Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A15 — Crossing paths.
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
OverviewAn eclipse or the appearance of spots on the lunar disc is explained by the fact that the moon or sun turns onto the wrong path or the paths of the luminaries intersect. See motif A14.
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 1, Sun and Moon.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| E24 | 96.59% | Joints appeared in humans after the first ancestor (or several first ancestors) fell from a height, breaking their arms and legs. |
| I82C | 93.79% | Venus or an unidentified star in the eastern and/or western sky – the wife of the Moon. See motif I82b. |
| F8 | 92.98% | In the beginning (.55.60.67.73.) women and men lived separately from each other, then came together. Cf. motif F45 (Amazons). |
| I82C1 | 89.71% | The Moon has two wives (usually the Morning Star and the Evening Star). With the caring one, he grows fat, with the other, he starves and grows thin. |
| E5C | 88.51% | The first humans or deities-ancestors descend to earth from the sky. |
| H1C | 85.23% | People cease to be reborn (or no longer come to the living) after the deceased is buried in the ground for the first time or someone tramples the earth on a fresh grave, preventing the deceased from rising from the grave. |
| J58C | 85.11% | A chain of arrows forms a bridge across a water barrier. |
| L45 | 84.94% | A strong character traps a weak one and leaves someone to guard the prey. The guard fails to fulfil his duties (usually tricked by the weak one), and the weak one escapes. {African borrowings in America are difficult to distinguish from possible local cases} |
| H24C | 84.68% | People open a vessel (a bundle, a basket, etc.) containing death (or old age, illness), and therefore they are mortal. |
| H36H | 84.22% | Creatures, including a frog or toad, must cross an obstacle. This does not go as planned and results in humans becoming mortal. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
16 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 16 traditions: Murle, Me'en (Bodi), Didinga, Efe Pygmies, Kango (Mbuti) Pygmies, Enenga, Mpongwe, Kuta (Koto), Nkomi, Masango, Mindumu, Mbede, Mitsogo, Bawunga, Ndumu (Ndumbo), Duma, Teke, (B)wende, Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Hausa, Teda (Tedaga), Southern Gur (Oti-Volta): Grusi, Kabiye, Kasena, Lyela (Lyele), Wala, Dyan, Bia: Anyi, Agni, Baule, Nsema, Mangareva, Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken), Inland Tlingit, Tlingit, Locono, Guiana Kariña, Kaliña, Galibi, Paresi, Nivakle (=Chulupi, Ashluslay, Ajlujlay)
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (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.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.
Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.
Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.