Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
E9I4 — The magical wife – the crane.
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
OverviewBefore meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a crane.
Berezkin category: The origins of people and culture
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms.
E9 has 21 other sub-motifs
RelatedE9. The character notices that someone is running the house in his absence and catches the person doing so by surprise.
E9a. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a fox.
E9aa. A man searches for a missing woman, who is a fox by nature, and comes to the burrow where she has hidden. Various bird or animal women come out of the burrow and offer themselves in place of the fox. Then they let him inside.
E9b. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of an elephant (elephant tusk).
E9c. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a large hoofed mammal (buffalo, antelope, moose, etc.).
E9d. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a dog or puppy (wolf cub).
E9e. An animal or object received by a young man from supernatural beings as a reward for his kindness, upon the young man's return home (to earth), turns into a girl.
E9f. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a parrot.
E9g. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a vulture.
E9h. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a dove.
E9i1. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a swan.
E9i2. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper, adopted daughter) takes the form of a duck.
E9i3. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a goose.
E9i4. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a crane.
e9i5. Before meeting the hero, his wife takes the form of a snail.
E9j. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife) has the image of a monkey, or the man hides the woman and pretends that the mistress is a monkey.
e9j1. Humans are considered descendants of monkeys.
E9k. The husband or wife is the embodiment of honey or a human bee.
E9l. Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife) has the image of a mouse (rarely: a rat).
E9m. A man marries a bear (white or grizzly) that takes the form of a woman, or a woman who takes the form of a bear.
E9n. A man marries a female seal, seal or dolphin that has taken the form of a woman and lives with her among people.
E9o. A man marries a woman who has the appearance of a frog or toad.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M94A1 | 97.02% | By stupidity or negligence, a zoomorphic character rolls down a mountain and as a result dies or suffers damage (attacks the edge, falls into the water, etc.). |
| M108 | 96.93% | The character is called upon to help perform a task (usually to transport property or provisions across a river) and takes away what has been entrusted to him. |
| A13A | 96.74% | The raven steals or hides the sun, or attempts to do so. |
| K25A7 | 96.74% | The older brother hunts, the younger brother takes care of the household. After catching the winged maiden, the older brother takes her as his wife, while the younger brother, out of naivety, returns her wings to her. The older brother sets off in search of his wife. |
| I101 | 96.73% | The Big Dipper or several bright stars of another constellation are stakes, pillars supporting a platform, or some object is stretched, dried, or stored on these stakes. |
| I86 | 96.15% | The inhabitants of the upper world produce down, wool, and scales, which turn into birds, animals, and fish. |
| B112 | 95.44% | The character is called upon to help perform a task (usually to transport property or provisions across a river) and takes away what has been entrusted to him. A woodpecker or titmouse returns the stolen goods. The owner of the property paints or dresses the bird, hence the colour of its plumage |
| B72A | 95.44% | Mother (stepmother, adoptive father) does not give food to a girl or (less often) a boy. The child asks migratory birds to take him with them, they give him bird clothing, he flies away with them, becoming a bird. |
| M108B | 95.44% | The deceiver takes away someone else's property in a boat or carries it away. A bird (usually a woodpecker) deceives him and returns the property to its owners. |
| B70 | 95.40% | A man beats defenseless hares, foxes, and other small animals (one or many) that are usually locked in his house. The story explains the colouring of the tips of the ears and tails of these animals. Cf. motif M45A. |
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
10 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 10 traditions: Early Chinese written sources, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Dolgans, Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Japan
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