The Mythology and Folklore Database
F53A - The Bat or Owl hides its face.




23 Myths, Legends and Folktales
22 Unique Narratives for Motif F53A
13 Cultures & Traditions where F53A is told
53 Mythemes Indexed
1 Sub-Motifs of Motif F53A


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

The husband hides his face from his wife because she does not know that he is a bat or an owl.

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


F53 has 1 other sub-motifs


F53.  An unattractive man marries, but hides his face. When he is seen, the marriage is dissolved.
F53a.  The husband hides his face from his wife because she does not know that he is a bat or an owl.

 Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of F53's motifs?



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
E395.32%After the destruction of the previous world, new people (rarely: new earth) are made from the remains of the dead.
K494.90%The character climbs a tree or rock to get a bird, bird eggs, or chicks, climbs into a bird's nest, comes into conflict with another character, and/or cannot climb down. See motifs K1, K2A. Traditions in which the nest destroyer is a woman are highlighted in italics; bold italics indicate those in which the character falls into the trap not through the fault of another person, but by accident, or, having climbed up to destroy the nest, does not fall into the trap at all, although he quarrels with his companion; an asterisk* marks those in which the character remains in the trap (undergoes a metamorphosis).
I10B94.87%Individual layers or categories of earth differ in colour (and other characteristics).
L5494.59%To overcome the disaster, hot stones or ashes are thrown into the water.
L6393.70%The character eats food with the womb or anus. See motif F9A.
J1293.41%A girl or two sisters wander, usually in search of a suitable groom or husband who has left or lives far away. Along the way or upon reaching their destination, they encounter false suitors. (Traditions in which two heroines travel rather than one are highlighted in bold (motif j13).
F18A93.35%The penis of a male character is much longer than normal or becomes so. During intercourse, it usually crawls towards the woman like a snake. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are included, not anecdotes).
M8A93.16%Animals, and more often birds, find it difficult to break through a rock from the outside or inside, make a hole in the tree, in the body of an absorber creature, tear fetters, etc., to help a character or get out of the confined space by yourself. The list <b><i>includes</i></b> groups whose texts deal with the exit of the first ancestors to earth from a confined space.
L3492.77%The character kills or maims the enemy by setting fire to their clothes, mask, headdress, hair, or an object behind their back.
F9A91.97%There are teeth, blades or sharp stones in a woman's vagina or on the inside of her thighs; the vagina is a toothy mouth. (Only texts with a focus on authenticity are taken into account, not anecdotes).

 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 13 traditions: Bugi, Macassar, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Mongols (Khalkha), Darkhad, Cherokee, Western Shoshone, Gosiute, Upland Yuma: Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Chemehuevi, Cahuilla, Cupeño, Guajiro, Kofan, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo, Mocovi; Kechua of Santiago del Estero with probable Guaikuruan substratum; Abipon


Please log on to view the narratives.