Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

K93B3 — Boys, foals, puppies: born together.

91 Myths, legends and folktales
91 Unique narratives for motif K93B3
52 Cultures & traditions where K93B3 is told
7 Sub-motifs of motif K93B3
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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

To have a child, a woman eats fish, an apple or something else. Part of it (often the peel, broth, skin, etc.) is eaten by a mare, dog or other animals. The woman gives birth to a son (twins), the mare to a foal (foals), the dog to a puppy (puppies).

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

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

K93 has 7 other sub-motifs

Related

K93.  After a series of adventures and victories, the hero finds himself in trouble. His twin or brother follows in his footsteps, meets the same characters, but when he encounters the final enemy, he defeats him and revives (frees) the hero.
K93a.  When lying down with a woman, a man places a sharp or pointed object between her and himself as a sign that he will abstain from sex during the night (sometimes the woman places the sword herself).
K93b1.  After eating fish, a childless woman gives birth to a boy or twins.
K93b2.  A childless woman conceives a child after eating a fruit (usually an apple; in northern traditions also cabbage, eggs, peas, etc., in India – mangoes).
K93b3.  To have a child, a woman eats fish, an apple or something else. Part of it (often the peel, broth, skin, etc.) is eaten by a mare, dog or other animals. The woman gives birth to a son (twins), the mare to a foal (foals), the dog to a puppy (puppies).
K93b4.  When a woman gives birth to a son, at the same time a mare (dog, and/or other domestic animals) give birth to a boy. These boys grow up together and then set off on a journey.
K93b5.  The character infiltrates the enemy camp disguised as a kitten or puppy. Usually, one of the enemies suspects deception, but the others believe that the cute animal is harmless.
k93b6.  The fish eaten by the woman gives birth to sons, and what is buried in the garden are objects or items that are further associated with these young men. These are either weapons (swords, sabres, rapiers) or objects whose appearance allows one to judge what is happening to the young men.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of K93’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny
MotifSimilarityMotif summary
L10099.76%A young man and woman fleeing from their pursuers take on the appearance of different but associatively related creatures or objects (a pond and a duck, a minaret and a muezzin, etc.). Usually, their pursuers do not recognise them.
F70E99.73%A girl pretends to be a man, magically acquires male nature and lives with his wife. Cf. motif K137 (in Uther 2004, plot 514 mistakenly includes a Karakalpak text with our motif K137).
K100B99.72%A person helps to bury a dead man (pays his remaining debt, honours a saint). The revived dead man (saint) helps him overcome difficulties. See motif K100A.
M191A99.66%Mice decide to hang a bell around a cat's neck or tail so that they will know when it is approaching. Usually, none of the mice are able to do this.
K107A99.61%Before reaching their goal, the character must wear out iron shoes or an iron staff.
K67C99.61%The character agrees that under certain conditions another person may tear the skin from his back or cause him some other bodily harm.
M39A6G99.60%person explains that he lends part of his earnings, and pays the debt in the other part, i.e. raises children and supports parents.
L114B99.59%After receiving the task or on his own initiative, the trickster enters the character's house (usually that of the cannibal) several times, each time taking one of his belongings or one of his family members.
J32F99.58%While standing guard, the hero discovers who is stealing fruit (usually apples) from the garden.
K77B99.56%Having left their owners, domestic animals find an empty house or build a house. Robbers or predatory animals come there. Domestic animals attack or simply scare them away. Predators do not understand who they are facing and flee.

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

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Traditions

52 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 52 traditions: Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Berbers of Morocco and adjacent parts of Algeria, Northern Halmahera Papuans: Galela, Loda, Pagu, Modole, Tabaru (Tobaru), Tobelo, Tidore, Ternate, Lepcha, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Aragon, Maltese, France, 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, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Setu, Karelians, Swedes, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Sarikoli, Persians, Ossetians, Dargin (Dargwa), incl. Müregin, Khürkilin, Kubachi, Kumyk, Terekemen, Nogai, Tats, Mingrelians (Megrelians), Laz, Georgians, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Udmurt, Tillamook, Coos, Alcea, Wallons, Picardie, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Bosnians, Montenegro, Russian Federation

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