Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I46E — Rainbow sword.
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
OverviewRainbow - sword, cutting weapon.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature.
I46 has 5 other sub-motifs
RelatedI46. Rainbow â an ornamented part of clothing, bright fabric, decoration, belt.
I46a. The rainbow is associated with a woman, usually an elderly one.
I46b. The colour of the rainbow can be used to predict the harvest of individual crops.
I46c. The rainbow is a rope to which cattle are tied.
I46d. Rainbow â a hunting loop, a trap.
I46e. Rainbow - sword, cutting weapon.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| F5 | 98.31% | The character does not want to or cannot give all the suitors his daughters in marriage and turns them into girls of various animals. (Usually after the flood or at the beginning of time, men want to marry the only daughter of a deity or patriarch). |
| L94E | 98.31% | A supernatural character who helps the hero or heroine under certain conditions â the white wolf. |
| K80A1 | 94.39% | A bird (usually arising from the remains of the murdered person or embodying their soul) tells of the crime committed or takes revenge on the murderer itself. |
| I100C | 94.35% | God turned the husband into a cuckoo, and the wife and children into the Pleiades. |
| M159 | 94.23% | The strongest character (usually a lion) offers to divide the spoils (harvest). The more cunning character refuses his share, but remains unharmed. Usually a wolf (hyena, jackal) divides the spoils, giving the lion the larger share, but the lion beats him. The third character gives the lion everything. The lion asks who taught him to divide so well and receives the answer: the one whom the lion mauled. |
| C35A | 94.17% | A zoomorphic character gives wise advice concerning the state of the Sun. The advice is accepted, but the advisor is punished by the Sun or is henceforth pursued by the Sun. |
| K38D1 | 93.75% | Fearing a monster living in the water or wishing to end a flood or drought, a girl is sacrificed or voluntarily hides in the waters. |
| H7 | 93.52% | Death (as well as illness and old age) is a special character, distinct from the lord of the underworld. It takes away a person's soul or otherwise causes their death. |
| M176 | 93.21% | The characters agree to jump over a ditch, stream, fire, etc., or walk across a log, rope, etc. One or all of them {specified in brackets} fall. |
| M157A2 | 93.17% | The character claims that the calf (kid, etc.) was not born (brought) by a cow (goat, etc.) belonging to another owner, but by his own animal of a different species or male sex, or by an inanimate object (usually a cart). |
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
8 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Saudi Arabia, Malagasy, Mandingo (Manden, incl San, Samo), Kagoro, Bambara (Bamana), Malinke, Kassonke, Diula, Karachays, Balkar, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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