Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M29G2 — Cancer is a cunning winner
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
OverviewCancer (crab) defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 9, Identification of protagonists of the stories with particular animals or persons with particular qualities.
M29 has 45 other sub-motifs
RelatedM29. trickster is defined as a protagonist in the following characteristic episodes.
M29a. See the motives in square brackets.
M29a1. In three or more different episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is raven (crow)
M29b. Fox (a), Jackal, Coyote (or Wolf when, apparently, we mean a steppenwolf, i.e. the same coyote). See the motives in square brackets.
M29b1. As a result of his stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolf dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29b2. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the bear dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29b3. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the fox (jackal) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. If it is not specified that a “jackal”, then the protagonist is a fox.
M29c. See the motives in square brackets.
M29d. See the motives in square brackets.
M29E. See the motives in square brackets.
M29f. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolverine dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29g. See the motives in square brackets. They include traditions in which the hare/rabbit appears only as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox or jackal) often occurs.
M29g1. In episodes involving deception, ridiculous, obscene, or antisocial behavior, the hare or rabbit is the main trickster. Traditions in which 1) a hare or rabbit occurs only once as a trickster, and another trickster (usually a fox/jackal/coyote) is typical; 2) Mesoamerican traditions in which a small rabbit is associated with a small a set of episodes and a high probability of recent African influences. See the motives in square brackets.
M29g2. Cancer (crab) defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning.
M29gg. hedgehog defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning.
M29h. See the motives in square brackets.
M29i. See the motives in square brackets.
M29j. See the motives in square brackets.
M29k. A turtle (toad, frog) defeats strong opponents by cunning or perseverance. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle.
M29k1. A turtle (toad, frog) gets into unpleasant situations due to its own stupidity or carelessness. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle.
M29l. See the motives in square brackets.
M29m. See the motives in square brackets.
M29n. See the motives in square brackets.
M29nn. See the motives in square brackets.
M29o. See the motives in square brackets.
M29o1. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the monkey dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29p. See the motives in square brackets.
M29q. See the motives in square brackets.
M29qq. See the motives in square brackets.
M29r. See the motives in square brackets.
M29S. See the motives in square brackets.
M29T. See the motives in square brackets.
M29v. The character defeats or deceives strong opponents using cunning. The protagonists are dwarf ungulates, usually duker or deer - taxonomically distant from each other, but similar in appearance. In some publications on African traditions, it is difficult to determine which animal we are talking about, but it is certain that these are small cloven-hoofed animals, usually (always?) dukers. See the motives in square brackets.
M29w. As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, a jaguar (puma, ocelot) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a puma or ocelot; otherwise, a jaguar.
M29w1. As a result of their stupidity or antisocial behavior, the leopard (panther, leopard) dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29w2. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the tiger dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29w3. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the lion dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29x. As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the hyena dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
M29x1. See the motives in square brackets.
M29X2. See the motives in square brackets.
M29y. See the motives in square brackets.
M29z. hero of the story is a character named “Beardless” or Aldar-Kose (Aldar is a “deceiver”, a braid is “beardless”).
M29z1. purely anthropomorphic character, or a character who bears the name of an animal or plant but does not act zoomorphic in the course of his adventures. See the motives in square brackets. {Data not fully entered}
M29z2. Being smart and witty, the Gipsy overcomes strong adversaries
M29z3. The Gipsy (more often a female than a male) is an enemy overcome by the hero (heroine) or (rare) a weak failure
M29z4.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M187C | 99.73% | Participating in a race, the crab defeats its faster opponent. |
| F54 | 99.23% | Unaware of this, the son and mother (Konkani: daughter and father) engage in sexual relations and later learn of the incest they have committed. Cf. motifs c8c, f54e. |
| A23C | 97.35% | Birds argue about which of them will fly higher or arrive first. The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely (he hides in the feathers of a strong bird and flies away with it). |
| L23 | 97.16% | Trying to free himself, the captured character successively transforms into various substances, materials or animals, or (Urarina, Setebo) orders various dangerous animals to successively attack the person who captured him. (In some cases, only one variant of transformation is mentioned, but in the same context as in typical variants with a series of transformations). |
| F54E | 96.86% | Not knowing who is in front of him, a young man kills his father. |
| M143 | 96.79% | Finding himself in a pit or well, one character persuades another to climb down to him, thanks to which he gets out, leaving the other at the bottom. |
| L23D | 96.64% | A man captures a desirable woman. Trying to free herself, she transforms into various substances, materials, animals or (urarina, setebo) orders various dangerous animals to attack the man who captured her. |
| I41B | 96.53% | The rainbow drinks (draws into itself) water (and living creatures). |
| K27X9 | 96.48% | The hero must retrieve a small object (often a ring or signet ring) thrown into deep water (often the sea). Cf. motif C6 ("The Diver"). |
| M199O | 96.46% | A man and his opponent agree to pierce a hole in a tree trunk (stump) with their head (finger, penis) or to knock down a tree with a blow to the head. The man has made a hole in advance (sawed the tree). |
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
29 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 29 traditions: Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, Palau (Western Carolines), Yap, Truk, Eastern Fayu, Losap, Pulap, Puluwat, Mortlock (incl. Satawan), Ponape, Ngaik, Mwoakil (Mokil), Kusaie (Kosrae), Mentawai, Koreans, Ireland, 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, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Swedes, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Chontal, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Palau, Russian Federation
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