Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M132A — Ears, not horns.
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
OverviewAnother animal thinks that a hornless herbivore has horns and is afraid of it, but these are just ears.
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.
M13 has 2 other sub-motifs
RelatedM13. A person appeals to higher powers with a request, without considering that his words may have a different meaning than he intended. Either a person accidentally utters the wrong word or accidentally and hastily expresses an empty or absurd desire. As a result, something happens that he did not want at all. Cf. motifs I58B and M13A.Most of the references in ATU 775 (Midas' short-sighted wish) are either incorrect or impossible to verify. In connection with this plot, the reference to Uther 2000 is taken into account only for the Lithuanian variant, since there is a summary of the Latvian one, and for the Greek one, since the motif exists in Ancient Greece and among the neighbouring South Slavs. For ATU 750A, the reference to Bäcker 1988 in connection with the "Chinese" is incorrect; these are Manchus, not Chinese, and the stated motif is not present in the text.
M13a. A deity and a human meet so that the former can fulfil the latter's request. As a result, the human is turned to stone. Usually (except for the Squamish), one of the supplicants wants eternal life and is turned to stone. See motif M13.
M13B. People are promised the fulfilment of two (three, four) wishes. Without thinking, they wish for something they do not want at all. The last wish is spent on returning to the original state.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K108A | 94.87% | A man acquires a magical wife. Another woman orders him to kill her or divorce her, then she will become his wife. Having fulfilled the request, he loses everything. |
| L127 | 94.87% | Having entered another world, the character sees dancing body parts and other strange creatures. He must not be surprised, laugh, or mention God. |
| A33 | 90.37% | The sun has the appearance of a large, non-predatory mammal (bull, ram, pig, antelope, rhinoceros, etc.) or rides on it. |
| L108B2 | 89.44% | To acquire a thin voice, the character allows ants to bite his tongue. |
| H36D | 87.41% | The hare distorts God's command and/or is responsible for the fact that humans are mortal. See motif H36. |
| M173 | 85.28% | A zoomorphic character pretends to be dead where a traveller carrying luggage is supposed to pass. The traveller passes by, but the deceiver quietly runs ahead and repeats his trick. The traveller puts his luggage on the ground and returns to pick up the first dead person (for the skin or meat), and the deceiver takes the luggage away. |
| M132 | 83.33% | The enemy is ready to seize the character. The character asks the enemy to first take and throw away his clothes or shoes, and then offers his ears. The enemy grabs him by the ears and throws him away, and the character runs away. |
| M192A | 83.33% | The character agrees to have a freshly removed skin put on him or to be wrapped in wet belts. The skin or belts cause suffering or death (usually because they dry out and shrink). |
| M155 | 81.65% | The father or mother (pretends to) fall asleep naked. One of the children covers him or her, which is a sign of respect. |
| M126 | 80.07% | A man sees a talking skull (turtle) and reports this to the chief, the king. In the presence of the king, the skull (turtle) remains silent, and the man who found it is accused of lying and punished. |
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
6 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 6 traditions: Berbers of southern Tunisia and adjacent part of Libya (Matmata and Ghadames areas), Nuba, Saho, Afar, Bilin (Blin, Bilen), Dinka, Atuot, Nuer, Hausa
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