The Mythology and Folklore Database
F28A - A monstrous penis grows out of the ground.




26 Myths, Legends and Folktales
25 Unique Narratives for Motif F28A
17 Cultures & Traditions where F28A is told
86 Mythemes Indexed
9 Sub-Motifs of Motif F28A


Please log on to view the narratives.




 Motif Summary  -   Motifs with Simlar Dispersals  -    Map of Myth Distribution   -   List of Traditions  -   Myths



Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.



Summary of Motif

A penis grows out of the ground or out of the water in a lake. Women summon it as needed.

Berezkin category: Gender and sex

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms


F28 has 9 other sub-motifs


F28.  There is a separate penis character with whom the first women, Amazons, or simply some woman copulate.
F28a.  A penis grows out of the ground or out of the water in a lake. Women summon it as needed.
F28a1.  The living penis is a dangerous creature that attacks people.
F28a2.  The owner of the field, either intentionally or having misheard the question, replies that he grows penises. After that, penises grow in the field instead of crops.
F28a3.  A girl (woman) possesses an object that is pleasant (useful). Once in the hands of others, it becomes harmful (dangerous).
F28a4.  The fruits or stems of plants are penises.
F28A5.  The penis and vulva (in the singular or plural) are separate beings and characters.
F28b.  A woman uses a penis made of wax, wood, fruit or root. Usually her husband or male relative smears it with pepper, and the woman is maimed or killed.
F28c.  A woman masturbates with the penis of a large animal that one of the men killed while hunting.
F28d.  By masturbating with an artificial penis, a woman conceives children.

 Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of F28's motifs?



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
F2898.24%There is a separate penis character with whom the first women, Amazons, or simply some woman copulate.
B6695.83%Characters climb to the sky using a rope or chain of arrows; when it falls to the ground, it turns into forest vines. See motif J47.
C1595.83%A monstrous jaguar (puma) is locked in a cave or tree trunk.
C34A95.83%A supernatural character goes with people to catch fish or lives on the sand by the river; he is buried in the sand or thrown into the river, into a swamp, or otherwise persecuted. Usually, he himself or his father sends a flood.
H32B95.83%A girl and/or boy, who are the children of a deity, come to live with humans, leading to an abundance of food/resources. Due to the hurt they have caused, the children return to their own world, and human life becomes difficult or meagre.
L1D95.83%The jaguar-werewolf kills most people and is killed by the woman who survives.
K13B95.55%A man crosses a body of water on the back of a caiman. The caiman bites off his leg. The cripple undergoes a metamorphosis, turning into a constellation or an animal.
L1E95.50%A monstrous bird is created from a small amount of human or animal flesh (usually from the heart) or from lumps of manioc starch.
F3795.40%To summon her lover, the character taps on a calabash placed on the water.
G1195.39%The squirrel plays an important role in cutting down a giant tree (usually chopping or trying to chop the vine that holds it, see motif G10).

 See more...

Please log on to view the narratives.



Map of Motif Dispersal

Click here for a clustered map

Drag the map around by clicking and using the mouse, use the wheel to zoom



This motif has been recorded in 17 traditions: Mackenzie Delta, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, Montagnais, Plains Ojibwa, Yana, Sibundoy: Kamsa, Ingano (Inga), Sicuani, Wayana, Aparai, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Kofan, Karijona, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Tenetehara, Wolof, Greenland


Please log on to view the narratives.