Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M69 — The head gets stuck in the skull
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
Overviewcharacter is attracted by the inside of a large animal's skull (small animals or insects are dancing or feasting inside, or eating some meat); he sticks his head inside , it gets stuck.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| J19B | 99.66% | An evil spirit kills a woman by burning through her body. |
| C6B | 99.33% | The desired object is brought up from the bottom by a muskrat (rarely a beaver or otter). |
| M53 | 99.26% | The character invites others to gather around him, focusing on an activity (usually dancing with their eyes closed or lowered), and then kills the crowd (usually one at a time). |
| M66 | 98.54% | After eating certain foods frivolously or rubbing his body with his spine, the character suffers from itching, diarrhea, or an irrepressible eruption of intestinal gases. |
| D4C | 97.99% | Characters obtain the warm season from its original owners. |
| L5E1 | 97.83% | A woman who has become a monster pursues her own children. |
| A38C | 97.64% | The Sun exchanges a cape made of animal or bird skins with a boy or girl, or spoils it. As a result, the boy or girl raises their status or takes revenge on the Sun. |
| L9B | 97.58% | The sharp elbows or (rarely) knees of the character resemble knives or awls. |
| A38D | 97.51% | Because the Sun has harmed the character (ruined or burned his cloak, the fur on his skin, etc.), he catches it in a trap or kills it. |
| L86 | 97.05% | Having turned into a demon, a woman pursues her children. Cf. motif K102a2: A mother seeks to destroy her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair and/or sides with his father in a conflict between his parents. |
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
17 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 17 traditions: Chipewyan, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Algonquin, unspecified Algonkians of the Midwest (probably Old Algonquin), Attikamek, Winnebago, Blackfoot, Arapaho, Arikara, Kiowa, Gros Ventre, Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine, Crow, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lipan, Scythians, Scythe
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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