F70 — Potiphar's Wife, K2111, T418, ATU 318.

A woman falsely accuses a man of assaulting her.

Berezkin category: Gender and sex

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.

F70.  A woman falsely accuses a man of assaulting her.
F70a.  Accusing a man or young man of assaulting her (usually sexually), a woman presents fabricated material evidence (tearing her clothes, scratching her body, etc.). See motif F70.
F70b.  A woman takes revenge on a man who rejected her love (but does not necessarily pretend that the man tried to force himself on her).
F70c.  A young man loses his male organ, but restores it with magic (and marries happily). Cf. ATU 750K. In ATU 318, this episode is described as one of many possible ones related to the theme of the unfaithful wife.
F70d.  A girl pretends to be a man or a eunuch, or a girl hides a disability, or a man pretends to be a girl. Someone reveals a secret. At the last moment, the hero or heroine magically gets rid of the disability (acquires male or female nature), the informer is disgraced (executed).
F70e.  A girl pretends to be a man, magically acquires male nature and lives with his wife. Cf. motif K137 (in Uther 2004, plot 514 mistakenly includes a Karakalpak text with our motif K137).
F70e1.  An old man needs a son to do men's work. (Only the youngest) daughter takes on this task (successfully passing the test set by her father), pretending to be a man.
F70e2.  The father sends his daughters or sons on a difficult task one by one. At the very beginning of the journey, their courage is put to the test. Only the youngest son or daughter passes the test. Usually, the father stands in their way, taking the form of an enemy or a predator, but only the youngest son or daughter bravely enters the fight.
F70f.  Finding themselves in a deserted place, people accidentally change their gender.

This motif has been recorded in 104 traditions: Ancient Egypt, Egyptian, Old and New Testament, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Soqotri, Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Arabs of Egypt, Western Sahara and Mauritania Arabs; Berbers of Mauritania (Zenaga), Malagasy, Somali, Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Emberre, Mwimbe, Gogo, Kaguru, Luguru, Zigula, Taveta, Shambala (Sambala), Bondei, Taeta, Dabida; Zaramo, Mbundu (Umbundu, Kimbundu, Chimbundu, Ovimbundu), Kwanyama, Owambo (=Ambo), Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Biu-Mandara: Margi, Kilba, Bura, Kera, Karekare (Kerri-Kerri), Bachama, Zulgo, Giziga, Hdi, Kapsiki, Mandara (incl Mukulehe, Matakam), Mofu (Mofu-Gudur), Somrai (Sibine, Shibha), Soninke, Songhai, Dogon, Bali, Lombok, Khmer, Santali, Turi, Mahli, Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Gondi (mostly Northern Gondi), Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Kannada, Lingayat, Halakki, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Sindhi, Kashmiri, Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Sinhalese; Vedda, Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Koreans, Ireland, Spain, Spaniards, France, Hungarians, Ancient Greece, Hittite, Hurrit, Lithuanians, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Uzbek, Wakhi, Ishkashimi (including Sanglich), Munji, Tajik, Baluch, Persians, Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Abaza (Abazins), Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Tats, Svans, Georgians, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Kara Kalpak, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Nenets, Beaver, Haida, Tsimshian, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Algonquin, unspecified Algonkians of the Midwest (probably Old Algonquin), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Western Woods Cree, Eastern Cree, Montagnais, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Blackfoot, Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Teton (incl Oglala), Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Hidatsa, Nez Perce, Tunica, Warao, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Biloxi, Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Wallons, Picardie, Icelanders, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Byzantine, Yemen, China, Russian Federation