Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M122 — Advisors inside.
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
OverviewIn a difficult situation, the character asks for advice from his tail, penis, or some creatures in his stomach (these are excrement, intestinal parasites, his "sisters," etc.).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| M81A | 100.00% | The hero meets two blind women and makes them sighted. These women are birds (geese, ducks, hazel grouses, partridges). |
| K25C | 99.96% | While digging roots, gathering shellfish, etc., a woman finds a baby. He grows up and enters into a struggle with dangerous characters. |
| D4K | 99.83% | The deer obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. |
| M29R | 99.78% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| M59A | 99.77% | After asking a large animal to transport it across the river, a porcupine kills or damages it. See M59 motif. |
| J23A | 99.66% | A woman cries, and the discharge from her nose (her tears) turns into a boy, who grows up and defeats strong opponents. |
| A5A | 99.65% | The younger brother (usually the Sun) is made from the urine and swaddling clothes of his older brother (usually the Moon), who was kidnapped as a baby. See motif A5. |
| B107 | 99.65% | During the (world) fire, the oyster burns, which is why oyster shells are black. |
| B28B | 99.65% | The inhabitants of the area where the hero finds himself are afraid of creatures that are tools, utensils, and plants that are now harmless. The hero easily defeats these creatures and usually transforms them into what they are now. |
| B28D1 | 99.65% | Not understanding who he is facing, the man promises to kill the Transformer. The Transformer turns his weapon into deer antlers and him into a deer. |
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
32 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 32 traditions: Chukchi, Kaska, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw), Malecite, Passamaquoddy, Chilkotin, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lillooet, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Nez Perce, Tillamook, Kalapuya, Takelma, Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel (Pend d'Oreille; incl Spokane), Flathead, Lower Chinook (Chinook proper), Shasta; Chimariko, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Chumash, Tubatulabal, Owens Valley Paiute, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Northern Shoshone, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Eastern Shoshone, Southern Paiute, Chemehuevi, Serrano, Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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