Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L88 — The demon comes to life from touch.
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 man kills a demon, but when he touches its remains some time later, it comes to life.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
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 |
|---|---|---|
| B99 | 99.99% | A person or their head left on a tree turns into an insect nest. |
| J15A | 99.99% | Setting off on a journey (usually in search of a fiancé, husband, or relatives), a woman finds herself in the lair or settlement of large dangerous predators - pumas or jaguars. See motif J15. |
| I5A | 99.94% | The tapir is associated with the upper world (thunder, sky, moon). |
| K13D | 99.94% | A group of boys reaches the sky, the last one's leg is cut off or torn off. |
| K19F | 99.94% | A star or many stars descend from the sky to work in the fields. See motif K19B. |
| M139 | 99.94% | The fox caught the birds and put them in a bag. Another character secretly replaced them with thorns. |
| B24 | 99.91% | People who have entered into conflict or violated a prohibition are transformed into wild boars or peccaries. |
| B63 | 99.91% | Children lie to their mother, pretending to work in the fields. When the deception is revealed, they are left without a harvest and are transformed into atmospheric phenomena or celestial objects. |
| E19 | 99.91% | Narcotic plants arise from the body of a human being torn to pieces by others. |
| F75 | 99.91% | A hunter sees a tapir summoning a woman who lives in the water with a secret signal; she emerges from the lake or river, and the tapir mates with her. The hunter himself summons the woman and becomes her lover. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
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Cite this map
Distribution of the traditions attesting motif L88, ‘The demon comes to life from touch.’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (7 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/L88 (accessed 8 August 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
7 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Waiwai, Trio, Wayana, Aparai, Wayapi, Emerillon, Aguaruna, Huambiza, Urarina, Shipibo, Conibo, Setebo
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
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