Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

K88 — Two Travellers (Truth and Falsehood), ATU 613.

183 Myths, legends and folktales

183 Unique narratives for motif K88

116 Cultures & traditions where K88 is told

3 Sub-motifs of motif K88

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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

Two people set off on a journey or argue about which is stronger: truth or falsehood (stinginess or generosity, etc.). The evil one abandons the good one, crippling or robbing him, but the good one regains his health and achieves success. The villain usually perishes.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

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

K88 has 3 other sub-motifs

K88.  Two people set off on a journey or argue about which is stronger: truth or falsehood (stinginess or generosity, etc.). The evil one abandons the good one, crippling or robbing him, but the good one regains his health and achieves success. The villain usually perishes.
K88a.  The stepmother (aunt, rival) blinds a young woman. The latter regains her eyesight (often by exchanging them for some valuable item).
K88b.  The character suffers from thirst or hunger. His companion promises to share water or food with him (to make him rich) if he allows himself to be blinded.
K88c.  The character learns that the blood (brain, etc.) of the dog guarding the neighbouring herd will cure the princess (prince). He uses this medicine and is rewarded.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of K88’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
M91B1	99.52%	A man is going to sell a pet skin. On the way, he gets big money by deception or by chance. Usually, upon return, a person says that he received money for the skin, after which others slaughter their livestock and try unsuccessfully to sell the skins for money they are not worth. (In India, the hero sometimes supposedly sells not skin, but beef, which is forbidden to brahmanas).
K103	99.50%	A domestic animal (horse, cow, bull, goat, ram, sheep) helps an orphan, a lonely child, or an unfortunate young woman.
M157A4	99.39%	The character proves the absurdity of another's statements by claiming that he (or someone else) fished on a mountain, extinguished a fire with straw, sowed wheat in the sea, watched flying fish, etc. (or he himself imitates such actions). The absurdity of the statements stems from the incorrectly chosen locus or means for performing certain actions.
M114	99.38%	The character is asked to make (or actually makes) a rope or other object out of sand, ash, smoke, etc.
M57D	99.32%	A person consistently receives magical items that bring wealth. Others replace them or take them away. A person returns what has been taken - usually by receiving another wonderful object (baton, whip) that hits the kidnappers.
K100	99.31%	A person learns about the dangers threatening another (and usually that by warning his friend/master, he will turn to stone). The person eliminates the dangers, despite the fact that his behaviour upsets the person he has saved.
K2A	99.24%	The character is sent down to the underworld (into an abyss, a well, etc.). After he sends the treasures (women) he has obtained back up, his envious companions cut the rope, but he manages to return to earth. See motifs K38, K39, K74.
M134	99.20%	Animals, demons or people stand on top of each other to reach something. The one at the bottom jumps off (leans, jerks), and everyone falls after him.
K33H	98.97%	A person finds a magical object that grants any wish. This object is stolen. It is returned by animals (which the hero had previously saved).
K92	98.95%	The father asks his children a question, the answer to which seems obvious (does his daughter love him, who is the eldest in the family, etc.). The youngest daughter (less often – son) gives an unexpected answer, the father drives her away (deprives her of her inheritance), and later becomes convinced of her intelligence and nobility.

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

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Traditions

116 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 116 traditions: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mehri; Harsusi, Jibbali (Shahri, Shauri), Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Arabs of Egypt, Berbers of Morocco and adjacent parts of Algeria, Kabylia and other Berber of Northern and Central Algeria: Beni Snous, Beni Menacer (incl Zuav), Shaui, etc.), Algeria Arabs, Tunisia Arabs, Malagasy, Arabs of Sudan, Sudanese, Saho, Afar, Amhara; Zay, Harari; Silte, Gogot, Swahili, Midjikenda (incl Giryama), Nyika, Duruma; Ngindo, Kiluguru and other Islamic groups of the Eastern Coast of Africa, Duala (Douala), Basa (Basaá), Kwiri (Kweli), Isubu, Hausa, Other West Chadic: Ngas, Bolanchi, Tangale, Fon, Tuareg, Karen, Pa-O, Padaung, Kayah, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Rajasthani (Radjasthan and Madhya Pradesh), Sinhalese; Vedda, Meo (Hmong) of Thailand, Laos and Northern Vietnam, Namuci (Namuyi), Naxi; Pumi (Primi), Koreans, Ireland, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Aragon, Maltese, Sicily, Sicilians, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, France, 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, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Poles, Czech, Czechs, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Norwegians, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Uzbek, Yazgulami, Sarikoli, Pashto, Persians, Bukhara Arabs, Abaza (Abazins), Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Laks, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Tats, Georgians, Armenians, Gagauz, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Kazakh, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Nanai, Dogrib, Slavey, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Gulf Nahuatl, Zapotec, Chatino, Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Wallons, Picardie, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria, Lutsi (Ludza), Frisians, Sundanese, Egypt, Montenegro, Yemen, China, Japan, Russian Federation

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