Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
D1 — Woman-fire.
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 woman (usually elderly) is the embodiment of fire â alone or together with her husband, the master of fire. Cf. motif D5 (woman possesses fire).
Berezkin category: Fire and Laughter
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature.
D1 has 6 other sub-motifs
RelatedD1. A woman (usually elderly) is the embodiment of fire â alone or together with her husband, the master of fire. Cf. motif D5 (woman possesses fire).
D1a. A girl marries a man whose mother is fire.
D1a1. Because a woman offended the fire, its mistress takes her child away.
D1a2. The house of the person who insulted the fire burns down, but the property inside it or the child of another person (or that person himself) who treated the fire with respect is not harmed.
D1a3. A man marries a woman who is fire. She is mistreated, or her husband does not like her, and the marriage breaks down.
D1a4. Two fires from different dwellings meet and converse.
D1b. The man is the master or embodiment of fire (alone or alongside the woman-fire).
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| I50 | 95.20% | Describes or depicts a hoofed animal with six or more legs. |
| M39A | 94.25% | fool lives with his brother (and mother), is sent on business, does ridiculous things (all or part of the above): releases animals from the trap, kills (trapped) mother ; cuts off the pet's legs or skins; takes the fontanel on the baby's skull for a boil and squeezes it out; tears a large piece of cloth and ties the pieces to swaying reeds; hearing the murmur of water, throws food into the water; puts the plague in the water; wants to salt the water and pours all the salt into the river. (There are other common episodes as well). |
| C6J | 93.39% | In the same narrative, the story of the creation of man and the attempt to prevent it follows immediately after the story of obtaining earth from the bottom of the sea or from the underworld. |
| H40 | 93.03% | The dog guards and protects (successfully or unsuccessfully) a human figure that has not been completely finished by the creator, or the entrance to paradise. |
| K52C | 92.30% | Demonstrating his power, a shaman, sorcerer or other character with magical abilities causes the dwelling in which he and other people are located to begin to fill with water. Sometimes it is said that this water is an illusion and that those present also see animals (waterfowl, fish or marine mammals). |
| A32F | 91.73% | On the lunar disc, a character is visible who has gone to fetch water and/or is holding a vessel for liquid in his hands. See motif A32D. |
| I22B | 91.62% | Migratory birds (or shamans in the form of birds) fly from our world to another; the path lies through a narrow opening between jutting rocks, or the sky strikes the earth, crushing those who fly through; and/or at the passage to the other world there is a character who feeds on birds; and/or in the world on the other side of the pulsating barrier there is the mistress of the birds. |
| I12 | 91.37% | A tree, a pole with branches, rarely a smooth pole connects the tiers of the universe. The most distinct variants, according to which the tiers of the universe are strung on a tree, are marked in italics. |
| M100 | 90.99% | Zoomorphic characters lie down to sleep on the edge of a cliff. At night, one of them suggests moving (turning), and his companion (companions) falls and breaks. |
| B1E | 90.40% | The protagonist of the narrative is one of many (seven or more) brothers with whom he is in conflict, but who are not his irreconcilable enemies. |
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
76 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 76 traditions: Ugarit, Phoenicia, Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), Viet, Muong, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Finns, Vepsians, Western Sami, Nogai, Tats, Armenians, Kalmyk, Kazakh, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mansi, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Shor, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Nenets, Nganasans, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Kets, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Ainu, Oroch, Uilta (Orok), Nanai, Nivkh, Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Lillooet, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Quinault, Tillamook, Cherokee, Navajo, Hopi, Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Mai Huna (Coto, Orejon), Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Witoto, Ocaina, Kechua-speaking communities of Apurimac, Cuzco, Arequipa, Puno departments; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries; Callawaya (Kechua with Pukina substratum), Tacana, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Southern Altai: Teleut, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, China
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements Š Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.
Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.
Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
Š 2024â2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.