Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M197E — Unknown beast, ATU 1091.
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 man smears himself with resin, rolls around in feathers, crawls backwards on all fours, lets his hair down, etc. The demon thinks he is facing an unknown beast. The man escapes.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| K33A4 | 99.93% | A woman, transformed into a medium-sized forest animal (lynx, wolf, vixen) by the machinations of a rival, tries to establish contact with her children or husband. |
| M38C1 | 99.92% | The character (supposedly) forges a person, rejuvenating or reviving him, the other unsuccessfully tries to imitate him. |
| K117D | 99.92% | 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. |
| M101B | 99.91% | A large predator wants to see a human being. First, it meets a child and learns that this is a future human being, then an old man – a former human being. The encounter with a present human being (a hunter, a soldier) ends badly for the beast. |
| M74D | 99.91% | 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. |
| M109A1 | 99.91% | A 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. |
| K93B1 | 99.91% | After eating fish, a childless woman gives birth to a boy or twins. |
| M136A | 99.89% | People try to bring light, darkness, smoke, etc. into or out of a room. |
| K66A | 99.89% | The princess (inheritance) is given to the one who builds (obtains) a ship capable of moving on land (flying through the air). |
| K101A | 99.89% | A man spends several nights next to a dead girl who has become a dangerous demonic creature. As a result, the girl is exorcised. |
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
36 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 36 traditions: Ireland, England, British, Bretons, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Maltese, 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, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Western Sami, Norwegians, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Wallons, Picardie, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Frisians, Russian Federation
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