The Mythology and Folklore Database
M120B - A nurse with a pleasant voice.
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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 character is looking for a nanny (nurse, wet nurse, shepherd, husband) and consistently rejects those whose voice he does not like. He settles on the one with the most beautiful voice, but the choice turns out to be unsuccessful (usually the nurse eats the child, the sick person, the sheep, etc.).Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I110 | 99.60% | Constellations are associated with agricultural tools or with people engaged in agricultural work (most often ploughing and haymaking). See motifs I110A (plough), I110B (haymaking). |
| K119C | 99.60% | The antagonist believes that he has been attacked by the lord of thunder (the father of the bride, whom a zoomorphic assistant has tricked into marrying a poor young man, motif K119). |
| L23A | 99.60% | In an attempt to free himself, the captured character sequentially changes his appearance, in particular turning into fire (and water). |
| L42B1 | 99.60% | A character kidnapped by a demon advises him to stack pots, pans and other kitchen items on top of each other and climb up them. He does so, falls and breaks. |
| K38F5 | 99.48% | Flames burst from the horse's mouth and/or nostrils, or the entire horse is engulfed in fire. |
| L37C | 99.47% | A person encounters the incarnations of Fortune (and Misfortune) – his own or someone else's. He manages to influence their behaviour and change (for himself) the course of events for the better. |
| F54E | 99.37% | Not knowing who is in front of him, a young man kills his father. |
| K35A3 | 99.31% | In order to obtain the privileges enjoyed by the hero, the deceiver manages to swap status with him. |
| K151 | 99.31% | A magical helper grants a poor man's simple wish. The poor man or his wife ask for more and more. In the end, the helper punishes the beggar (usually by taking away everything that was given). {Many references to texts outside Europe in Uther 2004 are not related to the plot of ATU 555 and do not contain the K151 motif. This applies in particular to the Arabic and Ossetian variants}. |
| M106A | 99.28% | The character who caused the damage calls himself by a fictitious name such as "Nobody," "I Myself," etc. Usually, others decide that the victim himself is to blame for what happened. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Lepcha, Spain, Spaniards, Catalan, Hungarians, Latvians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Norwegians, Tabasaran, Aghul, Mordvins, Negidal, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Eastern Tibetans (Kham; Sichuan, NW Yunnan), Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Lutsi (Ludza), Russian Federation