Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F70F — Accidental change of gender.
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
OverviewFinding themselves in a deserted place, people accidentally change their gender.
Berezkin category: Gender and sex
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
F70 has 8 other sub-motifs
RelatedF70. 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.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| I82E | 98.27% | It is said that Venus or another star sold her mother or father in order to adorn herself luxuriously and dress up. |
| K14B | 98.27% | A man is advised not to do anything until he is expressly asked to do so. He unwisely offers to let someone use his knife and is subsequently accused of a crime. |
| M168B | 98.27% | A bird or a person who becomes a bird is given the task of bringing a stick that is neither straight nor crooked. This bird is still searching for it. |
| N25 | 98.27% | said that characters spend a long time (days, weeks, months, years) on the road, but end up walking a journey as long as a grain, needle, or other small object. |
| M198B3 | 98.04% | A supposed fortune teller accidentally finds the missing items, is rewarded and brought close to the ruler. One day, for some reason, he rudely pushes him (or people in general) out of the room. Immediately afterwards, the roof of the building collapses. Since then, no one has doubted the fortune teller's abilities. |
| L37B3 | 97.15% | From the birds' conversation, humans learn that their bodies or secretions have miraculous properties. |
| I95A | 97.07% | Orion (probably always Orion's Belt) is Libra. |
| B2F2 | 96.83% | The character carries the body of the deceased for a long time, unable to bury it or not knowing how to do so, but eventually buries the body in the ground. |
| K60C | 96.74% | The stubborn wife of a worthy man goes on a date with a demon or a servant. He beats her, but she patiently endures her lover's beatings. |
| K90A | 96.51% | Seeing two snakes of contrasting colours fighting, a man tries to strike one, but accidentally hits the other. The relatives of this snake gather to punish him, but upon learning what happened, they reward him. |
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
10 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 10 traditions: Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Ancient Greece, Persians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Kumyk, Terekemen, Georgians, Anatolia Turks, Kirghiz, Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Khamnigans
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