Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

J44 — The collapsed bridge.

185 Myths, legends and folktales

185 Unique narratives for motif J44

107 Cultures & traditions where J44 is told

0 Sub-motifs of motif J44

Please log on to view the narratives.

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

Overview

The hero lures the enemy onto a rickety bridge. The enemy falls into the water, into the abyss (see motif J46). See motif J52.

Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle

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

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
H20	96.91%	All the fish or (rarely) molluscs were concentrated in one place. A certain character allows them to escape or deliberately releases them into rivers or the sea. {In some cases, the theme of the spread of fish concentrated in a small container is difficult to separate from the theme of the spread of water. In any case, neither of these exist in Africa}.
J13	96.35%	Not one woman or girl, but two sisters (or more than two, but only two play an important role in the narrative) wander and meet an unwanted deceiver instead of a desired husband or fiancé, or encounter dangerous creatures. See motif J12.
J12	96.24%	A girl or two sisters wander, usually in search of a suitable groom or husband who has left or lives far away. Along the way or upon reaching their destination, they encounter false suitors. (Traditions in which two heroines travel rather than one are highlighted in bold (motif j13).
B51	96.17%	Thanks to a deliberate lie, Thunder did not learn from the bloodsucking insect that it had drunk human blood.
B29	96.01%	People turn into animals, birds or stones, living beings acquire their current characteristics at a general meeting, festival, after a festival, after performing a ritual or after defeating a common enemy.
M22	95.92%	A long-necked bird living near water (crane, heron, bittern, swan) helps a fugitive escape from his pursuer (indicated in brackets). See motifs J44-J46 (a long-legged bird helps cross the river, drowns the pursuer; the pursuer is most often a bear).
L61	95.26%	The character eats himself, guts himself, or kills himself in order to be eaten.
M8A	95.17%	Animals, and more often birds, find it difficult to break through a rock from the outside or inside, make a hole in the tree, in the body of an absorber creature, tear fetters, etc., to help a character or get out of the confined space by yourself. The list <b><i>includes</i></b> groups whose texts deal with the exit of the first ancestors to earth from a confined space.
B28	94.83%	Travelling from one locality to another, the character successively transforms people into birds and animals, into stones, sanctuaries (or transforms monstrous animals into ordinary ones), establishes cultural norms, determines the biological characteristics of creatures, the appearance of the locality, etc.
J59	94.76%	To reach the sky, one must shoot an arrow that will pierce the vault of heaven. See motif J58; see motif J59A: a man flies after or on an arrow (without the motif of an arrow piercing the vault of heaven).

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

Drag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below

🌐 Open as Airocean (Dymaxion) map ↗

Traditions

107 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 107 traditions: Melanesians and Papuans of Central Solomons: Vella la Vella (Bilua language), Shortland islands (Mono language), San Cristobal, Saint Georgia, Eddystone, Vangunu, Southern Solomons: southern part of Santa Ysabel (Bughotu), Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, Malaita, Ulawa, Northern Halmahera Papuans: Galela, Loda, Pagu, Modole, Tabaru (Tobaru), Tobelo, Tidore, Ternate, Batak (Toba, Dairi), Ot Danum, Ngadju, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, England, British, Bretons, Slovakians, Slovaks, Georgians, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Udeghe, Oroch, Nivkh, Central Yupik, Nunivak Island, Chipewyan, Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Kaska, Koyukon, Tanana, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), North Alaskan Inupiat, Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Micmac, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Western Woods Cree, Montagnais, Menominee, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Yuchi, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Osage, Comanche, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Crow, Carrier, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Nez Perce, Quinault, Kalapuya, Takelma, Coos, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Lower Chinook (Chinook proper), Klamath, Modoc, Yurok, Wailaki, Mattole, Lassik, Sinkyone, Cahto, Yuki (Yuki proper, Coastal Yuki, Huchnob), Wintu, Patwin, Nomlaki, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Mono (Monache), Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Northern Shoshone, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Eastern Shoshone, Western Apache (White Mountain, San Carlos), Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Diegueño: Ipai, Tipai, Kamia (Kumeai), Papago, Chol; pre-Columbian Mayan iconography outside of Yucatan, Choco: Embera, Nonama (Waunana), XVI century Dabaiba, pre-Columbian iconography of Sinu, Sibundoy: Kamsa, Ingano (Inga), Waiwai, Wayapi, Emerillon, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Zaparo, Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Witoto, Ocaina, Bora, Ticuna (Tucuna), Tenetehara, Amuesha, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Siriono, Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Iranxe, Nambikwara, Bororo, Caraja, Kaingang, Xokleng, Toba (incl Pilagá), Guarani of Paraguay and Brazil: Caygua, Mbia, Apapocuva, Nyandewa, Chiripa, Mapuche, Selknam, Manao, Katawishi (Teffe lake); groups of uncertain affiliation mostly from Rio Jamunda, Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Russian Federation

Please log on to view the narratives.

If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help

How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com

0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.

Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.

Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.

Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.