Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
B99 — Termite nest.
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 person or their head left on a tree turns into an insect nest.
Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
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 |
|---|---|---|
| L88 | 99.99% | A man kills a demon, but when he touches its remains some time later, it comes to life. |
| I5A | 99.98% | The tapir is associated with the upper world (thunder, sky, moon). |
| K13D | 99.98% | A group of boys reaches the sky, the last one's leg is cut off or torn off. |
| K19F | 99.98% | A star or many stars descend from the sky to work in the fields. See motif K19B. |
| M139 | 99.98% | The fox caught the birds and put them in a bag. Another character secretly replaced them with thorns. |
| J15A | 99.97% | Setting off on a journey (usually in search of a fiancé, husband, or relatives), a woman finds herself in the lair or settlement of large dangerous predators - pumas or jaguars. See motif J15. |
| J11 | 99.85% | The son in his mother's womb asks her to pick flowers or fruit for him (usually when a woman picks flowers, she is bitten by an insect). See motif J9. |
| B24 | 99.85% | People who have entered into conflict or violated a prohibition are transformed into wild boars or peccaries. |
| B63 | 99.85% | Children lie to their mother, pretending to work in the fields. When the deception is revealed, they are left without a harvest and are transformed into atmospheric phenomena or celestial objects. |
| E19 | 99.85% | Narcotic plants arise from the body of a human being torn to pieces by others. |
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
14 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: Fang (Pangwe), Eton, Bafia, Batanga, Benga, Bube (Bubi), Buheba, Yaunde (Ewondo), Yebekolo, Koko, Bulu, Beti (Beti-Bulu), Sekiani, Eghap, Sicuani, Yanomamo (Yanoama): Yanomam, Yanomami, Kandoshi (Murato, Maina); Iquito, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Yagua, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Harákmbet (=Mashco), Kamayura, Paresi, Bororo, Cayapo (incl. Kubenkranken, Pau d’Arco, Shikrin or Xikrin), Craho, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje)
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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