Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I13B — Horned snake, B91.3.
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 small snake, the snake has horns on its head.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects.
I13 has 5 other sub-motifs
RelatedI13a. A huge aquatic or celestial serpent, dragon, or snake-like creature with horns on its head.
I13b. A small snake, the snake has horns on its head.
I13c. Reptiles possess a treasure that humans take or try to take. Usually it is a crown, a precious stone, or horns on a snake's head.
I13d. A person enters the dwelling of snakes, spends a long time there, is released or escapes. While in the dwelling of snakes, he usually licks a stone that relieves thirst and hunger.
I13e. The snake agrees to let the man go on condition that he does not tell anyone about their meeting. Under threat of death, the man breaks his promise. The snake teaches him to drink a broth made from its flesh and takes revenge not on the man, but on those who forced him to break his word.
I13F. In autumn, a man falls asleep in a bear's den. When he wakes up, he thinks that the night has passed, but it is already spring. Usually, the bear gives him advice before parting.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K32G | 99.13% | The antagonist is executed by being tied to a horse (camel, bull), which drags him along the ground or tears him to pieces. |
| I46A | 99.03% | The rainbow is associated with a woman, usually an elderly one. |
| K126 | 98.92% | A predatory beast or demon eats the hero's horse, but in return is forced or voluntarily helps him. |
| H16B | 98.92% | The narratives (in various contexts) mention a milk pond (river, lake, wave in the sea) existing on earth (but not among the stars). Cf. motifs H16, K33F, N34. |
| K27SS | 98.61% | A strong man must overtake a woman, often an old woman. This is difficult or impossible to achieve. |
| K27F | 98.51% | An authoritative character demands that the hero obtain a woman. |
| K72 | 98.50% | A character of high status meets or marries three (less often two or four) women. One (promises to bear and) bears him a son (children) with unusual qualities, the other two (promise to engage in and) engage in crafts or housekeeping, or intend to marry men of lower status. |
| K74A | 98.49% | A demonic character arrives and mocks one of the men remaining in the house. When the hero remains, he defeats the demon and follows in his footsteps to where he dwells. Cf. motif K74 (an unassuming and weak-looking man approaches a warrior preparing dinner; he eats everything, ties up, beats or kills the cook. When the hero remains to cook, he defeats the demon). |
| K73A4 | 98.36% | Malicious women replace the newborn with a puppy (telling the father that his wife has given birth to a puppy). See motifs K73, K73A. |
| N33 | 98.34% | hero drives the enemy into the ground, or he and the enemy alternately drive each other into the ground (ankle-deep, waist-deep, etc.). |
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
40 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 40 traditions: Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Poles, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Albanians, Balkarians, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Vepsians, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Ingush, Rutul, Tsakhur, Laks, Georgians, Armenians, Kalmyk, Talysh, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Huastec (Teenek), Southern Altai: Teleut, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Egypt, Russian Federation
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