Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M34 — An attached tail
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
OverviewAn object is thrown at the character, which turns into a tail, and the character himself into a corresponding animal.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
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.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B75B | 92.75% | The creaking or crackling of trees is the voice of a transformed character. |
| K46 | 91.90% | In a fit of fear or shame, a woman or girl runs to the sea, throws herself into the water or hides on the shore. The suitor tries in vain to catch up with her. |
| B91A | 89.11% | A blind character asks another to lend him his eyes or to swap eyes, keeping his own eyes. |
| K93B5 | 88.96% | The character infiltrates the enemy camp disguised as a kitten or puppy. Usually, one of the enemies suspects deception, but the others believe that the cute animal is harmless. |
| L51 | 88.07% | A cannibal, spirit, or predatory beast regularly throws its victims down, where they are devoured by aquatic or chthonic creatures. |
| L49 | 87.69% | Individual parts or pieces of a character's body are successively thrown down. (In American variants, those below usually mistake them for game, honey, or fish). |
| E1B | 86.09% | A character made of unsuitable material and turns out to be short-lived or poorly suited to performing his functions. |
| C11 | 85.63% | A father with magical powers destroys people (all or many) who have insulted or harmed his son. |
| K177 | 85.36% | A girl or woman sets off on a journey to find or return her fiancé or husband, or flees from danger, and her journey ends in a successful marriage. |
| L15A1 | 85.32% | The character's vulnerable spot is located at the bottom of the foot (heel, toe, sole, ankle). |
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
11 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 11 traditions: Latvians, Estonians, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw), Nootka (Nu-chah-nulth), Makah, Lillooet, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Guajiro, Xipaya, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Selknam, Lutsi (Ludza)
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
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