The Mythology and Folklore Database
K32K - False wife – beetle or larva.
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 false wife, replacing the real one – a foul-smelling beetle or larva.Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects
K32 has 21 other sub-motifsK32. The man does not (immediately) notice that another woman, an evil spirit or (in Chaco) a male trickster has replaced his wife or bride, who is banished, imprisoned in the underworld, killed, etc. K32a. A man is carrying his wife or daughter. Another woman or demonic character replaces her when the man leaves on a journey (rarely: falls asleep). K32b. The man's mother takes on the appearance of his wife in order to take her place. K32b1. The man's mother-in-law takes on the appearance of her daughter to take her place. See motif K32. K32c. The deceiver takes the place of the real wife, and the real wife becomes an owl. See motif K32. K32d. As a result of the antagonist's intrigues, a noble girl (young woman) or boy (young man) is turned into a servant or servant, sent to graze cattle or chase birds in the field. Everything is revealed – usually after people hear a song in which the hero or heroine tells about the substitution. Most often, the hero or heroine goes to relatives or (less often) to the groom. The deceiver accompanies her or him and is accepted as a relative or bride. The deceiver is executed. Comoros: the deceiver becomes the mistress, turning the girl's parents into peacocks. K32e. A negative character, object or locus is contrasted with one or two positive ones, such as wood with gold and silver. K32f. A woman or girl raises a bird of prey chick, which brings her food and fire. This usually happens after an evil spirit leaves the girl or young woman in a tree or on an island. K32g. The antagonist is executed by being tied to a horse (camel, bull), which drags him along the ground or tears him to pieces. K32g1. The guilty party is offered a choice of items of utilitarian value (often forty, seven, three, etc. horses or the same number of knives). The person usually does not understand that these are methods of execution. k32g2. An authoritative character marries, and an evil woman replaces her with her daughter. After the false wife is exposed and executed, the woman receives cooked meat as a gift, not immediately realising that it is her daughter's body parts. k32g3. The villain is asked what punishment he deserves for committing the crime in question. Not knowing that they are talking about him, he decides for himself how he should be executed. K32h. The antagonist is executed by being buried alive. K32h1. The antagonist is executed by being placed in a barrel (with nails) and rolled down a hill or tied to a horse. K32h2. A man executes his wife by leaving her to be eaten by ants. K32h3. The antagonist is executed by being burned alive. (Episodes in which the burning of the character is not a punishment but a means of getting rid of him are not taken into account). K32i. A girl finds the body of a young man who shows no signs of life and must sit next to him for a certain amount of time so that he comes back to life and takes her as his wife. Usually, she leaves at the last moment and an impostor becomes the wife of the revived man. K32j. Upon learning from a young man that he has a beautiful sister, the ruler wants to marry her. The bride is replaced by an ugly woman. Usually, the ruler accuses her brother of deception and throws him into prison. The deception is revealed. K32k. The false wife, replacing the real one – a foul-smelling beetle or larva. K32l. The ruler distributes horses (cows) to his subjects for fattening. Only the heroine returns hers well-fed. K32M. To take the heroine's place, her rival turns her into an animal or bird without pushing her into the water. Cf. motif k33. k32n. The false wife, who replaces the real one, is a supernatural character - a zoomorphic creature, a deceased woman, a female spirit, etc. See motif K32. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of K32's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| B48D | 100.00% | People or objects swallowed by a pike become part of its body (bones in its head, liver). |
| B42F | 91.39% | The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with a large hoofed animal (elk, deer, mountain sheep). Unless otherwise specified, see motif B42 in the description of cosmic hunting. |
| B42T | 91.02% | All seven stars of the Big Dipper (and not just the stars of the dipper) are considered to be the figure of an animal - a bear, moose, deer, ram, camel, or dog. |
| L72H | 90.16% | Fleeing for his life, the character throws behind him a tool for kindling fire (flint, tinder, match, kindling), which becomes an obstacle in the path of his pursuer. (A discarded flint is counted if it serves to strike fire, and is not counted if it is simply a hard stone that turns into a mountain). |
| I55 | 85.50% | Stars – holes in the sky; or holes in the canopy, in the roof of a dwelling, appear to be stars. |
| M7B | 82.50% | zoomorphic character (usually a fox) finds himself in a place he can't get out of, and consistently asks for help from animals (fish) passing by or approaching him. The latter helps. |
| B71 | 82.17% | The northern lights are people who play, dance, sit by the fire, fight or run with torches. |
| I50B | 81.65% | Describes or depicts a predatory animal with six or more legs. |
| L41C | 81.65% | A cannibal grabs children as they slide down a hill. |
| L101 | 80.18% | While running away, a person gradually undresses and throws items of clothing behind them. The pursuer wastes time picking them up or destroying them. |
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 7 traditions: Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Chukchi, Central Yupik, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam