Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I45C — Prohibition on counting stars.
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
OverviewThose who count stars are destined for misfortune and illness.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects.
I45 has 2 other sub-motifs
RelatedI45a. Pointing at or staring at the moon or stars will cause illness (death) or the pointing finger to rot or wither.
I45b. If you point your finger or stare intently at a rainbow, you will fall ill, or the finger you pointed with will rot or wither away.
I45c. Those who count stars are destined for misfortune and illness.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K64 | 95.30% | Finding himself in the dwelling of the master of the herds or the owner of wild animals, the character fears that the master will kill him. To escape to freedom, he clings to the underside of one of the animals leaving the pen or cave. |
| L57B | 94.00% | A person tears off or cuts off a part of the body of a predatory animal or demonic creature and uses it. The creature comes for the lost part, usually killing or maiming the person. |
| L118 | 93.98% | One character provokes another to stick a part of their body into a split log (between two boards, etc.) and knocks out the wedge. |
| A39A | 93.45% | Each of the calendar segments (usually months) that make up the year is represented by a special object or creature. |
| M83B | 93.39% | Two (or more) characters agree to give food to whoever has the best dream. One talks about a feast he went to in a dream (or says he was in a different world), the second admits that he ate everything alone - he was sure that after the feast, the first one would not qualify for food (which someone who finds himself in a different world does not need food). |
| K37A | 93.33% | The character must identify his son or husband among many identical people or animals. See motif K37. |
| K8C1 | 93.30% | A tiny man is first accidentally swallowed by a large herbivore, then carried off by a wolf that began to eat the carcass of this animal. |
| L108B1 | 93.24% | To make his voice thin, the character turns to the blacksmith. |
| C33A | 93.22% | Throughout the year, someone tries to saw through or break the chain or rope that holds him or another character. On a certain day of the year, when the chain has become completely thin, it is restored to its former state, or the pole to which the chain is attached is reinserted into the ground. Cf. motif G8d. |
| K85D | 93.16% | Covered with skins (coated with resin and sprinkled with sand, etc.), the mighty horse becomes invulnerable to the bites of other horses. |
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
18 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 18 traditions: Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), France, Macedonians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Western Ukrainians, Abaza (Abazins), Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Ingush, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Armenians, Kalmyk, Arapaho, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Tubatulabal, Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Tzeltal, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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