K50. An imaginary wife cuts off the enemy's head .31.41.-.43.46.50.

A person comes to the enemy disguised as a woman and kills him at night (usually cuts off his head and takes it with him).

Edda, Tlingit, Bellacula, Quakiutl, Nootka, Atna, Beaver, Chilcotin, Shuswap, Lillouet, Upper Chehalis, Cowlitz, Quileut, Tillamook, Alsea, Takelma, Blacklegged, Crowe, Mandan, Arapahoe , Kiowa, Tiwa (Taos).

Baltoscandia. Edda [giant Holyme stole Thor's hammer. Loki took Freya's feather outfit, flew to the yotuns, and found out that Hold was demanding Freya's hammer to return to his wife. Freya is furious. The people's father Heimdall advised Thor to wear a woman's outfit and pretend to be Freya. Loki, in the form of a maid, goes with him. The hold is surprised that the bride eats so much and her eyes sparkle so much. Loki explains that she hadn't eaten or slept for eight days because she was so eager to see the yotuns. Ogroom brings a hammer, Thor kills all giants, men and women, with it]: Elder Edda 1963:60-63 (commentary in Frog 2011:87).

NW Coast. The Tlingits [the leader's daughter slips on halibut mucus, scolds the halibut; they smear resin on the rock, glue the girl to her (does she die and/or becomes Halibut's wife?) ; her brother puts on her clothes, goes down to the bottom disguised as Halibut's wife; at night he cuts off his head, returns to the surface]: Swanton 1909, No. 10:38-39; bellacula [husband beats his wife; she asks let her go back to her parents; he climbs a tree with her, sharpens the top, puts her on a stake; her brother in the boat hears her screams; takes her off, her sister is already dead; he puts on her clothes, comes to her husband ; the husband's sister says that the daughter-in-law has men's arms and legs; at night, the imaginary wife cuts off her husband's head; his relatives kill the avenger and all his men; see motive J1]: McIlwraith 1948 (2): 451-452; quakiutl [the jealous husband tells his wife to climb the hemlock for branches; ties it to the top, cuts off the lower branches; the woman's four brothers hear her screams; the youngest manages to climb, but the sister is already dead; The brothers put her clothes and scalp on the younger one; he comes to her husband disguised as his wife; the husband's younger brother says that the daughter-in-law has a man's hand; at night, the victim's brother cuts off her husband's head and carries it away]: Boas 1910, No. 30:401-413; Nootka [the husband ties his wife to the top of the tree, cuts off branches, leaves; the woman's brothers hear her screams but cannot climb the tree; the drops of her sweat turn into strawberries; the younger brother unties her, but already dead; takes her form, comes to her husband; the husband's mother suspects that the wife is not a woman; at night, the brother of the murdered woman cuts off her husband's head, brings it to his father and brothers]: Sapir, Swadesh 1939, No. 18:77-81.

Subarctic. Atna [many go to get the chief's head, no one comes back; the Raven tells his grandmother that he will get it; the chief suggests that he 1) climb into the steam room, throw hot stones there, Raven digs a hole under the floor, hides in it; fat is poured there, everything burns; when the fire goes out, the Raven comes out; 2) the chief lets an icy wind into the steam room; the Raven has a hare skin with him, he turns it into a hare cape, stays alive; 3) the chief tells you to swim, the Raven dives, breathes through the tubular stem of wild celery; the leader's men poke on the bottom with a knife; the raven bleeds from his nose to think he has been killed; he swims out; 4) they tell him to play, throw him at a dug knife, the Raven dodges, throws a local man, who is cut in half; the raven pretends to leave, turns into a woman, returns; the chief says what a woman is for him; his men notice a crow's tail; an imaginary wife tells the chief that his beard is pricked; the chief gives a razor to shave him, the Raven cuts his throat, cuts off his head, walks away, tells people that their uncle has fallen asleep; flies out the chimney, puts traps behind them, the pursuers die in them; the raven brings the chief's head to his grandmother]: Tansy 1982:23-28; (cf. beaver [Rabbit Tail stole the man's wife, drove him across the lake; she plucked the partridge, left a trail of feathers; the husband and his men came to the old man and the old woman, found out that the KH had horns on his head, it is difficult to kill him; killed an old man and an old woman; secretly met his wife, told her to ask KX to sharpen her knife, in the evening she made love to KH longer so that he would fall asleep more soundly; cut off his head with a sharpened knife; she did everything; because the horns were on the sides of his head, the KX slept on his back, it was easy for him to cut his throat; the husband and wife were running away; her husband's men killed the KX's men, broke their boats on the shore, returned home]: Goddard 1916:268-270).

The coast is the Plateau. Chilkotin [Ferret's wife (Fisher) disappears; his friend Marten makes the baby able to speak; he explains that the mother was taken away by a man; Ferret and Marten come to the lake and ask two women about their customs, they kill them, put their skin on; Marten throws salmon caviar to the girl so hard that she hurts her; the girl screams that it is not her sister; at night, imaginary women cut off her head kidnapper, run away with the kidnapped]: Farrand 1900, No. 27:41-42; shuswap [Copper kidnaps Otter's wife (Fisher); brothers Otter and Marten meet Medi's two sisters (Rat and Mouse); questioned about their normal behavior is killed, their skin is put on; on Marten, the skin does not cover his genitals and faces around his eyes; the younger sister of the dead notices that the Mouse looks strange; at night, the Otter and Marten cut off Medi's head is thrown into the lake; they return home with the Otter's wife; Medi's blood drips, his younger sister thinks he's drinking; Medi's people call waterfowl to reach his head; Loon dives and brings her head, Copper revives]: Teit 1909a, No. 16:675-277; lillouette [wife takes Lynx as a lover; husband tells her to climb a tree, puts her on a sharp top of her head like a stake; women's brothers ask people- animals help; only the Snail climbs the slippery trunk, but the woman is already dead; one of the brothers puts on her clothes and wig, goes to bed; cuts her husband's throat at night]: Teit 1912b, No. 33: 339-340; quileout [Wadswads dresses up as his sister, comes to her murderer husband; imaginary wife pretends to be on her period; the old man notices that his wife rubs the roots like a man; at night B . cuts off the killer's head, brings people]: Andrade 1931, No. 24:69-71; Upper Chehalis [the girl promises to marry only the one who defeats her in the fight; defeats Wolf, Puma, Bear, Owl, Hawk; Xwaips ("mountain eagle") turns a cedar branch into a dwarf, suggests that he fight for him, for the fifth time the dwarf throws the girl to the ground; S. sprinkles ash on the dwarf to make it look like he's long ago did not go anywhere; the dwarf tells the girl that S. defeated her; she goes to bed with S., but knows that he did not fight; every day the wife brings hazel grouse, goose or some other bird, says it's a hawk for caught her; S. suspects that his wife has a lover; makes wings for herself, flies like a bird, sees his wife with a hunter; he shoots a bird 5 times, S. hits arrows; hunter: so I'm going to die; S. , hit him with a club, cut off her head, hung it over his wife's bed; blood is dripping; in the morning S. took his wife to her parents, killed him on the way, tied it to the top of the cedar, making the trunk smooth and slippery; her blood became strawberries; her relatives came to eat berries, she started screaming that it was her blood; no one could climb the trunk, Blue Jay brags that she would climb but fell; only a little bird climbs, lowers her body; the woman has 5 brothers, the eldest dressed as a woman - does not look like; the same others; only the youngest looks like her sister; comes to Sh., he believes that his wife has come to life; 4 nights the imaginary wife does not give herself hug; on the fifth, S. fell asleep himself, the young man cut off his head and put it back; Blue Jay suspects something from the very beginning; after 5 days he decides to see - his owner is dead]: Adamson 1934, No. 54:112- 116; Cowlitz [Wild Cat and Puma live together; Wild Cat hides that he has a woman; she pushed him into the fire, Wild Cat explains to Puma that he fell by accident; then confesses; Puma tells a woman to lubricate the Wild Cat's burns with medicine; a black cloud carried away the woman when she was digging roots, there was a child left; the Cougar went to look for the Cloud, he killed him; Puma's sister teaches his son and Wild Cat to kill two girls, put on their clothes, come to the Cloud; they come, mistook them for girls, burn the Cloud in his house; Puma's wife gave birth to a girl from the Cloud; playing with other children, she rips their eyes out; flies away to heaven]: Wilson 1998:121-124; tillamook [an enemy from heaven kills a man, blows his head; his two sons take to heaven, making a chain of arrows; asking the murderer's two wives about their customs , stretch their skin; come to their husband in their guise; at night they cut off their husband's head, steal their father's head, bring them both to the ground; see motifs J4, M49]: Jacobs 1959, No. 8:25-28; alsea [like tillamook ; husband is surprised that the youngest wife hits the water while jumping into a boat]: Frachtenberg 1920, No. 10, 11:125-149; cous: Jacobs 1940, No. 8 [heavenly leader decapitated Hawk; two sons do killed a chain of arrows, go up to heaven; on the way, they ask the chief's two wives, put on their clothes, the wives promise to go with them to the ground; they come to the chief under their guise; they forget that they should not give food to two old people (Cranes?) ; they screamed, but did not hear them; jumping into the boat, one of the "wives" slipped and said that she had a heavy luggage; the chief's younger brother notices his daughter-in-law's testicles, they did not believe him; they took their father's head, the head of the "husband" was cut off; when blood is shed, the husband's brother says that the daughter-in-law wet herself; the brothers take their wives, go down to the ground; the father's head is dry, they put the head of the murdered leader on the body; therefore, hawk small head]: 235-238; Saint Clair 1909a, No. 6 [the older brother was making a boat, his dog next to him; a man appeared, cut off his head, disappeared; the youngest found the body, the dog barks, pointing upwards; the younger shoots into the sky, makes a chain of arrows, comes to people dancing with her older brother's head; finds out where the murderer's wife is; asks her about her behavior, kills, puts on her skin; stumbles, jumping in her husband's boat, he is surprised; gives edible rhizomes to the old man and his wife; they are surprised, they say that this woman is from the ground; fortunately they have not been heard; she cries when she sees her brother's head on the roof, says that she burned her hands about a hot pot and smoke eats his eyes; the boy notices that the woman looks like a man; the younger brother holes all the boats except one; at night he cuts off her husband's head; his mother raises the alarm, for she blood flows; the youngest carries the elder's head, goes down to the ground; the head grows on the fifth attempt, the eldest turns into a woodpecker, his head is red with blood]: 32-34; takelma [someone (probably Sun) kills the Otter; the two sons of the victim see a bow and arrow, a shell, a harpoon in the house; ask the mother's grandmother who is the owner; she lies that she is, they suspect the truth; the brothers go up the river; they kill two daughters of the Sun who come for resin, stretch their skins; when jumping into a boat, one brother stumbles; the old man suspects that they are not daughters of the Sun; in the house of the Sun, the Otter's heart is smoked on resin; at night Brothers kill the Sun, bring their father's heart home; since then, the otter skin has been black]: Sapir 1909, No. 17:155-163.

Plains. Blacklegs (piegan) [Red-haired kills a man; his widow promises to marry another if he brings the killer's scalp; another comes to an old woman whose son was also killed by Red-haired; she gives he has a horny awl, turns him into a pretty woman; an imaginary woman comes to Red-haired; he demands that she decorate his moccasins and leggings with porcupine needles in a day; ants work for her; Red-haired spends the night with her; magpies scream that the young man has men's eyes, but Red-haired's mother beats them; the next day, the wife kills the Red-haired by stabbing an awl in his ear; his younger brother tells them about it the mother, she follows; the old assistant kills her (when she enters her home, where the man hides, a stone falls on her); the old woman returns the man to the appearance of a man, he marries his beloved]: Josselin de Jong 1914:97-101; Crowe [Yellow Greaves climbed into the hole to bait eagles; a rock rolled down and closed the exit; Jn asked the mouse for help, she took him down the hole to another world ; there the old man White Owl gave a single arrow and ordered the monstrous moose to be killed; ZhN did not eat the soup served - there was a human hand in it; the bullfinch advised to contact the moles; the mole dug an underground passage under the moose, to where his heart was; JN pierced the moose with an arrow and ran; the elk plowed the ground with a horn, rushed after him, but fell dead; JN brought the tip of the horn to the old man; he asked to bring the head of the Red-haired ; the bullfinch advises to contact an ant woman; JN exchanged bodies with her, brought a louse with her; Red-haired and her mother live on the island; the ant gave a corn pemmican for the dog, she transported it to the island ; while the dog was swimming, JN put pemmican in her mouth; Red-haired's mother suspects deception, but the son lay down with the imaginary ant woman at night; she evaded copulation, and when Red-haired fell asleep, cut off his head and put a louse in her place; she answered Red-haired's mother, and when her voice weakened, his mother came in, saw her son killed, rushed in pursuit; JN managed to swim across the ant; the stalker came , she had a spear on her forehead, she began to hammer a typical rock, inside which there was an ant with a JN, but the ant immediately repaired the damage with its saliva; they opened the door slightly, the stalker stuck her head they shut the door, cutting off their heads; swapped their bodies back, but not their armpits, so women's armpits are more muscular than men's; the ant advises asking the old man for his strength for bringing his head; JN received the power of an owl and a deer; on the way back, JN meets three women who turn into an otter, a deer and an elk, run away; the fourth remains a female wife to JN; she has seven brothers; JN and his wife came to the youngest; when the others came, they teased their son-in-law, throwing their limbs over; JN called an owl, which began to torment the deer, the brothers were in pain, left JN alone; the younger brother gave to his bear's son-in-law, since then his wife's relatives have been giving gifts to her husband; everyone has begun to think what to become; - Trees? - They're dying. - Rocks? - They crumble from time to time. - Water? - It dries up. To the stars {Ursa Major}! The younger brother took his tame cougar, this is a star near the handle of the {Alcor}] bucket: McCleary 1997:65-69; mandan [the hunter goes to another world; Big Man asks him to bring the head of the Striped, whose hair of different colors; a deer woman turns the hero into a woman from his knees and above; a water serpent carries him across a pond; the hero becomes the wife of the Striped, whose sister is an ogre with a sharp ledge on back; she notices that her daughter-in-law does not have women's legs; at night, the hero cuts off his "husband"'s head; the boy hides it in his house; the house turns to stone when Striped's sister tries to plunge it into the roof her spearhead; she gets stuck and dies; the Deer woman restores the hero's masculine appearance; he brings the Big Man a trophy head]: Bowers 1950:289-292; arpaho [father tells the lazy son that He cannot reach cannibals; he sets off; a woman in an iron tip gives him her body, teaches him what to do; raising her hand, an imaginary woman calms the geese guards; marries the eldest of the seven cannibal brothers; the boy notices that a woman has the muscles of a man; the wife looks in her husband's head, putting him to sleep, cuts off his head, runs away; hides in an iron tip; cannibals stick him inside his head; the mistress of the tipi cuts them off with a door; the young man returns to his father]: Dorsey, Kroeber 1903, No. 69, 70:130-133; Kiowa [the chief tells his son that a lazy person will not kill the Red-haired; the old woman tells the young man to dress up a woman, warns that the home of seven red brothers is guarded by ducks and an eagle; the elder brother marries an imaginary woman, the youngest notices that she has men's elbows; at night, the imaginary wife cuts off her husband's head, runs away; the spider hides the young man; when six brothers look into her house, she cuts off their heads with a door; the young man scalps his happy father]: Parsons 1929a, No. 37:78-80.

The Great Southwest. Tiva (Taos) [The spider turns a loser into a woman; an imaginary woman marries the chief; kills him, becomes a man again; now all the girls want to marry him; the king's daughter cannot Solve his riddles, he marries her]: Espinosa 1936a, No. 62:127.