The Mythology and Folklore Database
M109 - Tail in the ice hole, K1021, ATU 2.
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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
A zoomorphic character sits down, lowering his tail (penis) so that something edible will stick to it, but as a result he is left without a tail (penis) or dies. Cf. motifs M109A, M109C.Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I38 | 98.69% | There are creatures that combine the characteristics of dogs and humans (usually people with dog faces or heads). |
| I121 | 98.45% | Constellations (usually Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) are considered as two similar, paired objects. (For Africa, Eurasia and Alaska – paired names; for most of America – semantic association, but the names are not paired). |
| H54 | 98.35% | In order for a character's eyes to be (wide) open, their eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) must be raised, propped up, spread apart (rarely: cut off). |
| L72A | 97.96% | Fleeing for his life, the character throws behind him a comb (brush), which turns into an obstacle (almost always thickets) in the path of his pursuer. (In South America, this motif is most likely of European origin). See Andreev 1929, No. 313.I. |
| M140 | 97.87% | The character pretends to be dead, sick or infirm, is picked up, and eats the food that others are carrying – usually after first throwing it out of the cart, sleigh, sack, etc. |
| M57A1 | 97.81% | When a beautiful woman walks on the ground, jewels appear under her feet, flowers bloom, etc. |
| H46 | 97.75% | A character (usually God) is about to deprive people of their food (most often grain), but does not do so for the sake of the dog (and/or cat; rarely for the sake of birds). Either God gave the ear of corn to the dog, and the man took it for himself. |
| A23A | 97.75% | Arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide in favour of the one who first sees the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely. (In Uther 2004(1), No. 120: 87, the definition of the motif includes the detail that the winner looks not to the east but to the west and sees the tops of trees illuminated by rays of light. In Europe, in most cases (except for the Scots) that have been verified, this detail is indeed present. However, it is absent in American and some Asian traditions). |
| A23B | 97.60% | Two characters argue about who will be the first to see the rising sun. The winner is the one who first notices not the sun itself, but its reflection or the trees and mountains illuminated by its first rays. |
| E9I1 | 97.41% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a swan. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 83 traditions: Shilluk, Anuak, Murle, Me'en (Bodi), Didinga, Kanuri, Early Chinese written sources, Koreans, Ireland, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Basques, Sicily, Sicilians, France, Dutch, Flemish, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Poles, Czech, Czechs, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Western Sami, Norwegians, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Uzbek, Tajik, Abaza (Abazins), Ossetians, Georgians, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Anatolia Turks, Kurds, Kara Kalpak, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Forest Nenets, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Nganasans, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Dolgans, Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu, Udeghe, Nanai, Negidal, Forest (Upper Kolyma) Yukaghir, Chukchi, Gwich'in (Kuchin, Loucheux), Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), Copper, Potawatomi, Oto, Plains Cree, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Caddo, Choctaw, Chicasaw, Navajo, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Wallons, Picardie, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Dong, Maonan