Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

K132A — The husband's rooster and the wife's hen, ATU 219E*, 715A.

21 Myths, legends and folktales
21 Unique narratives for motif K132A
20 Cultures & traditions where K132A is told
3 Sub-motifs of motif K132A
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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 husband (rarely: the wife) sends the rooster out to earn money, and it brings back money. The wife (husband) sends the hen (cat, her half of the rooster, etc.) and receives only mice, filth, etc. Or, instead of money, the rooster brings the wife something bad or nothing at all.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

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

K13 has 3 other sub-motifs

Related

K13a.  The character's leg (rarely: both legs) is cut off, bitten off, torn off, or damaged. The character ascends to the sky: to the moon; becomes the moon; turns into a star or constellation; becomes the sun; blood flowing from the leg colours the sky.
K13b.  A man crosses a body of water on the back of a caiman. The caiman bites off his leg. The cripple undergoes a metamorphosis, turning into a constellation or an animal.
K13c.  The cannibal's daughter takes revenge on her husband for her mother's death and manages to cut off his leg. See motif K13A.
K13d.  A group of boys reaches the sky, the last one's leg is cut off or torn off.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of K13’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny
MotifSimilarityMotif summary
F5A99.98%God was going to make Eve from Adam's rib. The rib was stolen by a dog (cat, fox, monkey, devil). God (or an angel sent by him) chased after the thief, grabbed him by the tail and tore it off. God made Eve from this tail. Either God first made a woman from edible material and the dog ate this figure. He had to make a new one from Adam's rib. Or God cut off Adam's tail and made Eve from it.
M179B99.95%One zoomorphic character asks another (or a human) to let him in to dry off, warm up, etc. Once inside, he wreaks such havoc on the dwelling that it becomes difficult for the owner to stay there. Usually, in response to reproaches, he says that if the owner doesn't like it, there's the door.
K56A5A99.83%To become a young beauty, an old or unattractive woman asks to have her skin stripped off. Cf. motif H4.
L15G99.83%A person's life is connected to an object that can be burned. As soon as the object is burned, the person dies.
K107D99.80%After overcoming difficulties, a girl (rarely a boy) finds a magical spouse, but at first cannot wake him (her) up.
K107B99.79%One spouse forbids the other from seeing them. When the other willingly or unwillingly breaks the prohibition, the first disappears (gets into trouble). (In the Tuscan version, the prohibition is broken by the woman's mother).
A32M99.78%The moon is called the "Gypsy sun".
A35B99.78%The character tries to cover the moon with resin (so that it shines less brightly).
B12399.78%A fly lands on the chest of the crucified Jesus. His persecutors, who intended to drive a nail into his heart, do not do so, believing that the nail has already been driven in.
B12499.78%Ever since a piece of flesh was torn from a person's foot, a hollow has formed between the toe and the heel.

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

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Traditions

20 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Berbers of southern Tunisia and adjacent part of Libya (Matmata and Ghadames areas), Dutch, Flemish, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thรผringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rรผgen, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Western Ukrainians, Mordvins, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Transylvanian Saksons, Bosnians, Tunisia, Russian Federation

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