Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A28 — The Sun and the Moon: smart and dumb.
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
OverviewThe clever sun-man involves the foolish moon in various tricks that the latter is incapable of devising himself. Trying to repeat the sun's actions, the moon suffers a fiasco. Cf. motif B1F.
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 1, Sun and Moon.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| B1F | 99.87% | In the era of creation, two men have a common origin, are not antagonists, and display their characteristics in a series of episodes. One is intelligent and successful, the other is simple-minded and irresponsible. |
| M6 | 99.65% | A young man or girl spends night in the forest. The forest partridge (Tinamus sp.) provides him or her a fire, a shelter and/or a hammock but takes them away and flies away itself when the person does something wrong |
| G12B | 99.64% | Cultivated plants – a gift from a male star or female star. |
| E21 | 99.52% | A child catches fish (with poison), or fish poison is secreted from his body. Fish or water snakes kill him. Death is avenged. |
| L82 | 99.52% | A person deliberately or accidentally burns his foot in a fire or burns himself completely; he turns into a demonic creature. See motif L9 (man with a sharp foot). |
| M29QQ | 99.52% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| A22D | 99.48% | The burned character turns into a constellation or a dark spot on the Milky Way. |
| B114 | 99.48% | A woman or a man (usually old people) turn into anteaters (the origin of anteaters). |
| B24A | 99.48% | After a character surrounds a group of people with a circle of feathers or throws feathers into their dwellings, the people turn into wild pigs or peccaries. |
| B36B | 99.48% | Birds find their voices by pecking at a large reptile and smearing themselves with the fluids that flow out of its body. |
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
21 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 21 traditions: Melanesians and Papuans of Bismark Archipelago: New Britain (Paparatava, Lakalai, Kuni, Sulka, Gazelle peninsula), New Ireland, St Matthias Group, Mioko (Melanesians between New Britain and New Ireland), Karijona, Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Bakairi, Kamayura, Trumai, Bororo, Umotina (Umutina), Cayapo (incl. Kubenkranken, Pau d’Arco, Shikrin or Xikrin), Canela: Ramkokamekra, Apaniekra, Craho, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje), Sherente, Cariri, Kamakan; Kutasho, Chamacoco (Ishir), Mataco, Ofaie, Guarani of Paraguay and Brazil: Caygua, Mbia, Apapocuva, Nyandewa, Chiripa, Puelche
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