Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L102A — Escape from the seagull husband.
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 seagull kidnaps a girl or woman, but she manages to return to people.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L10 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedL10. The character has a sharp (biting) tail or a protrusion on its back. See motif L9, cf. motif L9C.
L10a. A demonic character approaches a man's campfire. The man leaves a log in his place and hides. The character throws himself on the log, mistaking it for a sleeping man; usually, the hunter kills or wounds the demon.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| E9A | 95.26% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) has the image of a fox. |
| B42O | 94.28% | A certain constellation is represented by a person who has been struck or wounded in the back. |
| B16B | 91.29% | The sea is salty because a wolverine or a fox bathed in it or urinated in it. |
| B38B | 91.29% | Two quadrupeds (or a quadruped and another creature) adorn each other themselves or are adorned by someone else. |
| K51 | 91.26% | The husband feigns death, disappears or leaves home for a long time. The wife learns that he has married another woman, finds and, as a rule, kills her husband and/or rival, who often turns out to be a creature of non-human nature. |
| B38A | 91.26% | Two birds agree to paint each other. One of them does not become more beautiful as a result and often becomes uglier. See motif B36A. |
| A31A | 90.97% | Upon learning that her husband or lover has committed an act incompatible with accepted norms, a woman cuts off her breast and shows it to him. |
| M94A | 90.45% | The demonic character kills his victims, provoking them to slide down the mountain. |
| B38D | 90.37% | The Raven and the Owl paint each other. |
| M29A | 90.30% | See the motives in square brackets. |
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 L102A, ‘Escape from the seagull husband.’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (6 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/L102A (accessed 8 August 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
6 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 6 traditions: Udeghe, Chukchi, Koyukon, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, Baffin Land Inuit
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
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