Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F41 — Husbands kill wives.
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
OverviewAncestral men kill women who behave contrary to social norms.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| B77C | 87.41% | A snake-like creature pushes the sky away from the earth. See motif B77. |
| M44A | 87.41% | The character discovers that someone is stealing game or fish from his trap, mountain, etc. or ravages his garden, field; he or his messengers wait and catch the thief [magical tales clearly of European origin (e.g. Chamacoco, Wilbert, Simoneau 1987a, No. 121) are not included]. The kidnappers are the first people to get out of the ground, the first men. |
| H9B | 86.92% | People have become like plants, which, although mortal, live on in their descendants (shoots). |
| M1B | 84.59% | A caiman/crocodile carries a monkey across a river. She manages to jump ashore and runs away from the caiman. |
| M44B | 83.95% | The character discovers that someone is stealing game or fish from his trap, mountain, etc. or ravages his garden, vegetable garden, field; he or his messengers wait and catch the thief. The kidnappers are women, or the aquatic animal is the kidnapper, but when caught, it gives the hero a woman. |
| I96 | 83.51% | A rainbow consisting of blood either heralds war and death. |
| E12 | 80.39% | A character draws an object or creature on sand, ash, a wall or the surface of water, and it comes to life. |
| G23A | 80.32% | Parts of the body and organs of living beings are transformed into various plants (teeth into corn, testicles into yams, etc.). |
| G20 | 79.13% | Edible (cultivated or wild) plants emerge from the body of an old woman, a young woman or a girl. |
| J64 | 79.09% | Without touching the fire or burning, the character rises into the sky or crosses the river on clouds of smoke. |
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
13 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 13 traditions: Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Melanesians and Papuans of Northern Solomons: Buka, Bougainville (Siuai, Buin), Northern Taiwan: Atayal (Tayal; Taruko (Toda, Taokas, Torok, Taroko), Pazeh, Sedeq (Sediq, Seedeq, Sazek), Saisiyat (Saixia), Czech, Czechs, Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Baniwa (incl. Wakuenai), Bare, Piapoco, Curripaco, Siusi, Guarikena , Rikbaktsa, Paresi, Caraja, Chamacoco (Ishir), Mapuche, Selknam, Yamana (Yaghan), Alacaluf
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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