Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A2C — Extra suns – children of the chief, A736.1.4.1.
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 extra suns that existed in the past or may appear in the future are the children of the Sun-father. See motif A2A.
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 1, Sun and Moon.
A2 has 12 other sub-motifs
RelatedA2. There was a time when several, i.e. more than two, suns shone in the sky at the same time.
A2a. The world was or will be (almost) burned when several suns lit up or will light up simultaneously; or destructive heat (or light) once emanated from one sun.
A2a1. At first, the moon was as bright and hot as the sun.
A2b. In addition to the current sun and/or moon, other suns and moons shone in the sky, which were then destroyed. See motif A2A.
A2b1. Two or more suns shine in the sky. When the extra ones are destroyed, there is a danger that the last one will be destroyed along with them and darkness will ensue.
A2c. The extra suns that existed in the past or may appear in the future are the children of the Sun-father. See motif A2A.
A2c1. The Sun is going to have children. One of the animals warns that if the Sun has children, the world will burn. The Sun has to (refuse marriage and) remain childless.
A2c2. The catastrophe threatening the earth is associated with the appearance of not only several suns, but also several moons.
A2c3. In extraordinary circumstances, the moon or sun are not round, but have corners and edges.
A2d. Other suns illuminate other levels of the universe or will shine sequentially in the future.
A2e. The sun and/or moon – severed heads of anthropomorphic beings.
A2F. Suns grow on tree branches.
A2G. At different times throughout the day, different suns shine in the sky.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M187 | 95.02% | Participating in a race, a snail (mollusc, sea cucumber, etc.) defeats a faster opponent. |
| M183 | 93.81% | Numerous relatives of the character, who all look the same, work together to accomplish a task that is impossible for one person to do alone, while their competitors believe that the task was accomplished by only one person. Usually, the fast and slow characters agree to race (jump over an obstacle). The slow one places others who look like him at the finish line or along the entire distance, and they respond to the fast one on his behalf. The fast one does not notice the substitution and admits defeat. |
| K65B | 93.34% | Spirits (deities) or unpleasant animals (snakes, frogs, worms, etc.) are generated by the same first anthropomorphic pair or the same pair of first ancestors as humans (deities). |
| M131 | 93.11% | The character does not show that he has been caught by the tail or by the leg. The other thinks he has grabbed the root and lets go of the first one. (The variant is similar in meaning, although formally different. The American variants are most likely of African origin, but the turtle as a trickster is local, while in African variants the hare acts as the trickster). |
| K25A1 | 91.61% | A magical wife leaves her earthly husband when she finds her clothes, which he has hidden (often feathers, if she is a bird woman), persuades him to give them back, makes new ones or receives them from her relatives. (The variant in which the wife leaves her husband because she is offended is not entirely alternative, but in most texts it does not fit with the motif of found clothing). |
| I97 | 90.80% | Rainbow – hoofed animal (horse, bull, goat, sheep). |
| I104 | 90.57% | Stars are formed from particles of the body, fragments of a larger celestial body (usually the moon); stars (usually also the sun and moon) are formed from the body of a single being. |
| M185 | 89.79% | A fast-footed animal (a flightless bird) and a slow character agree to compete in running or jumping. The slow character secretly clings to the fast-footed one (or to a vehicle) and at the finish line pretends that he has run at the same time as him (jumped just as far) or before him. |
| F28A2 | 88.44% | The owner of the field, either intentionally or having misheard the question, replies that he grows penises. After that, penises grow in the field instead of crops. |
| H43 | 87.82% | One character creates people's bodies, while another brings them to life. |
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
27 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 27 traditions: Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Fon, Ewe, Mandjak, Mankanya, Pepel, Balant, Felupe, Diola (Jola), Torricelli family: Valman, Samap, Arapesh (Upper, Coastal), Monumbo, Lilau, Ngaimbom; Moando (Banara); Menya, Olo, Ontong Java, Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuria, Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Batak (Toba, Dairi), Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken), Mentawai, Northern Luzon: Apayao, Bontoc, Nabaloi (Ibaloi), Ifugao, Igorot (highland people, not specified), Ilocan, Ilongot, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanay, Tingian (Tinggian, Bilongan Itneg); Ibanag, Kasiguran Agta, Keley-i Kallahan, Semang, Senoi, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Northern Naga: Konyak, Lungshang, Wancho, Nokte, Moclum, Lunshan, Chang, Maring, Naga of Myanmar, Kachin (Singpho), Chak, Maria, Muria, and other South-Central Dravidians: Binjhwar, Bacop, Bhattra, Bom, Jhoria (=Jhodia), Gadaba (in Koraput, neighbors of Munda-speaking Gadaba), Duruwa (Parji), Mehtar; Pardhan, Tribal groups and castes of Central-Eastern India that speak Aryan languages: Dhoba (Dhobi), Halba (Halbi), Bhunjia, Lohar (Luhar, Luhara), Kahar, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Armenians, Mende, Loma, Gbunde (Gbandi, Bandi), China
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