Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L94A — Grabbed by the beard.
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
OverviewWhen a person leans over the water, a demon grabs him by the beard and releases him on the promise that he will fulfil his demand.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L94 has 6 other sub-motifs
RelatedL94. A demon or animal helps a person or agrees to let them go, but in return takes a promise to give them a daughter or son.
L94a. When a person leans over the water, a demon grabs him by the beard and releases him on the promise that he will fulfil his demand.
L94b. A person promises to give to a supernatural character the first thing that comes their way (either something they have not yet seen in their own home, or something that is behind the door, etc.). The person thinks that they will have to give something of little value, but it turns out to be their own child.
L94b1. A man receives a box (bag, horn, etc.) as a gift, which he must open only at home. Driven by curiosity, he opens it on the way, and everything that should make him wealthy (houses, livestock, etc.) spills out. The demon who appears agrees to return everything, but sets a condition, the severity of which the man does not immediately understand.
L94c. If a deity grants victory, a person promises to sacrifice to it the first person who comes out to meet them at home. A son or daughter comes out.
L94d. A demonic character accuses a man of stepping on (tearing off) the tail of a fairy tale. Cf. motif K100E, "Dangerous Fairy Tales".
L94e. A supernatural character who helps the hero or heroine under certain conditions – the white wolf.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| H48 | 99.73% | Illnesses – female sisters (less often male brothers), usually children of an evil spirit. |
| K15B | 99.64% | By secretly switching the vessels containing living and dead (giving and taking away strength) water (rarely: oil, etc.), from which the combatants drink during a duel, the hero defeats his opponent. |
| H6C | 99.61% | The raven (crow, vulture) is associated with death or contrasted with humans as immortal among mortals (sent to bring the elixir of immortality or water that revives the dead; drinks this water himself; teaches people funeral rites; etc.). |
| K66D | 99.45% | A boy who grew up (was conceived) in a bear's den (lion's cave) becomes a bogatyr. |
| K25A2 | 99.19% | An anthropomorphic character flies away or tries to fly away, attaching feathers shed by birds flying in the sky to his body. |
| M38D6 | 99.17% | Several characters embody small objects and die one at a time. The last one left laughs and rejoices so much that he bursts with laughter (breaks his head, etc.). |
| B52B | 99.13% | The character regurgitates the earth hidden (usually in his mouth), thereby creating mountains, swamps, and other inconveniences. See motif B52. |
| K62A1 | 98.71% | A man saves (spares) and nurses a wounded bird. Having regained its strength, the bird puts him on its back and carries him to a distant land or to the sky. |
| I120B | 98.71% | The character takes food, clothing, and other valuables from the ear of an animal (most often a horse or cow). |
| M74A | 98.70% | The character pretends to be invited to visit several times in connection with the birth of a child, or gives names to various tracts that the boat passes by. The names and titles sound strange, but they become clear when it turns out that the character ate supplies. |
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
38 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 38 traditions: 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, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Vepsians, Norwegians, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Tats, Kazakh, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Udmurt, Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Negidal, Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Lutsi (Ludza), Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Russian Federation
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