Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
J18A — Mother eaten, children flee.
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
OverviewA cannibal eats a woman and enters her house. The woman's children (daughter and son, or daughter only) run away, climb a tree or climb a rope to the sky. The cannibal pursues them and perishes.
Berezkin category: Avenger heroes: The amerinday cycle
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
J18 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedJ18. A pregnant woman or a woman with a child falls from the sky. She or her newborn daughter dies or undergoes a metamorphosis. Her son or her daughter's son survives and grows up. Cf. motif K9.
J18a. A cannibal eats a woman and enters her house. The woman's children (daughter and son, or daughter only) run away, climb a tree or climb a rope to the sky. The cannibal pursues them and perishes.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| A8 | 100.00% | The sun, moon and stars – three brothers or three sisters. |
| B119 | 100.00% | A woman of non-human nature agrees to live with a man, but leaves him upon learning of his real or imagined infidelity. |
| B121 | 100.00% | A small bird carries pebbles and sticks, trying to fill the sea. |
| B49A | 100.00% | Powerful animals could have many cubs, but now they give birth to only one every few years. |
| B6A | 100.00% | The first woman gives birth to several eggs. One or two of them remain unchanged for a long time and are thrown into the river, believing them to be spoiled. However, it is precisely from these eggs that characters of high status emerge (or should have emerged). |
| B77B2 | 100.00% | The sky moved away and/or the connection between people and the deity ceased after the sky or the heavenly deity was touched or struck with a broom. |
| B93A | 100.00% | Once a year, birds form a bridge across the heavenly river with their bodies. Usually, the feathers on their heads are worn away as a result. |
| C39 | 100.00% | When the sky split or partially collapsed, it was repaired. |
| C39A | 100.00% | A hole in the sky or a crack in the ground was plugged with a piece of ice, which is why it is cold in the north (north-west, north-east). |
| C40 | 100.00% | At first, stones fell from the sky and crushed people. |
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
Cite this map
Distribution of the traditions attesting motif J18A, ‘Mother eaten, children flee.’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (14 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/J18A (accessed 8 August 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
14 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: Burmese, Intha, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Koreans, Mongols (Khalkha), Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Lima dep: Costa and adjacent Sierra (Spanish, Kechua, and Jacaru-speaking communities, mostly in Pachacamac, Cajatambo, Canta, Huarochirí; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Lisu, Lolo (incl. Bai), Achang, Yi, Axi, Nasu, Jino, Taungyo, Hani, Akha, Salars, China, Japan, Russian Federation
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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