Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

M11 — Unclean food.

174 Myths, legends and folktales

174 Unique narratives for motif M11

113 Cultures & traditions where M11 is told

4 Sub-motifs of motif M11

Please log on to view the narratives.

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

Overview

The character gives others food extracted from his or someone else's body or contaminated with bodily secretions, without revealing the source of the food.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.

M11 has 4 other sub-motifs

M11.  The character gives others food extracted from his or someone else's body or contaminated with bodily secretions, without revealing the source of the food.
M11a.  The character gives others the fish extracted from his body.
M11b.  A woman feeds a man with good-quality meat or fat, which she cuts from her own flesh or extracts from her body, and stops doing so when he learns about the source of the food.
M11c.  Without harming himself, a male character cuts off, pierces, roasts, holds over a fire, etc. a part of his body (or his wife's body). The character cooks the meat, fat, etc. obtained in this way and treats his guest to it. This food is not perceived as unclean (cf. motifs M11B and M38).
m11d.  The character makes food taste good by adding salt to it. Another character learns that the cook extracts this salt from his own body (it is contained in his bodily secretions).

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of M11’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
F33	97.10%	A woman or group of women take a water animal or water monster as their lover. The husband(s), brother(s) or (adopted) children of the woman(s) kill or maim the lover and (in some cases) the woman(s).
K10	96.85%	A monstrous bird (bat) attacks people, heroes engage in battle with it. See motifs K10A – K10G.
F51	96.37%	Someone under cover of night/incognito approaches a person of the opposite sex. The marriage partner deliberately (to determine who it is) or accidentally (thereby exposing the visitor) makes a mark on his/her body (clothing). See motif A31.
F53	96.26%	An unattractive man marries, but hides his face. When he is seen, the marriage is dissolved.
F34B	95.65%	A girl, woman or group of women voluntarily take as their lover a penis that exists as a special creature, snake, moray eel, lizard, worm, crab, large aquatic animal or aquatic monster, or large terrestrial mammal. People kill or maim the lover, the woman and/or her offspring, or she herself loses her human nature. The woman's behaviour is condemned.
L46	95.49%	The character walks, climbs or descends upside down, or sees the world turned upside down.
F18A	94.98%	The penis of a male character is much longer than normal or becomes so. During intercourse, it usually crawls towards the woman like a snake. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are included, not anecdotes).
E6	94.84%	When a woman of childbearing age (she is menstruating, miscarrying, pregnant, with a child, or simply fat) tries to pass from one world to another, the connection between the worlds is severed forever.
F27	94.72%	It is dangerous for girls or women to approach water (water creatures drag them away or swallow them; a girl who approaches water dies; she becomes pregnant by a snake; through her fault, a flood or other disaster occurs; water spirits themselves come to a girl who has her first period).
B29	93.91%	People turn into animals, birds or stones, living beings acquire their current characteristics at a general meeting, festival, after a festival, after performing a ritual or after defeating a common enemy.

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

Drag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below

🌐 Open as Airocean (Dymaxion) map ↗

Traditions

113 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 113 traditions: Ngbakka, Mbum (incl Mbai), Mundang, Fali, Tupuri, Maya (=Bali), Nyong, Southeast Australia: Kamilaroi, Yualarai (Ualarai, Euahlayi), Milpulo (Mailpurgu), Wuradjeri (Wiradjurim, Wiradjeri, Wurundjeri, Yarra, Yarra Yarra), Wongaibon (Wonghibon), Noongahburrah (Narran, Narran River), Kurnai, and many others (see file 0.doc), Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Melanesians and Papuans of Northern Solomons: Buka, Bougainville (Siuai, Buin), Central Vanuatu: Espiritu Santo, Araki, Aore, Maewo, Malekula, Vao, Efate (Vate), Nguna, Mae, Ambrim, Pentecost, Oba (=Aoba, East Ambae, Lepers'), Omba, Bunak, Batak (Toba, Dairi), Ami, Yami, Wa (incl Kawa), Bulang, Bhuiya (now Aryans, originally Munda; Rahman 1955: 203), Baiga, Bhaina, Bhumia (subgroup of Baiga, incl Bharia, formerly Munda, now speak Indo-Aryan languages of neighboring groups), Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Northern Naga: Konyak, Lungshang, Wancho, Nokte, Moclum, Lunshan, Chang, Maring, Naga of Myanmar, Sinhalese; Vedda, Meo (Hmong) of Thailand, Laos and Northern Vietnam, England, British, Bretons, Tajik, Tats, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Nenets, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Ainu, Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu, Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Chukchi, Tutchone, Tahltan, Denaina, Koyukon, Tanana, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Copper, Nootka (Nu-chah-nulth), Makah, Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Micmac, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Eastern Cree, Montagnais, Teton (incl Oglala), Mandan, Tonkawa, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Quileute, Chemakum (Hoh), Tillamook, Takelma, Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel (Pend d'Oreille; incl Spokane), Klamath, Modoc, Natchez (incl Avoyel), Alabama, Koasati, Creek, Seminole; Tuskegee; iconography of Kentucky Hopewell, Cherokee, Wintu, Patwin, Nomlaki, Achomavi, Yana, Chumash, Northern Shoshone, Upland Yuma: Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Southern Paiute, Chemehuevi, Navajo, Hopi, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Huichol, Tepehua, Totonac, Huastec (Teenek), Lacandon, Guaymi, Bocota, Dorasque; XVI century data on Western Panama, Cuna; XVI century data on Eastern Panama, Paez, Guambia, Pijao; Ilama culture, Yupa (Yukpa), Guajiro, Sicuani, Tacana, Chacobo, Tupari, Makurap, Sakirap, Ajuru (Wayoro), Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Kuikuro, Kalapalo, Calapalo, Rikbaktsa, Kayabi, Iranxe, Nambikwara, Paresi, Cayapo (incl. Kubenkranken, Pau d’Arco, Shikrin or Xikrin), Suya, Txukarramae, Shavante, Ayoreo, Chamacoco (Ishir), Toba (incl Pilagá), Terena (Tereno) , Yamana (Yaghan), Alacaluf, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Japan, Russian Federation, Halkomelem (Snaymuk)

Please log on to view the narratives.

If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help

How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com

0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.

Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.

Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.

Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.