Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F59 — Man in woman: modelling the figure.
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
OverviewPretending to be a woman, the trickster transforms part of his body, another character, or some object into a swaddled baby, female genitalia, or a female household item, or disguises an animal or object as a baby born to a new husband.
Berezkin category: Gender and sex
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| L86 | 96.99% | Having turned into a demon, a woman pursues her children. Cf. motif K102a2: A mother seeks to destroy her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair and/or sides with his father in a conflict between his parents. |
| I2 | 94.47% | Lightning bolts fly from the eyes or mouth {specified} of a creature embodying a thunderstorm. See motif I1. |
| L31 | 93.35% | People are forced against their will to follow an object, person or animal (usually sticking to it) that carries them far away (usually into water or into the sky). |
| L123 | 93.17% | In order to confuse the pursuer, the character leaves traces leading in all directions before running away. |
| L31B | 92.96% | Upon discovering a reptile on land, people touch it or sit on it, stick to it, and it crawls away with them into the water. See motif L31. |
| M29H | 92.49% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| D4J | 92.34% | The thief, the thief's assistant, or the owner of fire is a rabbit, a hare, or (ofaye) a guinea pig. See motif D4A. |
| M65 | 92.17% | trickster bakes meat obtained by trick, deception; immobilized by sticking to a tree, ground, or stone; at this time, another character (fox, wolf, coyote, birds) eats all the meat. See M53 motif. |
| J18 | 91.81% | A pregnant woman or a woman with a child falls from the sky. She or her newborn daughter dies or undergoes a metamorphosis. Her son or her daughter's son survives and grows up. Cf. motif K9. |
| M65B | 91.58% | Having resorted to deception, the character kills the game, but the thieves take the loot. See M53 motif. |
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
21 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 21 traditions: Chukchi, Inland Tlingit, Tlingit, Haida, Micmac, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Menominee, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Winnebago, Iowa, Pawnee, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Yana, Kawaiisu, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Mataco, Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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