Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A30 — The corpse-eating moon.
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 moon descends to earth to eat children, corpses or the bones of the dead.
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 1, Sun and Moon.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| D6A | 94.63% | The crocodile/caiman is the temporary or original owner of fire or lightning. |
| B9 | 92.85% | A huge amount of water is contained in the trunk of a tree, or the tree turns into water. |
| G5 | 89.96% | The fruits and shoots of various cultivated plants or the fruits of various wild plants grow on the branches of a single tree or on a single vine; the cultivated plant has a tree-like form that is not characteristic of it in nature. |
| F18B | 89.50% | After intercourse with a forbidden partner (incest, intercourse with an animal or spirit), a man's penis becomes so long that he is forced to carry it in a basket, etc. |
| A1A | 88.47% | Before the sun appeared, the world was lit by a large bird with bright colours (a parrot or toucan). |
| A26 | 88.47% | The bird embodies the sun, daylight; it can be caught, released, killed. |
| B25 | 88.47% | Characters who climb trees or vines and then fall turn into wild pigs or other game animals. |
| B75D | 88.47% | The sound of leaves or grass rustling in the wind has been heard since the time of creation. |
| F29A | 88.47% | To kill a woman's lover, who has the appearance of a worm or snake and crawls into her vagina from under the ground, boiling water, resin or hot coals are poured on him. |
| J12C | 88.47% | A girl meets her fiancé at a dance and then follows in his footsteps. See motif J12. |
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
10 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 10 traditions: Central Australia: Kaitish, Warramunga, Arunta (Aranda), Loritja (Kukatja), Pijandjara (Pitjantjara), Adnjamatana (Andjamathana, Wailpi), Aluridja, Walpiri (Walbiri), Aluridja, Matuntara (Maduntara), Nambutji, Wamma (=Wommana?), Melanesians and Papuans of Northern Solomons: Buka, Bougainville (Siuai, Buin), Toraja (Toradja), To Mori, Baree (=Eastern Toraja), Andamanese, Sanema, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Cubeo, Ashaninca (Campa), Machiguenga
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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