Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L127 — Dancing ears.
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
OverviewHaving entered another world, the character sees dancing body parts and other strange creatures. He must not be surprised, laugh, or mention God.
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.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K108A | 100.00% | A man acquires a magical wife. Another woman orders him to kill her or divorce her, then she will become his wife. Having fulfilled the request, he loses everything. |
| L108B2 | 99.00% | To acquire a thin voice, the character allows ants to bite his tongue. |
| H36D | 98.29% | The hare distorts God's command and/or is responsible for the fact that humans are mortal. See motif H36. |
| M132 | 94.87% | The enemy is ready to seize the character. The character asks the enemy to first take and throw away his clothes or shoes, and then offers his ears. The enemy grabs him by the ears and throws him away, and the character runs away. |
| M192A | 94.87% | The character agrees to have a freshly removed skin put on him or to be wrapped in wet belts. The skin or belts cause suffering or death (usually because they dry out and shrink). |
| M132A | 94.87% | Another animal thinks that a hornless herbivore has horns and is afraid of it, but these are just ears. |
| M172 | 94.57% | To show that a strong character is his slave, a riding animal, the weak one adjusts so that the strong one takes him along. Those around them are convinced of the truthfulness of the weak one. |
| M173 | 94.39% | A zoomorphic character pretends to be dead where a traveller carrying luggage is supposed to pass. The traveller passes by, but the deceiver quietly runs ahead and repeats his trick. The traveller puts his luggage on the ground and returns to pick up the first dead person (for the skin or meat), and the deceiver takes the luggage away. |
| K140 | 93.94% | Travelling with his sister or brother, the young man regularly kills his saviours and helpers, exposing himself to ever new dangers. |
| M29X | 93.90% | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the hyena dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. |
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
5 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Malagasy, Sakata, Kosa (Xosa, Xhosa), Tuareg, Tenda (incl Bedik, Basari), Biafada, Nalu, Pajadinka, Badyara (Badiaranke)
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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