Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L117 — Imposed companions.
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
OverviewA man is going to get married. An evil spirit, animal, etc. imposes itself on him as a companion (usually helping, feeding, or simply saying that it will then demand half of the wife). After the wedding, it takes or tries to take the bride or demands to share her. In the Gola text, a man obtains a wife for the spirit and demands to share her.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B2G | 100.00% | The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened. |
| B98B | 100.00% | The Bat comes into conflict with other creatures in connection with someone's death or funeral. |
| B98C | 100.00% | The heavenly deity could have healed the bat's mother or child, but did not do so, and they died. |
| C30B | 100.00% | In response to the claims of an animal or spirit, a person offers to remove their traces from the field or to walk without leaving any traces. The spirit is unable to do so. |
| D13HH | 100.00% | A person visiting another world should not laugh or show surprise when seeing strange things. Those who break this rule will perish or suffer harm. |
| E1B1 | 100.00% | A man who has married an unusual girl is warned that she must not perform certain tasks or eat certain foods. Other members of his household ensure that the young woman breaks the prohibition, and as a result she dies or disappears. |
| E31B | 100.00% | Several women participate in reviving a dead man and argue about who did more to revive him. |
| F73A | 100.00% | The vulva is an unhealed wound on the body of the first women, or the first humans did not copulate because they thought that the vulva was a wound. |
| H1BB | 100.00% | One character refuses to resurrect another's beloved dog, and this conflict is linked to the loss of the ability to resurrect people. |
| H31 | 100.00% | God summons several characters, including man and the heavenly bodies, and makes man mortal and the heavenly bodies immortal. |
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
13 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 13 traditions: Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Sakata, Congo (Koongo, Bacongo; incl Vili, Fioti, (Ma)Yombe, MuKunyi), Ndombo, Luango (Loango), Zombo (Sambo), Laadi (Laari), (Ba)Fioti, Woyo (Kiwoyo), Ronga, Yaka (in Angola and Congo), Mongo (Mongo-Nkundu), Nkundu, Ngelima, Ngombe, (Ba)Tetela), Pende, Wu(Kusu), (Ba)Mbala (incl Saie, Kwilu), Luchasi (Ngangela), Chokwe (Konwe); Mbukushu, Hausa, Mandingo (Manden, incl San, Samo), Kagoro, Bambara (Bamana), Malinke, Kassonke, Diula, Gola, Czech, Czechs, Estonians, Kpelle (incl Kono), Congo
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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