Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

A45 — The insulted moon.

85 Myths, legends and folktales

85 Unique narratives for motif A45

46 Cultures & traditions where A45 is told

0 Sub-motifs of motif A45

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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

Overview

A man teases and insults the moon and is punished as a result.

Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon

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

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
F9A1	98.18%	A girl or young woman says (pretends) that she has a predatory mouth in her vagina. {Unlike variants characteristic of the circum-Pacific region, the corresponding texts do not suggest that the female womb is actually dangerous}.
K102A3	97.86%	Someone (usually a woman) places a poisonous tooth (bone, nail, etc.) in the hero's bed. The young man dies, but is then revived.
I131	97.70%	Every person's life corresponds to a thread; when the thread breaks, the person dies.
I41B1	97.65%	The rainbow drinks, swallowing fish, people, etc. along with the water. Sometimes this fish falls from the sky to the ground.
D4H	97.51%	The swallow obtains fire for people. See motif D4A.
K73B1	97.24%	A woman with her newborn son (pregnant with a boy) or a girl with a young man are placed in a barrel (box; rarely: in a boat) and lowered into the sea (river).
K56A	97.13%	Two or three sisters successively go to a powerful character. The first or the first two act incorrectly, perish or fail to achieve their goal. The last one acts correctly, is saved or rewarded.
D1A4	97.12%	Two fires from different dwellings meet and converse.
L72E	97.05%	In order to overcome the obstacles created by the fleeing hero, the pursuer is forced to return home for the necessary tools.
L131	97.04%	To get rid of a demonic creature or make a bird or ladybird fly away, they are told that the place where their home and/or children are located is engulfed in fire.

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Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

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Traditions

46 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 46 traditions: Berbers of southern Tunisia and adjacent part of Libya (Matmata and Ghadames areas), Samoa, Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), England, British, Bretons, Spain, Spaniards, Basques, Catalan, 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, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Swedes, Tats, Armenians, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Nenets, Nganasans, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Kets, Ainu, Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa, Inland Tlingit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Western Ojibwa (Chippewa), Eastern Ojibwa (Missisauga, Timagami and other groups in eastern Ontario), Northern Ojibwa (=Severn Ojibwa, Sandy Lake Cree), Plains Ojibwa, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Ashaninca (Campa), Wallons, Picardie, Icelanders, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Lutsi (Ludza), Itelmen

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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com

0009-0006-1672-4451
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