Yu.E. Berezkin, E.N. Duvakin

Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area

Analytical catalogue

Introduction
Bibliography
Ethnicities and habitats

L40A. A woman takes the young man's reflection for her own. .24.42.43.68.

An ugly woman sees the reflection of a young man sitting on a tree in the water and thinks that she has become beautiful.

NW Coast. Bellacula: Boas 1898 [Anutkoats plays with girls; chewing resin, Snanaik comes up; girls ask for resin, S. throws everyone into his basket; A. cuts a hole with a knife, everyone gets out outside, except for one girl; her mother cries, snot turns into a boy, he grows up quickly; hides in a tree above the river; S. takes his reflection for her own; then sees a young man, asks make her just as beautiful; he says she will have to cut off her head to do this; kills S.; revives dried children in her house, brings them home; marries, he has a son; he tells his wife that his name is Son Suns; eagle down rises to the sky]: 83-86; McIlwraith 1948 (2) [children play; cannibal Snik puts them in her basket, carries them home; children cut a hole with a knife, run away; one girl does not managed to get out; her mother cries, snot turns into a young man; he hides in a tree above the river; S. sees his reflection, dives behind him; then decides that this is her own reflection, admires him; after learning the truth , asks the young man to make her just as beautiful; he breaks her head between stones; burns the corpse, the ashes turn into mosquitoes; the young man finds the girl in S.'s house, brings her to her mother; returns to his father (unnamed)]: 441-444; quakiutl [someone steals salmon; a boy hides, wounds a forest man with an arrow; in the morning, along with his father and younger brother, he comes on bloody trails to a measles home; hides in a tree; the demon's daughter takes his reflection for her own, wonders how good she is; the boy drops a branch; the girl calls him to help her wounded father; he quietly pulls out an arrow, demon offers him his daughter, he refuses, asks instead for his image to be placed on his family coat of arms; no one else has such a scary mask now]: Wallace, Whitaker 1981:158- 161; chickpea [the cannibal seals the children's eyes with resin, takes the children in the basket; some run away along the way, the cannibal smokes the rest; women cry; one blows her nose, a boy emerges from the snot; hides in a tree above the water; the Resin Woman sees his reflection, thinks it's her; he drops a leaf; she asks him to go down, make her beautiful; he breaks her head between stones; comes to into her house; the pot screams, calls the mistress; the cannibal comes to life, comes; her heart hangs on the wall; the young man pierces him with an arrow; the woman dies; he revives the children, they return to their parents]: Boas 1895, No. 9 [ A young man goes to save children]: 114; 1916, No. 6 [Forest Woman; three boys run away; a cannibal asks Snot to be her husband]: 903-907; Sapir, Swadesh 1939, No. 21 [Resin Woman; one girl runs away]: 89-97; poppies [like a noodle; the cannibal herself reports that her heart is hanging at home; leads Snot there, he pierces her heart with an arrow; without a watchdog pot; see motif J58, motif K27]: Densmore 1939:211-213 .

The coast is the Plateau. Quarry [a cannibal seals her children's eyes with resin, takes it away in a basket; one runs away, talks; parents cry; a woman's tear turns into something alive; she puts it under her clothes, gives birth to a boy; he goes to look for a cannibal; climbs a tree; the cannibal takes his reflection for her own, enjoys his beauty; he laughs; she promises not to eat him, but to make him a husband, leads him to herself; he promises make it beautiful; to do this, you have to put your head on a stone, hit others on top; he kills her; revives the dead from their bones; in the village he shoots arrows into the sky, they form a chain; he climbs on sky; then the arrows fall down]: Jenness 1934, No. 17:164-165.

Southern Amazon. Iranshe [see motif A1; a young man goes to look for a wife; climbs a tree above the river; Mae - do - sol (Euchroma gigantea) takes his reflection for his own, wonders how beautiful she is; the young man says she is ugly; she leads him to her, gives chicha from excrement; he leaves; asks Mae - da - agua (water spirits with fish tail, long hair, two horns) transport it across the river; M. intend to fry and eat it; the young man gives their children manioc starch, who teach him to jump off their father's back in the middle rivers, swim fast to the shore; father turns children into jati s; a young man comes to the Sun's village, becomes the new sun; see motif A1]: Pereira 1985, No. 4:45-55 (episode reflected on p.45-46).