Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A32DD — Man with brushwood on the 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 lunar disc shows the figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic character carrying a bundle of wood or brushwood.
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations.
A32 has 19 other sub-motifs
RelatedA32. A figure or imprint of some creature or object is visible on the lunar disc. Statistical calculations also include motifs A32A – A32J (a rabbit, frog, predatory animal, human, tree, etc. are visible on the moon).
A32a. The figure or imprint of a rabbit or hare is visible on the lunar disc.
A32b. The figure or imprint of a toad or frog is visible on the lunar disc; the moon is associated with this animal.
A32b1. A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon Man and is now visible in the silhouette of the moon spots.
A32c. The figures of a man and a dog are visible (or should have been visible) on the lunar disc.
A32c1. The figure or imprint of a predatory mammal (fox, wolf, dog, coyote, jaguar, lion) is visible on the lunar disc. Either this animal is associated with the moon, belongs to it. See motif A34.
A32d. The figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic creature is visible on the lunar disc.
A32d1. Cain and Abel are associated with the moon, usually distinguishable (both or only Cain) in the silhouette of lunar spots.
A32d2. A man with a pitchfork in his hands can be seen in the silhouette of the moon's spots.
A32dd. The lunar disc shows the figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic character carrying a bundle of wood or brushwood.
A32de. A headless man is visible on the lunar disc.
A32e. On the lunar (rarely: solar) disc, a character holding an object or animal is visible. See motif A32D.
A32f. On the lunar disc, a character is visible who has gone to fetch water and/or is holding a vessel for liquid in his hands. See motif A32D.
A32g. On the lunar disc, a character can be seen holding onto a tree or bush and ending up on the moon with them. See motif A32D.
A32h. A tree, bush, branch, snag, etc. are visible on the lunar disc. See motif A32G.
A32i. A shepherd (shepherd and girl, shepherd and his flock, dogs) can be seen on the lunar disc.
A32j. A shaman with a tambourine ascends to the moon and remains there, visible in the silhouette of the lunar spots.
A32k. A character, discernible in the silhouette of the moon's spots, first headed for the sun and only then reached the moon, or the Sun and the Moon argued over who he should belong to.
A32l. The silhouette of a certain character is visible on the solar disc. Or it is said that the character fell into the sun and remained there.
A32m. The moon is called the "Gypsy sun".
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K131A | 99.92% | Several animals (often a lion, a falcon, an ant) argue (usually over prey or habitat). The hero resolves their dispute, and they grant him the ability to take on their form (to possess their qualities). |
| K128A | 99.90% | Each of the three brothers brings the princess (prince) a gift of fruit (less often fish, etc.) and encounters a character who punishes rudeness and rewards politeness. As a result (after additional trials), the youngest brother enters into the desired marriage. |
| J51A | 99.88% | To climb a rock or tower, one must stick bones into it and climb them like a ladder. |
| H7G | 99.85% | A person sees many burning candles or lamps. When one of them burns out, someone dies. |
| B104A | 99.84% | The son was about to eat some meat (chicken). At that moment, his father came in, and the son hid the meat so as not to share it with him. When his father left and the son took out what he had hidden, the meat turned into a toad (snake) and jumped on his face. |
| K25A4A | 99.84% | A young woman finds herself in the power of a water creature, and when she comes ashore, she is chained. To free the woman, the chain must be broken. |
| K33A2 | 99.84% | A brother takes his sister to her fiancé. She cannot hear her brother's words, and the witch distorts them (as if the brother is telling his sister to throw herself into the water, to blind her, etc.). Having got rid of the heroine, the witch replaces her with her own daughter. |
| M38C3 | 99.84% | A conceited smith attempts to rejuvenate an old woman (man). His magic helper tries to save the victim but all that he do is to transform the woman into an animal, usually a monkey |
| I37D1 | 99.84% | St. Peter secretly eats bread, and when Christ asks him what he is doing, he chokes, spits out the crumbs, and they turn into mushrooms. |
| I59B2 | 99.84% | The Milky Way – St. James' Way. |
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
23 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 23 traditions: Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), Duala (Douala), Basa (Basaá), Kwiri (Kweli), Isubu, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Ireland, Wales, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Aragon, Sicily, Sicilians, France, Dutch, Flemish, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Poles, Czech, Czechs, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Lithuanians, Livonians, Western Sami, Wallons, Picardie, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio)
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