Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M109 — Tail in the ice hole, K1021, ATU 2.
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 zoomorphic character sits down, lowering his tail (penis) so that something edible will stick to it, but as a result he is left without a tail (penis) or dies. Cf. motifs M109A, M109C.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I38 | 98.69% | There are creatures that combine the characteristics of dogs and humans (usually people with dog faces or heads). |
| I121 | 98.45% | Constellations (usually Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) are considered as two similar, paired objects. (For Africa, Eurasia and Alaska – paired names; for most of America – semantic association, but the names are not paired). |
| H54 | 98.35% | In order for a character's eyes to be (wide) open, their eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) must be raised, propped up, spread apart (rarely: cut off). |
| L72A | 97.96% | Fleeing for his life, the character throws behind him a comb (brush), which turns into an obstacle (almost always thickets) in the path of his pursuer. (In South America, this motif is most likely of European origin). See Andreev 1929, No. 313.I. |
| M140 | 97.87% | The character pretends to be dead, sick or infirm, is picked up, and eats the food that others are carrying – usually after first throwing it out of the cart, sleigh, sack, etc. |
| M57A1 | 97.81% | When a beautiful woman walks on the ground, jewels appear under her feet, flowers bloom, etc. |
| H46 | 97.75% | A character (usually God) is about to deprive people of their food (most often grain), but does not do so for the sake of the dog (and/or cat; rarely for the sake of birds). Either God gave the ear of corn to the dog, and the man took it for himself. |
| A23A | 97.75% | Arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide in favour of the one who first sees the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely. (In Uther 2004(1), No. 120: 87, the definition of the motif includes the detail that the winner looks not to the east but to the west and sees the tops of trees illuminated by rays of light. In Europe, in most cases (except for the Scots) that have been verified, this detail is indeed present. However, it is absent in American and some Asian traditions). |
| A23B | 97.60% | Two characters argue about who will be the first to see the rising sun. The winner is the one who first notices not the sun itself, but its reflection or the trees and mountains illuminated by its first rays. |
| E9I1 | 97.41% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a swan. |
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
101 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 101 traditions: Dinka, Atuot, Nuer, Shilluk, Anuak, Murle, Me'en (Bodi), Didinga, Efe Pygmies, Kango (Mbuti) Pygmies, Aka, Baka (Badjue) and other Western (Bantu speaking) Pygmies, Kanuri, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Koreans, Ireland, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Basques, Sicily, Sicilians, France, Dutch, Flemish, 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, Czech, Czechs, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Ancient Greece, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Uzbek, Tajik, Abaza (Abazins), Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Lezgians, Archin, Kürin; Khinalug, Rutul, Tsakhur, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Kumyk, Terekemen, Georgians, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Kurds, Kara Kalpak, Kazakh, Turkmen, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Nenets, Nganasans, 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, Ainu, Udeghe, Nanai, Negidal, Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Chukchi, Central Yupik, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Copper, Eastern Cree, Potawatomi, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Oto, Plains Cree, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Caddo, Choctaw, Chicasaw, Cherokee, Navajo, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Wallons, Picardie, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria, Dong, Maonan, Transylvanian Saksons, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Itelmen, China, Japan, Russian Federation
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