Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
K116A — Nesmeyana (the disguised tsar perishes).
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
OverviewThe king takes or is about to take the poor man's wife. She suggests that the king put on clothes that are not his own (usually those that belonged to her husband). After that, the king is killed by his own soldiers (dogs), who believe him to be a poor man (jester, devil).
Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
K11 has 5 other sub-motifs
RelatedK11. Brothers (brother and sister) kill a monstrous bird. Its eyes turn into heavenly bodies (among the Oaxacan Indians) or something else (among the present-day Condors of the Yokuts).
K11a. Plucked feathers of a (huge) bird turn into actual birds (or their plumage) or humans emerge from them.
K11a1. Pieces of flesh or feathers from a monstrous/unusual bird turn into present-day birds (or their plumage).
K11b. The bones of a huge bird are turned into reeds or bamboo for making arrows or sarbacanes.
K11C. The plucked feathers of a huge bird turn into plants.
K11D. Pieces of flesh from a huge creature that has fallen apart or been cut into pieces turn into ordinary animals, birds or fish.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| A12F | 99.70% | The stars fade because the moneylender demands that they repay their debt. |
| A37C | 99.70% | The character shoots an arrow into the sky, aiming to hit a celestial body or deity, but the arrow hits an obstacle blocking the target. |
| K33C1 | 99.70% | A character thrown into the water is transformed into a flower (usually a lotus). |
| K76H | 99.70% | A young man, temporarily having a strange or monstrous appearance (freak, animal, etc.), woos a princess, but is rejected. Then he causes natural disasters or creates personal troubles for the king, who is forced to give up his daughter. |
| L39B | 99.70% | The tree grows from a flatbread (pie, etc.) and usually bears flatbreads instead of fruit. |
| K136 | 99.68% | The young man turns out to be the owner and leader of a herd of cattle, and with his herd of cows or buffaloes he is summoned to the king (usually after his hair is found by the princess). |
| M100A | 99.68% | One of the characters leads another to the edge of a cliff with the aim of lighting a fire, or lights a fire at the edge of the cliff. As a result, the other falls and is killed. |
| B116B | 99.62% | A book containing sacred knowledge falls into the water at a crossing or gets wet in some other way. After that, the book disappears or the text becomes unreadable. Either the book is ruined (damaged) when it is dried. Or it is ruined while left unattended on the shore while the people who kept it are swimming; or it burns, although traces remain. |
| M106D | 99.53% | By saying that his name is "Son-in-law" ("Husband," "Uncle," etc.), the character deceives others. The victims find no sympathy, since as a relative he has the right to behave in this manner. |
| B116A | 99.46% | A person or animal eats a sacred book or its remains. During the ritual, this knowledge is actualised in oral speech, in the sounds of a musical instrument made from part of an animal's body, or in parts of an animal's body used for divination. |
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
19 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 19 traditions: Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Wa (incl Kawa), Bulang, Viet, Muong, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Sinhalese; Vedda, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Kirghiz, Uyghur, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Salars, Khamnigans, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, China, Japan
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