Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A40 — The Sun or Moon is married to a Toad/Frog.
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 Toad or Frog is the wife (or one of the wives) of the Sun or Moon. Traditions in which the frog jumps onto the face (chest, back) of the Moon and remains there are highlighted in italics; those in which the frog is visible on the lunar disc are marked with an asterisk; traditions in which the frog or toad is the wife of the Sun are marked with a hash (#).
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 5, Origin of human beings, ethnic groups, etiology of human anatomy, strange body configuration, ways of behavior, marriages before the establishment of the present norms.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| J34 | 98.38% | After killing a dangerous enemy, the heroes make a scarecrow out of him to frighten the household. |
| I9A | 98.22% | Zenith and/or nadir are considered together with the four cardinal directions as one (or two) more main directions. |
| K15C | 97.66% | The owner of stone (ice) clothing kills people. By hiding or replacing his clothing, the hero kills him. |
| C22 | 97.30% | During a severe drought or global fire, birds and animals are sent to the thunder gods living at the edge of the world to bring rain. The last of those sent achieves the goal. The toad plays an important role in the action. |
| C10 | 97.00% | During the flood, some birds or animals escape to a mountain, a tree, a boat, or by clinging to the sky; their tails or other parts of their bodies remain in the water and as a result acquire their current colour or shape. Cf. A2211.7 ("During the flood, birds cling to the sky; their tails acquire their current colour"). |
| B1G | 96.35% | Four brothers change the world, freeing it from monsters, transforming its inhabitants and obtaining valuable resources (water, fire, cultivated plants, etc.). Usually one of the brothers is the leader, and the others help him. All four often have a common name. |
| L98 | 96.20% | The demon that carries off children and threatens heroes, people, etc., is the eagle owl; there is a race of owls that is hostile to humans. |
| H24B | 96.20% | The character must open the vessel containing the soul of the deceased when he reaches the place or after a certain time has passed; if he opens it before the time is up, the soul flies away. See motif H24. |
| F28D | 95.63% | By masturbating with an artificial penis, a woman conceives children. |
| K21A | 95.55% | A celestial being marries an earthly woman. She longs to return to earth and secretly descends from her husband. |
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
22 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 22 traditions: Arapaho, Mandan, Gros Ventre, Crow, Hidatsa, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Twana (Skokomish), Nez Perce, Tillamook, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Flathead, Karok, Hupa, Chilula, Klamath, Modoc, Yurok, Yana, Cuna; XVI century data on Eastern Panama, Kogi (Cagaba), Sanha, Creols of Aritama Valley, Mai Huna (Coto, Orejon), Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Aguaruna, Huambiza, Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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