Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
C35B — Frogs – enemies of the sun.
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 frog (toad) prevents more than one sun from shining in the sky.
Berezkin category: Disasters
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 1, Sun and Moon.
C35 has 2 other sub-motifs
RelatedC35. It becomes known that if characters representing natural phenomena and parts of the universe marry, it will lead to disaster. The marriage is broken off.
C35a. A zoomorphic character gives wise advice concerning the state of the Sun. The advice is accepted, but the advisor is punished by the Sun or is henceforth pursued by the Sun.
C35b. The frog (toad) prevents more than one sun from shining in the sky.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K27G3 | 100.00% | To fell all the trees in the forest, a man fells one (lightly touching it with an axe), after which all the trees fall. |
| K73A2A | 100.00% | After hiding or discarding a newborn baby, ill-wishers replace it with a piece of wood and/or inform the father that his wife has given birth to a piece of wood. |
| I76B | 98.29% | After a certain amount of time or after performing certain actions, an ordinary mouse turns into a bat. |
| L37B1 | 98.26% | To cure a sick person or rid a house of other misfortunes, one must kill (catch, expel) a toad, frog or snake hiding in the house (in the garden, under the roots). |
| I110A | 98.17% | Orion (rarely - another constellation) - plough. |
| C35 | 98.12% | It becomes known that if characters representing natural phenomena and parts of the universe marry, it will lead to disaster. The marriage is broken off. |
| K76G | 97.98% | The son or foster son of a married couple – a crab. He marries a princess and turns into a handsome man. |
| K103A | 97.32% | A suddenly grown plant (tree, vine, lotus) bends (raises its branches, etc.), allowing only the hero or heroine to climb it or pick its fruits (flowers). |
| B94 | 97.19% | Trees (and animals) used to talk, asking people not to cut them down or kill them. |
| I110 | 96.83% | Constellations are associated with agricultural tools or with people engaged in agricultural work (most often ploughing and haymaking). See motifs I110A (plough), I110B (haymaking). |
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
7 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Stieng, Chrau, Sre (Koho), Maa, Mnong, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: Abor (incl Minyong, Shimong, Padam, Pasi, Panggi), Apa Tani (Apatani), Bori, Bugun, Dafla (=Nyishi, Nisi, Nishing, incl Tagin), Gallong (=Galo, Adi), Mishmi, Lepcha, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Ancient Greece, Lithuanians, Nez Perce
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