probably brought to the New World after Columbus from Africa.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L38 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedL38. The demon sets a trap, and people fall into it. Cf. motif K64A.
L38a. The character sticks to an object, usually by successively sticking individual parts of their body to it. The object is either a trap for a demonic creature or is itself a creature of a non-human nature. Cf. motif M182 (tar doll), probably brought to the New World after Columbus from Africa.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B64 | 98.42% | Bones in the bodies of fish are the result of fights, battles, military expeditions; they are arrows stuck in them (gill openings – from stuck arrows), or small bones – fragments of the original large bones. |
| C27 | 98.03% | The monster breaks the ice on a river or lake. Usually people walk on the ice, see a protruding horn (fin), and try to saw it off. The monster breaks the ice, and many people die. |
| C6C1 | 96.77% | Two or more different birds (in Siberia, often a loon and a duck) successively try to retrieve something from the bottom. Only one succeeds. |
| I85A1 | 95.86% | The North Star – a hole leading to the upper world. |
| B42L | 94.64% | The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters, the dipper itself is a bear, an elk or a meat storehouse where the bear climbs. |
| F66 | 94.64% | In order to commit incest with his daughter, grandmother, sister (brother), father, grandson, brother (sister), the man pretends to be a stranger, or the husband takes on the appearance of his wife's brother so that she treats him as a blood relative. To do this, the character secretly moves to another house for a while, where the object of his desire mistakes him for someone else. |
| B42M2 | 94.24% | The stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three hunters chasing a beast. Each has a distinct character (one is boastful, another is hasty, etc.). In Siberia, the hunters are identified with people of different nationalities, and in the North American Northeast, with birds of different species. |
| F65D | 94.03% | The character pretends to be dying and is left at the burial site. However, his wife (mother, aunt) finds out about the deception and provokes the supposed dead man, forcing him to reveal himself. |
| K8C2 | 93.68% | The mouse is swallowed by a large land animal and comes out by cutting it open from the inside. |
| L60 | 93.60% | Several sisters pick up a baby. In their absence, it turns into an adult man, and when they approach, it turns back into a child. Taking on its true form, the demon pursues the sisters. See motif M46a. |
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
33 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 33 traditions: Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Nenets, Nganasans, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Kets, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Oroch, Nivkh, Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Koyukon, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Tillamook, Takelma, Shasta; Chimariko, Karok, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Yana, Kawaiisu, Owens Valley Paiute, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Southern Paiute, Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins, Halkomelem (Snaymuk)
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