Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I74A — Stars – fireflies.
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
OverviewStars – fireflies.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations.
I74 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedI74. Stars – (bright) stones, sequins, beads.
I74a. Stars – fireflies.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| H24C | 97.30% | People open a vessel (a bundle, a basket, etc.) containing death (or old age, illness), and therefore they are mortal. |
| I82C | 91.97% | Venus or an unidentified star in the eastern and/or western sky – the wife of the Moon. See motif I82b. |
| E5C | 91.71% | The first humans or deities-ancestors descend to earth from the sky. |
| M29K | 91.04% | A turtle (toad, frog) defeats strong opponents by cunning or perseverance. See the motives in square brackets. The character is named if it is a toad or frog; otherwise, a turtle. |
| A36 | 91.00% | The moon (month) is contrasted with humans as immortal to mortals; it decides whether humans will be mortal; those who live on the moon are immortal. (Cf. Latvians, Dolgans). |
| B86 | 90.71% | To reach the sky (the moon, stars, sun), people build a ladder or tower consisting of separate modules (logs, poles, bricks, etc.), but the structure collapses. |
| F8 | 89.77% | In the beginning (.55.60.67.73.) women and men lived separately from each other, then came together. Cf. motif F45 (Amazons). |
| B3 | 89.53% | At first, the earth is soft, resembling a swamp. |
| I72A | 89.31% | Stars – children of the moon and/or sun. |
| I5 | 89.06% | Thunder (lightning, rain) has the appearance of a four-legged mammal - a pig, buffalo, camel, anteater, tapir, dog, cat, leopard, monkey, etc. |
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
8 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 8 traditions: Bari (incl Fajulu), Kakwa, Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Dan (=Gio), Guro (=Kweni, incl Gagu, Neio), Toura, Mano, Ngere, Beng, Guro , Malayali; Kannikaran, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Nenets, Bari, Mende, Loma, Gbunde (Gbandi, Bandi)
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