Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
K90B — Deer antlers in the dragon's mouth.
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 antlers of a deer or the tusks of an elephant, which a snake or dragon is trying to swallow, get stuck in its mouth.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
K90 has 2 other sub-motifs
RelatedK90. A person sees two opposing monsters or animals (usually of contrasting colours: red and black, black and white) and helps one of them, or one of the combatants helps the person. (Cf. ATU 156B, 738).
K90a. 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.
K90b. The antlers of a deer or the tusks of an elephant, which a snake or dragon is trying to swallow, get stuck in its mouth.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K35C | 99.97% | The dev (ajdaha, sea king) did not kill the man who descended to him, as people assumed, but rewarded him because he greeted him and/or answered his question correctly. |
| K85E | 99.54% | Magical horses live in water. |
| K61E | 99.42% | Seeing an absurd situation, a powerful (supernatural) character laughs and is thereby usually cured of his ailment. For this, the people involved in the situation are rewarded and saved from danger. |
| I87AD | 99.38% | A giant hides a persecuted person in his mouth â usually (perhaps always) in a tooth cavity; or the person remains alive in the giant's mouth, hiding in a tooth cavity. Cf. motif M21a. |
| I68A | 99.26% | Once a year, water briefly acquires unusual properties. |
| K32L | 99.26% | The ruler distributes horses (cows) to his subjects for fattening. Only the heroine returns hers well-fed. |
| K35C1 | 99.19% | The young man is not killed, but rewarded, because he answered correctly (evasively) the question of a powerful character â which of the two women he should marry, which is more beautiful, which object or material is more valuable, etc. |
| E41 | 99.15% | A skilled blacksmith, as a special gift, can take iron heated in a furnace with his bare hands, knead it like dough, and shape it as desired. Usually, he breaks a certain taboo and loses his gift. (The motif was identified and the material collected by Ruslan Doutalieyev). |
| K29D | 99.14% | To catch an animal or supernatural character, the water in a reservoir is replaced with wine, honey, etc., or containers with alcohol are left in plain sight. The creature, having lost control of itself, is captured. |
| I35A1 | 98.83% | The character claims the role of the thunder god and imitates 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
14 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: Kannada, Lingayat, Halakki, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Baluch, Persians, Armenians, Kalmyk, Gagauz, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Turkmen, Bashkirs, Mordvins
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