Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A32I — Shepherd 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
OverviewA shepherd (shepherd and girl, shepherd and his flock, dogs) can be seen on the lunar disc.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| B108 | 100.00% | An anthropomorphic character that has fallen apart into pieces turns into snow. |
| K156 | 100.00% | A girl pretends to be a man. To determine who it really is, flowers are placed under the pillow or mattress. If a man is sleeping, they will remain fresh, but if a woman is sleeping, they will wilt by morning (or if a woman is sleeping, the milk left under the bed will sour). |
| K77B3 | 100.00% | Goats encounter a wolf. One goat has one stomach, the second has two, the third has three, and so on. The goat with the most stomachs kills or scares away the wolf. |
| L65A2 | 100.00% | A man shoots off (damages) the finger of a demonic creature, and then sees that his sister, lying in her cradle, has lost her finger. |
| L85D | 100.00% | The hero encounters a giant and a strongman (usually a ploughman) with one arm, one leg, or one eye. He was crippled by a character who turned out to be much bigger and stronger than him. |
| M199M | 100.00% | A man explains to a demon that the heavy objects lying by the roadside, such as a harrow or a millstone, are just things used by his grandmother or mother, such as a spindle or a comb. |
| M39A2E | 100.00% | Forgetting his name, a fool remembers it when he accidentally hears a word. |
| I87AB | 99.65% | Strong men or a crowd of people cannot move the body of a dead animal or the leg of a motionless person, but a child or a woman can do it easily. Cf. motif B83. |
| L15A2 | 99.65% | The human body is tempered (in a furnace, etc.) to make it invulnerable, but one place remains unprotected. |
| M141A | 99.65% | In a gathering of various animals, one of the participants refers to the weakest as insignificant to the others and bearing an ugly name. That one is eaten. This is repeated several times, each time the weakest of the remaining animals is eaten. |
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
14 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Abaza (Abazins), Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Ingush, Dargin (Dargwa), incl. Müregin, Khürkilin, Kubachi, Kumyk, Terekemen, Nogai, Armenians, Transylvanian Saksons
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