Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
B87C — Rider.
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
OverviewAlcor (the faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) – rider, driver, coachman.
Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations.
B87 has 4 other sub-motifs
RelatedB87. Alcor (a faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) stands out as a separate celestial object.
B87a. A dim star next to the second star of the handle of the Big Dipper (Tibetans: Little Dipper) Ursa Major – dog.
B87b. The Great Bear – a cart harnessed by a wolf or bear. Usually, the shape of the handle of the dipper is explained by the fact that a wolf or bear attacked an ox harnessed to the cart and took its place. In this case, it is associated with Alcor or the last star of the handle of the dipper – η.
B87c. Alcor (the faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) – rider, driver, coachman.
b87d. Alcor (a faint star next to the second star of the Big Dipper's handle) – infant.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| J51A1 | 100.00% | To retrieve an object from a hard-to-reach place, the girl orders it to be dismembered (or just have its fingers cut off) and then reassembled, after which it comes back to life. |
| K32H1 | 100.00% | The antagonist is executed by being placed in a barrel (with nails) and rolled down a hill or tied to a horse. |
| L129A | 100.00% | The wolf or demon is asked why its body parts and organs are the way they are. It explains sequentially. |
| N8 | 100.00% | fairy-tale text ends with a formula that says that the characters placed the narrator in a gun or gun and fired a shot, or he jumped onto the core himself and thus arrived at the place where the fairy tale was performed |
| K27G1 | 100.00% | The character must quickly clean the stable or barn of the manure that has accumulated there over a long period of time. |
| M157D | 100.00% | Animals (mainly domestic) and/or people join forces to achieve a goal (usually to pull a root vegetable out of the ground). They succeed after the last participant (usually the weakest) joins in. |
| H24D | 99.99% | An animal character who released the contents (darkness, insects, reptiles) from a vessel is still trying to gather everything back (etiology of the behaviour of a certain species of animal). |
| M38C2 | 99.99% | To shove a horse or donkey, Jesus (the saint) cuts off his leg, nails a horseshoe to his hoof, and attaches his leg back. The other character tries to imitate in vain. |
| M39A4F | 99.99% | Fool sells property to the statue and believes that it will pay him. Trying to get his money, he finds treasure |
| K56E1 | 99.99% | A man sees dwarves (spirits, witches) having fun. Their song mentions the names of the days of the week. The man sings along, naming the days that the dwarves like. He is rewarded. (Usually, someone else tries to get the same reward, but names the wrong days of the week and is punished). |
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
13 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 13 traditions: England, British, Bretons, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, France, 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, Kashubians, Czech, Czechs, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Armenians, Prussians, Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria
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