Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
K158 — Recognising the woman in the portrait, (ATU 881A).
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
OverviewIn order to find her missing husband (and other men who helped her or caused her harm), a woman displays her image and calls to her those who, by their behaviour, show that they are familiar with the features in the portrait.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
K15 has 3 other sub-motifs
RelatedK15. A woman swears that she has not been with anyone except (her husband and) a dirty beggar. Others do not know that her lover has taken on the appearance of a beggar.
K15a. The hero secretly replaces the weapon or magical tool of a powerful character with a worthless fake. Traditions in which the replaced weapon belongs to Grom are highlighted in bold.
K15b. By secretly switching the vessels containing living and dead (giving and taking away strength) water (rarely: oil, etc.), from which the combatants drink during a duel, the hero defeats his opponent.
K15c. The owner of stone (ice) clothing kills people. By hiding or replacing his clothing, the hero kills him.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K154A | 98.46% | By solving a riddle, a boy or young man (rarely a girl) exposes the daughter, wife or assistants of an authoritative character: the daughter or wife has a lover; the assistant is plotting a conspiracy. |
| L37B3 | 97.61% | From the birds' conversation, humans learn that their bodies or secretions have miraculous properties. |
| M195 | 97.59% | The character must guess which of the two horses or cows is older. He does this by knowing the behavioural characteristics of these animals. |
| I95A | 97.54% | Orion (probably always Orion's Belt) is Libra. |
| M39A5 | 96.84% | fool led the goats to the fruit tree and killed them because they ate the fruit he had thrown. |
| K73B5 | 96.74% | A woman is accused of actions that she could not have committed by her very nature. To refute the accusation, an example of something equally absurd and impossible is given, or it is pointed out that the interlocutor accepts the impossible but does not believe in the possible. |
| I4E | 96.68% | An anthropomorphic deity (associated with thunder and rain) rides on a cloud or a cloud. |
| M171C | 96.28% | At the request of a character, another character removes a thorn from his body (cuts off the tip of his tail, etc.). The thorn (tip of the tail) disappears, or when it is removed, the character is wounded. As a result, he receives something more valuable than what he has lost. |
| E41A | 96.11% | The first ticks were made as a result of observing animals (a dog's crossed paws, two snakes, snake jaws, etc.). |
| K90A | 96.09% | Seeing two snakes of contrasting colours fighting, a man tries to strike one, but accidentally hits the other. The relatives of this snake gather to punish him, but upon learning what happened, they reward him. |
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
18 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 18 traditions: Yemen, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Sinhalese; Vedda, Koreans, Macedonians, Balkarians, Albanians, Balkarians, Uzbek, Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Lezgians, Archin, Kürin; Khinalug, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Armenians, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uyghur, Mustang, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Yemen, Russian Federation
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