Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F28A — A monstrous penis grows out of the ground.
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 penis grows out of the ground or out of the water in a lake. Women summon it as needed.
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.
F28 has 9 other sub-motifs
RelatedF28. There is a separate penis character with whom the first women, Amazons, or simply some woman copulate.
F28a. A penis grows out of the ground or out of the water in a lake. Women summon it as needed.
F28a1. The living penis is a dangerous creature that attacks people.
F28a2. The owner of the field, either intentionally or having misheard the question, replies that he grows penises. After that, penises grow in the field instead of crops.
F28a3. A girl (woman) possesses an object that is pleasant (useful). Once in the hands of others, it becomes harmful (dangerous).
F28a4. The fruits or stems of plants are penises.
F28A5. The penis and vulva (in the singular or plural) are separate beings and characters.
F28b. A woman uses a penis made of wax, wood, fruit or root. Usually her husband or male relative smears it with pepper, and the woman is maimed or killed.
F28c. A woman masturbates with the penis of a large animal that one of the men killed while hunting.
F28d. By masturbating with an artificial penis, a woman conceives children.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| F28 | 98.24% | There is a separate penis character with whom the first women, Amazons, or simply some woman copulate. |
| B66 | 95.83% | Characters climb to the sky using a rope or chain of arrows; when it falls to the ground, it turns into forest vines. See motif J47. |
| C15 | 95.83% | A monstrous jaguar (puma) is locked in a cave or tree trunk. |
| C34A | 95.83% | A supernatural character goes with people to catch fish or lives on the sand by the river; he is buried in the sand or thrown into the river, into a swamp, or otherwise persecuted. Usually, he himself or his father sends a flood. |
| H32B | 95.83% | A girl and/or boy, who are the children of a deity, come to live with humans, leading to an abundance of food/resources. Due to the hurt they have caused, the children return to their own world, and human life becomes difficult or meagre. |
| L1D | 95.83% | The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives. |
| K13B | 95.55% | A man crosses a body of water on the back of a caiman. The caiman bites off his leg. The cripple undergoes a metamorphosis, turning into a constellation or an animal. |
| L1E | 95.50% | A monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch. |
| F37 | 95.40% | To summon her lover, the character taps on a calabash placed on the water. |
| G11 | 95.39% | The squirrel plays an important role in cutting down a giant tree (usually chopping or trying to chop the vine that holds it, see motif G10). |
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
12 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 12 traditions: Mackenzie Delta, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, Yana, Sibundoy: Kamsa, Ingano (Inga), Sicuani, Wayana, Aparai, Kofan, Karijona, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Tenetehara
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