Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M99A1 — Leaky beaks of birds
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 is going to pierce all the birds with their beaks (to string them on a rope) or cut them off altogether.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
M99 has 2 other sub-motifs
RelatedM99. The character is going to abuse all birds or (less commonly) animals, but after hearing wise advice, he abandons his intention.
M99a. The character is going to build a house (tower, etc.) from the bones or feathers of birds.
M99a1. The character is going to pierce all the birds with their beaks (to string them on a rope) or cut them off altogether.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M147 | 99.41% | A weak animal tells a strong animal that everyone is afraid of him, the weak one, and suggests testing this. He walks in front of the strong animal, everyone runs away, and the strong animal believes that they are running away from the weak one. |
| B116A | 99.26% | 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. |
| M106D | 98.68% | 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. |
| K136D | 98.65% | 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 | 98.65% | 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). |
| M21B | 98.65% | 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. |
| K136 | 98.62% | 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 | 98.62% | 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. |
| M57C1 | 98.59% | A man fights a bear or (Malayali) leopard and makes another person believe that this animal is defecating with gold. |
| K32E | 98.53% | A negative character, object or locus is contrasted with one or two positive ones, such as wood with gold and silver. |
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: Kalmyk, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Darkhad, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori
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