Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L5E — A decapitated wife pursues her husband.
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 decapitated body of a woman pursues her husband, while her head pursues their children.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L5 has 11 other sub-motifs
RelatedL5. Describes or depicts a creature in the form of a skull or head without a body.
L5A. A rolling head turns into a celestial object that emits or eclipses light (sun, moon, stars, fireball; it is the cause of eclipses). See motif L5.
L5B. A rolling head turns into lightning/thunder. See motif L83.
L5c. The monster head pursues celestial bodies, people, or attaches itself to someone else's body. See motif L5.
L5d. The rolling head suffers from thirst. See motif L5.
L5e. The decapitated body of a woman pursues her husband, while her head pursues their children.
L5e1. A woman who has become a monster pursues her own children.
L5f. Head, face or skull – a woman's husband, fiancé or son; not dangerous to her, brings wealth, saves from hunger, etc.
L5g. Only the head remains of one of the sisters. It rolls after the other sister or sisters, or they take it with them; in the end, the head finds a place where it wants to settle.
L5h. Two sisters or two brothers find themselves in the demon's house or in front of an obstacle. One of them crawls through a narrow hole. The other gets stuck. The brother or sister pulls him or her by the head, and the head is torn off.
L5i. A multitude of rolling heads or skulls try to take a woman away.
L5j. The rolling head laughs for no reason. See motif L5.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| A38B | 99.80% | The sun gets caught in a trap. Only a mouse or other small animal manages to gnaw through the trap and free the sun. |
| M4 | 98.20% | When crossing a pond or descending from a tree, the character (usually despite a warning) steps at a specific animal or part of the animal's body . As a result, it falls into the water and often sinks. |
| A38C | 98.15% | The Sun exchanges a cape made of animal or bird skins with a boy or girl, or spoils it. As a result, the boy or girl raises their status or takes revenge on the Sun. |
| M93 | 96.57% | When falling asleep or going to do something else, the character tells a certain part of his body to wake him up in case of danger. The organ did not give a signal or the character himself did not listen to it, as a result, the misfortune happened. |
| C6B | 96.46% | The desired object is brought up from the bottom by a muskrat (rarely a beaver or otter). |
| L9B | 96.31% | The sharp elbows or (rarely) knees of the character resemble knives or awls. |
| K27Y | 96.02% | The hero is sent or, knowing the danger, goes himself to obtain various (at least two) materials for making a bow and arrows (shafts, feathers, bowstring, flint for arrowheads, paint for colouring arrows, resin and fibres for attaching the arrowhead or feather to the shaft, etc.). See motif K27. |
| K27YY1 | 95.93% | The hero brings the feather (feathers) of a dangerous bird. |
| B97A | 95.93% | A strip of light or dark feathers (rarely: wool) on the neck of a bird (animal) is its necklace (scarf). |
| D4C | 95.93% | Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners. |
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
8 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Eastern Cree, Blackfoot, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa
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