Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I63 — The Milky Way – the tapir's path.
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 Milky Way is the tapir's trail; the tapir can be seen on the Milky Way.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| C37 | 99.99% | The sloth causes a global catastrophe or saves people from it. |
| K27H | 99.99% | The hero must carve an image of the character's head, which he never shows. It usually adorns a wooden bench. |
| B58 | 99.96% | After the first ancestors steal the original fire, a forest bird the size of a partridge (Penelope sp.; Anhima cornuta; etc.; jacu, paujil) swallows a hot coal. As a result (except for the Andoc), its neck turns red. |
| D4P | 99.96% | The parrot obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. Australian data is not taken into account, as the common origin of the motif in America and Australia is excluded. |
| D6B | 99.96% | The one who is burned turns into a crocodile/caiman. |
| E21 | 99.91% | A child catches fish (with poison), or fish poison is secreted from his body. Fish or water snakes kill him. Death is avenged. |
| L82 | 99.91% | 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 | 99.91% | See the motives in square brackets. |
| B28A | 99.90% | A character pinned to the ground by a rod, transported somewhere to the edge of the world and associated with an object that continues to influence people. |
| B32 | 99.90% | As a result of conflict with their husbands, women turn into fish. |
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
Cite this map
Distribution of the traditions attesting motif I63, ‘The Milky Way – the tapir's path.’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (13 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/I63 (accessed 20 September 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
13 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 13 traditions: Akawai, Locono, Wayapi, Emerillon, Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Tupinamba, Kanamari, Chacobo, Mehinaku, Waura, Yaulapiti, Bakairi, Kuikuro, Kalapalo, Calapalo, Kamayura, Botocudo
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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