Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
F36 — Children against the lover.
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
Overview(Adopted) children of a woman or man kill the lover (or spouse of non-human nature) of their father or (adoptive) mother.
Berezkin category: Gender and sex
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| D4D | 96.85% | The opossum obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. |
| A24 | 95.78% | The first ancestors live in twilight. When they first find themselves in the rays of the sun, they (spontaneously or by someone's will) perish, turning into animals, spirits, or stones. |
| B62 | 95.63% | Man believes that vultures live better than humans, changes his appearance to that of a vulture. The former vulture lives with the man's wife, and the man usually does not like his new life. |
| L26 | 95.44% | During the (first) initiation, supernatural beings teach boys rituals and kill them for violating rules related to the consumption and distribution of food. |
| M121 | 95.44% | A louse or other similar creature (flea, tick, firefly) is sent to follow a certain character. |
| G14 | 95.33% | A man swallowed by a water monster is carried away to an underwater or overseas world, obtains plants, and returns to people. |
| K11 | 95.33% | Brothers (brother and sister) kill a monstrous bird. Its eyes turn into heavenly bodies (among the Oaxacan Indians) or something else (among the present-day Condors of the Yokuts). |
| J24 | 95.25% | The hero, ground into powder, is reborn. |
| L58 | 95.14% | A man refuses to give food to his closest relatives or spouse; as punishment, he or his food changes its nature. |
| B2B | 94.71% | The earth feeds on the people buried in it. See motif B2A. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
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Cite this map
Distribution of the traditions attesting motif F36, ‘Children against the lover.’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (40 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/F36 (accessed 8 August 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
40 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 40 traditions: Ngbakka, Mbum (incl Mbai), Mundang, Fali, Tupuri, Maya (=Bali), Nyong, Hare (K'ahsho Got'ine), Tahltan, Koyukon, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Menominee, Arapaho, Mandan, Arikara, Pawnee, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, Crow, Carrier, Alabama, Koasati, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Southern Paiute, Jicarilla, Popoloca; Tlapanec, Pipil, Mixtec, Trique, Cuicatec; Amuzgo, Zapotec, Chatino, Tzotzil, Chorti, Kekchi; Mopan, Sibundoy: Kamsa, Ingano (Inga), Sicuani, Yaruro, Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Kofan, Chayahuita , Karijona, Kabiyari, Yukuna (Yucuna), Tariana, Witoto, Ocaina, Mojo, Baure, Itonama, Kanichana, Chiquito, Manasi, Paresi, Chamacoco (Ishir), Berbers of Algeria
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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