Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
J51A1 — The helper girl: dismembered and reassembled.
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
OverviewTo retrieve an object from a hard-to-reach place, the girl orders it to be dismembered (or just have its fingers cut off) and then reassembled, after which it comes back to life.
Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
J51 has 4 other sub-motifs
RelatedJ51. The character is dismembered or eaten; he is revived from his remains, but since one of his bones was broken, swallowed or carried away (or a drop of blood or a piece of flesh was lost), the revival fails, or the character remains defective in some way.
J51a. To climb a rock or tower, one must stick bones into it and climb them like a ladder.
J51a1. To retrieve an object from a hard-to-reach place, the girl orders it to be dismembered (or just have its fingers cut off) and then reassembled, after which it comes back to life.
J51a2. A girl must penetrate an inaccessible place with the help of chicken bones. She loses one or there are not enough bones. By cutting off her finger and using it as she would use the bones, the girl achieves her goal.
J51b. The moon has been eaten or has died and its body has decomposed. It is revived, but a small part (the bone) is missing. This determines the characteristics of the moon or the characteristics of human anatomy.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B87C | 100.00% | Alcor (the faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) â rider, driver, coachman. |
| K32H1 | 100.00% | The antagonist is executed by being placed in a barrel (with nails) and rolled down a hill or tied to a horse. |
| L129A | 100.00% | The wolf or demon is asked why its body parts and organs are the way they are. It explains sequentially. |
| N8 | 100.00% | fairy-tale text ends with a formula that says that the characters placed the narrator in a gun or gun and fired a shot, or he jumped onto the core himself and thus arrived at the place where the fairy tale was performed |
| K27G1 | 100.00% | The character must quickly clean the stable or barn of the manure that has accumulated there over a long period of time. |
| M157D | 100.00% | Animals (mainly domestic) and/or people join forces to achieve a goal (usually to pull a root vegetable out of the ground). They succeed after the last participant (usually the weakest) joins in. |
| H24D | 99.99% | An animal character who released the contents (darkness, insects, reptiles) from a vessel is still trying to gather everything back (etiology of the behaviour of a certain species of animal). |
| M38C2 | 99.99% | To shove a horse or donkey, Jesus (the saint) cuts off his leg, nails a horseshoe to his hoof, and attaches his leg back. The other character tries to imitate in vain. |
| M39A4F | 99.99% | Fool sells property to the statue and believes that it will pay him. Trying to get his money, he finds treasure |
| K56E1 | 99.99% | A man sees dwarves (spirits, witches) having fun. Their song mentions the names of the days of the week. The man sings along, naming the days that the dwarves like. He is rewarded. (Usually, someone else tries to get the same reward, but names the wrong days of the week and is punished). |
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
15 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 15 traditions: Kabylia and other Berber of Northern and Central Algeria: Beni Snous, Beni Menacer (incl Zuav), Shaui, etc.), Ireland, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, France, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Norwegians, Swedes, Wallons, Picardie, Galicians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio)
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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