Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M101 — Who is afraid of what (the fox and the bear).
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 bear tells the fox (rarely the sable or the wolf) that he is not afraid of people (usually saying that he is afraid of flying partridges). After trying to attack people, he is killed or wounded. Cf. motif M101A.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| I55A | 99.66% | Stars â lakes on one of the heavenly tiers. |
| A32J | 99.65% | A shaman with a tambourine ascends to the moon and remains there, visible in the silhouette of the lunar spots. |
| B42M1 | 99.65% | The three main stars of the Big Dipper's handle are associated with people of three different nationalities. |
| B64A | 99.65% | Fish and birds fight (usually by shooting arrows at each other). Since then, fish have had many small bones in their bodies and/or birds' legs have taken on their current form. |
| B72D | 99.65% | A woman makes herself wings (beak, tail) from clothing accessories and turns into a bird or a flying creature. |
| B74A | 99.65% | Red cloths are sewn over the character's eyes (threads, eyelids are painted red) or he does it himself. He sees everything in red or his eyes have turned red forever. |
| D1A1 | 99.65% | Because a woman offended the fire, its mistress takes her child away. |
| E13 | 99.65% | The shamanic tambourine is compared or associated with a lake. |
| E1E | 99.65% | The son of the first human couple initially takes the form of a small plant that has grown from the ground, a stalk. |
| K32H2 | 99.65% | A man executes his wife by leaving her to be eaten by ants. |
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
11 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 11 traditions: Chuvash, Tofa (Karagas), Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Reindeer Koryak, Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Chukchi, Asiatic Eskimo (Sirenek, Naukan, Chaplino), Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island)
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