Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M29W2 — The tiger is a loser and a loser
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
OverviewAs a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the tiger dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| B116B | 99.74% | A book containing sacred knowledge falls into the water at a crossing or gets wet in some other way. After that, the book disappears or the text becomes unreadable. Either the book is ruined (damaged) when it is dried. Or it is ruined while left unattended on the shore while the people who kept it are swimming; or it burns, although traces remain. |
| K56D1 | 99.42% | A pumpkin or watermelon (grown from gifted seeds) given to a person turns out to contain treasures. |
| K116A | 99.40% | The king takes or is about to take the poor man's wife. She suggests that the king put on clothes that are not his own (usually those that belonged to her husband). After that, the king is killed by his own soldiers (dogs), who believe him to be a poor man (jester, devil). |
| M130B | 99.23% | A herbivorous animal falls into a hunter's trap. The predator does not want to release it, as it hopes to eat its entrails, but the bird helps it to escape. The hunter tries to kill the bird, but instead kills the predator. |
| B116A | 99.09% | A person or animal eats a sacred book or its remains. During the ritual, this knowledge is actualised in oral speech, in the sounds of a musical instrument made from part of an animal's body, or in parts of an animal's body used for divination. |
| K27Z2 | 98.92% | A noble woman is forced to leave her home, gives birth to a son, and is separated from him. The young man grows up and almost marries his mother, but at the last moment everything is explained. {The Sudanese text, attributed to this plot in el-Shamy 2004 and subsequently in Uther 2004, does not fit the definition; it is quite possible that the Latvians, Romanians and Ukrainians are also mentioned incorrectly in Uther 2004}. |
| K37E | 98.92% | The clairvoyant cannot identify the person who revealed the secret, because that person does so while hiding among objects that are never found together in everyday life. |
| M130A | 98.88% | A trickster lures an animal into a hunter's trap. Another animal advises the victim to pretend to be dead and helps it escape. |
| A12F | 98.74% | The stars fade because the moneylender demands that they repay their debt. |
| A37C | 98.74% | 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. |
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
73 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 73 traditions: Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Aceh (Acheh), Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken), Lampung (Lampong); South Sumatra Malays (incl. Bengkulu), Kayan, Bahau, Kenja, Aoheng, Punan (Bukat, Basap, Oloh Ot, etc); "Klemantan", Burmese, Intha, Karen, Pa-O, Padaung, Kayah, Thai of Vietnam, Tai Lue, Khao (Kho, Tai Don, White Tai), Tai Dam (Black Tai), Nung; Zhuang, Buyi; Shui, Shan, Ahom, Khampti, Katu (Ködu); Bru (incl. Van Kieu, Khua), Mon, Khmer, Wa (incl Kawa), Bulang, Palaung (De Ang, Deang), Khmu (Kammu), Puoc, Viet, Muong, Santali, Turi, Mahli, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Khasi, Northern Naga: Konyak, Lungshang, Wancho, Nokte, Moclum, Lunshan, Chang, Maring, Naga of Myanmar, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Kuki, Chiru, Falam (Hallam), Chin (Meitei =Manipuri, Khami, =Kumi), Lakher, Mizo (Lushei), Anal, Pawi (Lai), Purum, Koireng, Milhiem, Kolhen, Mru, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Gondi (mostly Northern Gondi), Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Kashmiri, Nepali; Tharu, Dhanwar, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Rajasthani (Radjasthan and Madhya Pradesh), Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Assamese, Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Meo (Hmong) of Thailand, Laos and Northern Vietnam, Lavrung, Jiarong; Qiang (incl rGyalrong), Lepcha, Koreans, Tajik, Baluch, Pashto, Tats, Georgians, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kara Kalpak, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uyghur, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Ainu, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Lisu, Lolo (incl. Bai), Achang, Yi, Axi, Nasu, Jino, Taungyo, Salars, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Toto, Rabha (northern Western Bengalia), Arakan, Chakma, Khyang, Dong, Maonan, Rejang, Sundanese, China, Japan