Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M121 — Insects as spies.
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 louse or other similar creature (flea, tick, firefly) is sent to follow a certain character.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| L26 | 100.00% | During the (first) initiation, supernatural beings teach boys rituals and kill them for violating rules related to the consumption and distribution of food. |
| B67 | 99.39% | A fallen tree and/or its stump turns into a mountain (mountain range) or rocks. (Usually, the branches of this tree bear the fruits and shoots of various cultivated plants, see motif G5). |
| B62 | 99.22% | Man believes that vultures live better than humans, changes his appearance to that of a vulture. The former vulture lives with the man's wife, and the man usually does not like his new life. |
| L83 | 98.98% | A character who has only a head left (motif L5) or who has burned his leg (motif L82) turns into lightning/thunder (or emits lightning/thunderclaps). |
| I27B | 98.77% | A dog carries a person across a river to another world. See motif I27. |
| A22A | 98.69% | Two characters burn; one turns into the present sun, and the other into a less significant celestial object. See motif A22. |
| J24 | 98.52% | The hero, ground into powder, is reborn. |
| A22 | 97.65% | One or two people fall into fire or boiling water and ascend to the sky, turning into the sun and/or the moon. |
| A13B | 97.18% | During an eclipse or at the first appearance of night, ants eclipse the sun. |
| A9 | 97.18% | The moon-woman does not allow her son or husband, the Sun, to destroy people. |
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
7 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Chumash, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Mam, Ixil, Aguatec, Avakatec, Tzutujil, Cuna; XVI century data on Eastern Panama, Sibundoy: Kamsa, Ingano (Inga), Umotina (Umutina)
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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