Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M45 — The predator pretends to be dead
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
OverviewWhen a zoomorphic character falls asleep or pretends to be dead (seriously ill), the animals he usually hunts gather to meet him. He catches or kills them, or they run away at the last minute.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
M45 has 3 other sub-motifs
RelatedM45. When a zoomorphic character falls asleep or pretends to be dead (seriously ill), the animals he usually hunts gather to meet him. He catches or kills them, or they run away at the last minute.
M45a. A person is sleeping or pretending to be asleep or dead. Animals take him for a dead man - they mourn him, carry him to bury him, they are going to eat it, etc. A person beats the crowd and/or obtains benefits.
M45b. The old man carries a trough and lies down to rest, covered with it. The animals take the trough to the table and bring food. The old man gets up, the animals run away, the old man gets the food.
M45c. The character advises the other person to plant or sow boiled or roasted seeds or tubers, who follows the advice.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M23 | 93.20% | The character pretends to be afraid of only one method of killing, which in reality is not dangerous for him (K581: turtle: If you throw me into the water, I will drown! ). {All American variants with a rabbit are most likely of African origin and are not included in the correlation table}. |
| M38 | 91.51% | Person sees how others act using magic or according to their animal nature. He or she imitates their actions and gets into trouble. Actions are not heroic deeds, competitions or tests and refer to everyday activity, mostly to providing and cooking food |
| L110 | 89.15% | A character swallows many people and/or animals. In the end, his stomach is cut open, and those who were swallowed unharmed come out or are extracted and revived. Cf. motif K8a. |
| M29K | 87.76% | A turtle (toad, frog) defeats strong opponents by cunning or perseverance. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle. |
| D4L | 87.18% | The first fire is brought down to earth from the sky; the first ancestors go to the sky and bring back fire or warmth. See motif D4A. |
| M120 | 86.78% | A zoomorphic character takes on the responsibility of caring for other people's children (raising them, teaching them, healing them), but in reality has no intention of doing so, and usually eats the children. |
| E30B | 85.47% | A man makes a figure or receives a woman. She comes to life and becomes his wife. |
| L52 | 83.77% | A person escapes from a pursuer by climbing a tree and then flying away from it himself or on the back of a bird, or a bird helps the hero escape in some other way. |
| I36 | 83.66% | Thunder and lightning (two thunders, two lightnings) – characters related by kinship, marriage or property. |
| L103 | 83.14% | The fugitive throws or creates objects behind him, which the pursuer, wasting time, collects, eats or destroys, even though they do not hinder his progress. |
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
41 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 41 traditions: Malagasy, Sanye (Aweer), Mbundu (Umbundu, Kimbundu, Chimbundu, Ovimbundu), Kwanyama, Owambo (=Ambo), Kosa (Xosa, Xhosa), Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Hausa, Kanuri, Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Susu, Soninke, Northern Naga: Konyak, Lungshang, Wancho, Nokte, Moclum, Lunshan, Chang, Maring, Naga of Myanmar, Spain, Spaniards, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Finns, Norwegians, Western Ukrainians, Dargin (Dargwa), incl. Müregin, Khürkilin, Kubachi, North Alaskan Inupiat, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Eastern Swamy Cree, Eastern Cree, Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Cherokee, Chumash, Navajo, Jicarilla, Western Apache (White Mountain, San Carlos), Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Guarani of Paraguay and Brazil: Caygua, Mbia, Apapocuva, Nyandewa, Chiripa, Mapuche, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Russian Federation
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