Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F26 — Cause of menstruation: loss of sacred objects.
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
OverviewThe transfer of sacred musical instruments (horns, trumpets) from women to men is associated with the onset of menstruation in women.
Berezkin category: Gender and sex
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.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B30B | 97.37% | Animals arise from the remains of a killed person. |
| J22D | 96.31% | Foreigners or animals of two different species emerge from a single person or animal cut in half. |
| J49 | 96.31% | The wife and/or sister of the Moon unsuccessfully tries to climb up to him in the sky or reaches him but returns to earth. |
| I43B | 96.24% | The Milky Way is a reptile, fish or chain of fish. |
| G8C | 96.22% | The first ancestors try to cut down a tree (less often a high rock) to get useful plants hanging on the branches (at the top) or water or fish in the trunk. The damage disappears as soon as the workers are distracted from their work, or periodically. |
| B55 | 95.64% | Fish grow on tree branches or tree leaves turn into fish. |
| G10 | 94.79% | A tree whose trunk has been cut down remains hanging because it is held up from above. |
| G7 | 93.85% | The first ancestors need to cut down a giant tree or (rarely) a rock. Their axes become blunt or break, and/or they obtain a special axe suitable for such work. If not otherwise: a tree with cultivated plants at the top, see motif G5A. |
| I43A | 92.87% | A giant reptile, serpent, fish, or chain of fish stretches across the earth and/or supports the sky. Usually associated with the Milky Way, sometimes with a rainbow. |
| D6A | 92.64% | The crocodile/caiman is the temporary or original owner of fire or lightning. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
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Traditions
6 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 6 traditions: Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Wanana, Tucano proper, Pira-Tapuya, Arapaso, Letuama, Tanimuca, Ufaina, Yahuna, Baniwa (incl. Wakuenai), Bare, Piapoco, Curripaco, Siusi, Guarikena , Papua-New Guinea Southern Lowland Papuan groups (Trans New Guinea and unclassified): Gimi, Kiwai, Bina, Mawabula, Mawatta, Keraki, Gambadi (incl. Kwavaru), Purari River delta, Masingara, Wiram (=Suki), Ngain, Daga, Elema
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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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