Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M21B — Every deception is the beginning of the next.
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
OverviewThe character consistently harms others in such a way that each person who has been deceived is used as a tool to harm the next.
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.
M21 has 2 other sub-motifs
RelatedM21. The character runs away from his pursuer. The person, animal or object that the character asks for help hides him (and kills the pursuer).
M21a. The character is pursued by an enemy. An animal hides the fugitive in its mouth or on its body, and when the pursuer appears, it refuses to open its mouth or expose part of its body. (Usually simulates illness â toothache, etc.). Cf. motif i87ad.
M21b. The character consistently harms others in such a way that each person who has been deceived is used as a tool to harm the next.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K136D | 100.00% | A young man receives two flutes (pipes, horns) from a cow (buffalo), which produce different effects when played (joy and sorrow, prosperity and a call for help, etc.). |
| K73A3 | 100.00% | The midwife's ill-wishers replace the baby with a statue or doll (telling the father that his wife has given birth to a doll). |
| M106D | 99.97% | By saying that his name is "Son-in-law" ("Husband," "Uncle," etc.), the character deceives others. The victims find no sympathy, since as a relative he has the right to behave in this manner. |
| K136 | 99.85% | The young man turns out to be the owner and leader of a herd of cattle, and with his herd of cows or buffaloes he is summoned to the king (usually after his hair is found by the princess). |
| M100A | 99.85% | One of the characters leads another to the edge of a cliff with the aim of lighting a fire, or lights a fire at the edge of the cliff. As a result, the other falls and is killed. |
| A2B1 | 99.83% | Two or more suns shine in the sky. When the extra ones are destroyed, there is a danger that the last one will be destroyed along with them and darkness will ensue. |
| M167A | 99.70% | A strong predator mistakes an unfamiliar word for the name of a creature that is stronger than him and flees. |
| A12F | 99.47% | The stars fade because the moneylender demands that they repay their debt. |
| A37C | 99.47% | The character shoots an arrow into the sky, aiming to hit a celestial body or deity, but the arrow hits an obstacle blocking the target. |
| K33C1 | 99.47% | A character thrown into the water is transformed into a flower (usually a lotus). |
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
7 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Palaung (De Ang, Deang), Lavrung, Jiarong; Qiang (incl rGyalrong), Kazakh, Uyghur, Mongols (Khalkha), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), China
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