Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L32 — The voracious stone.
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 stone swallows, bites, beats or transforms people.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| G9 | 93.73% | The forest cut down during clearing is reborn by morning. |
| L17B | 92.11% | A character or creature has a second face or a second mouth on the back of its head. |
| J24 | 89.76% | The hero, ground into powder, is reborn. |
| B2B | 89.75% | The earth feeds on the people buried in it. See motif B2A. |
| M21A | 89.65% | The character is pursued by an enemy. An animal hides the fugitive in its mouth or on its body, and when the pursuer appears, it refuses to open its mouth or expose part of its body. (Usually simulates illness â toothache, etc.). Cf. motif i87ad. |
| D11 | 88.90% | Before fire was known, food was prepared by warming it with the body (usually under the armpit); fire is kept under the character's armpit. |
| A24 | 88.77% | The first ancestors live in twilight. When they first find themselves in the rays of the sun, they (spontaneously or by someone's will) perish, turning into animals, spirits, or stones. |
| L26 | 88.25% | During the (first) initiation, supernatural beings teach boys rituals and kill them for violating rules related to the consumption and distribution of food. |
| M121 | 88.25% | A louse or other similar creature (flea, tick, firefly) is sent to follow a certain character. |
| L58 | 88.06% | A man refuses to give food to his closest relatives or spouse; as punishment, he or his food changes its nature. |
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: Herero (Herrero), Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Wa (incl Kawa), Bulang, Salinan, Jicarilla, Huichol, Popoloca; Tlapanec, Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Gulf Nahuatl, Yupa (Yukpa), Warao, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Kono (=Kone), Wai
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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