Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

L107 — Ears-blankets.

54 Myths, legends and folktales

54 Unique narratives for motif L107

32 Cultures & traditions where L107 is told

1 Sub-motifs of motif L107

Please log on to view the narratives.

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

People have disproportionately large ears (rarely: lips): they cover themselves with them like a blanket, use them as an umbrella, can step on them, etc.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects.

L10 has 1 other sub-motifs

L10. The character has a sharp (biting) tail or a protrusion on its back. See motif L9, cf. motif L9C.
L10a. A demonic character approaches a man's campfire. The man leaves a log in his place and hides. The character throws himself on the log, mistaking it for a sleeping man; usually, the hunter kills or wounds the demon.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of L10’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
F54A	94.15%	In her husband's appearance, the woman discovers signs that are not immediately noticeable, indicating that he has hidden his true nature from her and is not the right marriage partner (he is an animal, or her son, brother or father); or the husband discovers in the same way that his wife is his sister.
K73A2	93.64%	The ill-wishers of the new mother replace the baby with a broom (they tell the father that his wife has given birth to a broom).
I44	92.42%	A huge serpent encircles, embodies or supports the earth.
B77A	91.95%	One or more anthropomorphic characters push the sky away from the earth. See motif B77.
E32	91.68%	The first humans or the first woman (progenitor, goddess) are born from trees, emerge from a tree, stump, flower, or reed.
A32H	90.87%	A tree, bush, branch, snag, etc. are visible on the lunar disc. See motif A32G.
I81A	89.86%	The giant crab causes earthquakes or floods, closes or can close the water outlet.
B1D	89.71%	Two characters are building the world, one works poorly, the other well, so different parts of the universe (or a specific island) have different appearances.
F54D	89.71%	A woman gives birth to a boy after accidentally drinking animal urine, or a female animal gives birth to a boy after drinking a man's urine.
M144	89.71%	One character manages to convince another that dangerous and inedible objects are attractive and delicious (a wasp's nest is a drum, a snake is a flute, dung is a delicacy, etc.).

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

Drag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below

🌐 Open as Airocean (Dymaxion) map ↗

Traditions

32 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 32 traditions: Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Libya, Kabylia and other Berber of Northern and Central Algeria: Beni Snous, Beni Menacer (incl Zuav), Shaui, etc.), Somali, Papua-NewGuinea Highland Papuans:Trans New Guinea & unclassified:Chimbu,Gimi,KaugelHuli,Gadsup,Kuman,Kutubu,Foi (Foe),Kyaka,Kamano (Kafe),Mawatta,Kukukuku (=Anga,=Sambia;Manki,Nauti,Ejuti),Baruya,Kewa,Tembregak,Menya,Melpa,Wiru,Pondoma, Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Melanesians of the islands of Massim District ( =Milke Bay Province) to the east of New Guinea: Dobu, Rossel, Fergusson, Goodenough, Murua (Woodlark), Trobrian Islands, d'Entrecasteau Islands, Gilbert Islands, Nauru, Banaba (Ocean island), Tuvalu (Ellice), Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken), Bidayuh (incl. Maloh), Iban (Sea Dayak), Sakarram; Brunei, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Konds (Khonds; language is Kui, incl Kuttia, Konda-Dora), Koya; Pengo, Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Nepali; Tharu, Lepcha, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Persians, Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Tillamook, Zuni, Mayo, Yaqui, Sinaloa, Papua-New Guinea Southern Lowland Papuan groups (Trans New Guinea and unclassified): Gimi, Kiwai, Bina, Mawabula, Mawatta, Keraki, Gambadi (incl. Kwavaru), Purari River delta, Masingara, Wiram (=Suki), Ngain, Daga, Elema, Greece, China

Please log on to view the narratives.

If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help

How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com

0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.

Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.

Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.

Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.