The Mythology and Folklore Database
M124 - Ox Tail, ATU 1004.
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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
The character buries the tail (head, ears) of a domestic animal, claiming that it has fallen into the ground. Usually, he asks others to pull on the tail (head), and when it "breaks off," he accuses others of stealing the animal.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 |
|---|---|---|
| M154 | 97.69% | A man who has learned the language of animals laughs when he hears them talking. His wife or mother-in-law (rarely someone else) demands that he explain what is going on. The man is ready to comply with his wife's demand, even though he knows he will die if he reveals the secret. Usually, he hears the domestic animals condemning their master's stupidity and decides not to say anything. |
| M157A2 | 97.53% | The character claims that the calf (kid, etc.) was not born (brought) by a cow (goat, etc.) belonging to another owner, but by his own animal of a different species or male sex, or by an inanimate object (usually a cart). |
| M118 | 97.37% | The character obtains valuables or finds refuge inside an animal, tree, or building. Later, he himself, or more often someone else following his example, destroys the source of the valuables or makes access to it impossible or too dangerous. |
| K56 | 97.31% | One of the girls, young women or young girls (wives of one man) meets a character who is able to reward and punish. She behaves correctly and receives a reward. Another (others) tries to repeat everything, but behaves incorrectly and is punished (rarely: not rewarded). |
| M180 | 97.16% | A zoomorphic character invites another to visit, but serves food in such a way that the other cannot take it in his mouth. The other, inviting the first to visit, puts him in a similar position. |
| K80A1 | 96.85% | A bird (usually arising from the remains of the murdered person or embodying their soul) tells of the crime committed or takes revenge on the murderer itself. |
| B98A | 96.79% | The bat becomes an outcast among other creatures (usually after trying to join either the animals or the birds). |
| K33D | 96.71% | A man discovers that a beautiful girl is hiding under the guise of an ugly hag or under the skin of an animal. |
| K32D | 96.70% | As a result of the antagonist's intrigues, a noble girl (young woman) or boy (young man) is turned into a servant or servant, sent to graze cattle or chase birds in the field. Everything is revealed – usually after people hear a song in which the hero or heroine tells about the substitution. Most often, the hero or heroine goes to relatives or (less often) to the groom. The deceiver accompanies her or him and is accepted as a relative or bride. The deceiver is executed. Comoros: the deceiver becomes the mistress, turning the girl's parents into peacocks. |
| M106 | 96.61% | The character calls himself by a fictitious name, which others understand not as a proper name, but as a common noun with a specific meaning. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 75 traditions: Algeria Arabs, Arabs of Sudan, Sudanese, Shilluk, Anuak, Murle, Me'en (Bodi), Didinga, Somali, Malawi (incl Nyanja, Banyanja, Manganja), Tumbuka (incl Henga), Nsenga, Matengo, (Ba)Wenda, Kerewe, Sukuma, Kwaya, Kumbi, Busiba, Gusii, Suba, Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Emberre, Mwimbe, Safwa, Mkulwe, Ngonde, Kinga, Nyakusa, Nyamwanga, Ganda, (Ba)Nyoro, Nyankole, Masaba (Gisu), Luia (=Luyia, Haya, Luhya, Bantu Kawirondo; incl. Vugusu, Maragoli), Rwanda (incl Hutu, Tutsi, Kiga), Rundi, (Ma)Shi, Banyabungu; Rega, Mandingo (Manden, incl San, Samo), Kagoro, Bambara (Bamana), Malinke, Kassonke, Diula, Dan (=Gio), Guro (=Kweni, incl Gagu, Neio), Toura, Mano, Ngere, Beng, Guro , Songhai, Northern Gur (Oti-Volta): Mamprussi, Dagomba, Dagari (Dagara; incl Lodaga), Bassari, Mosi, Nankanse, Konkomba, Moba; Ditammari, Nyende, Bulsa (pl Builsa, Bulo), Bia: Anyi, Agni, Baule, Nsema, Tenda (incl Bedik, Basari), Biafada, Nalu, Pajadinka, Badyara (Badiaranke), Sandawe, Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Early Chinese written sources, Lavrung, Jiarong; Qiang (incl rGyalrong), Ireland, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Aragon, Sicily, Sicilians, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, 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, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Karelians, Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Danish, 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), Yagnobi, Tajik, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Anatolia Turks, Uyghur, 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, Mordvins, Udmurt, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Cherokee, Kpelle (incl Kono), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Wallons, Picardie, Salars, Galicians, Icelanders, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Bhutan, Frisians