Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
N4 — Fused ribs
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
OverviewFused ribs are a sign of heroic strength. {The motive was highlighted and the material was collected by Kostyantin Rahno}.
Berezkin category: Fabulous and epic formulas
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 13, Formulae.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| L125 | 99.26% | After meeting a beautiful woman, a man finds her in a situation where her inhuman nature is revealed. After that, the marriage falls apart. |
| I87A | 98.97% | A character of gigantic size turns out to be small in comparison with a character of even greater size, or the same character turns out to be small in some episodes and gigantic in others. |
| K139 | 98.55% | A servant is so struck by the beauty of a girl (rarely: a boy) that he lets the meat or bread intended for his master burn. |
| I50A | 98.44% | A demon sequentially tears off the legs of an animal that helps the hero (usually the horse on which the hero rides). |
| B46A | 97.60% | One of the stars of the Pleiades was separated from the others (usually stolen by the stars of the Big Dipper and identified with Alcor). |
| M78F | 97.53% | When a woman falls asleep, a joker (usually a tiny boy) places an embryo or the entrails of an animal or something similar next to her to make the woman herself or others think she has a miscarriage or that her viscera has fallen out. |
| K38B | 97.50% | A snake or monster of aquatic-chthonic or indeterminate nature eats or maims the young of a bird or other flying creature – in most cases, the chicks of a huge bird. A man kills the snake (monster). See motif K38. |
| M149B | 97.31% | A person says that in his stomach (in a box) there are dangerous creatures that he has swallowed (put in a box) and that they may come out. A predator that is about to eat (bite) a person believes this and runs away. |
| M39A6B | 97.30% | The ruler, to whom the master builder went to work, is going to kill or maim him. The master asks to send a person to his house asking him to bring a forgotten instrument or something else. The daughter-in-law understands the true meaning of the request, captivates the messenger and saves her father-in-law. |
| L90 | 97.29% | One lip (one fang, horn, etc.) of the creature reaches the sky, while the other drags along the ground. |
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 N4, ‘Fused ribs’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (22 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/N4 (accessed 8 August 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
22 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 22 traditions: Lithuanians, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Dargin (Dargwa), incl. Müregin, Khürkilin, Kubachi, Svans, Georgians, Kalmyk, Kazakh, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Darkhad, Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Shor, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Chulym Turks, Southern Altai: Teleut, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, China
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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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