Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M109A1 — Head in the dough, ATU 3.
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 smears his head with dough (sour milk, butter, etc.) to make it look as if his brains are spilling out from the beatings.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| K117D | 99.99% | The princess, lying between two suitors, must choose blindly the one she likes best. The suitor of low birth arranges things so that his noble rival emits a foul odour (while he himself emits a pleasant fragrance). The princess turns to him. |
| M74D | 99.98% | God (the saint) travels with his companion. When he leaves, he eats the kidneys (heart, etc.) and says that the animal did not have kidneys. He continues to persist (even in the face of death), but confesses when he is promised wealth. |
| M39G1 | 99.95% | fool does not pull pants or boots over his feet, but jumps in them from above. |
| K128B | 99.95% | The ruler will give his daughter to the one who can herd (gather, train) hares (squirrels, sheep, poultry, partridges) without loss. A poor young man accomplishes the task with the help of a magic device. To have an excuse to refuse, the ruler's family members try to buy one hare (a magic pipe, etc.) so that the suitor cannot fulfil his promise, but as a result they find themselves in a humiliating position. |
| M136A | 99.94% | People try to bring light, darkness, smoke, etc. into or out of a room. |
| K93B1 | 99.92% | After eating fish, a childless woman gives birth to a boy or twins. |
| L23B | 99.92% | Trying to free himself, the captured character sequentially changes his appearance. The last transformation is into a spindle. |
| L90A | 99.92% | Describes a house that stands on the legs or a single leg of a bird or small animal and/or rotates (is capable of turning). |
| K30B | 99.92% | A woman or girl is forbidden to go outside. As soon as she does, a flying creature kidnaps her. |
| M191C | 99.92% | Through singing (threats, pleasantries), the wolf (less often, the bear) gradually forces the old man to give him his domestic animals (and family members). |
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
42 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 42 traditions: Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Ireland, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Aragon, Sicily, Sicilians, 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, Macedonians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Tajik, Georgians, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Mordvins, Central Yakuts (Sakha), 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, Transylvanian Saksons, Japan, Russian Federation
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