Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I82C1 — The Moon's two wives.
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 Moon has two wives (usually the Morning Star and the Evening Star). With the caring one, he grows fat, with the other, he starves and grows thin.
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.
I82 has 10 other sub-motifs
RelatedI82a. The Morning and/or Evening Star β a male character.
I82b. The Morning and/or Evening Star β a female character.
I82c. Venus or an unidentified star in the eastern and/or western sky β the wife of the Moon. See motif I82b.
I82c1. The Moon has two wives (usually the Morning Star and the Evening Star). With the caring one, he grows fat, with the other, he starves and grows thin.
I82d. The Morning and Evening Stars are contrasted as man and woman. See motifs I82a, I82b.
I82e. It is said that Venus or another star sold her mother or father in order to adorn herself luxuriously and dress up.
I82f. (Evening) Venus is associated with a predatory beast, usually a she-wolf.
I82g. Venus or another star (Arcturus, Sirius, etc.) is called the Shepherd's Star (the star of the Shepherd, Sheepherder, Cowherd, Swineherd, etc.).
I82h. The name of Venus sounds like Cholpan, Cholbon, Tsolmon, etc. (Δol- 'to sparkle, to shine' [VΓ‘mbΓ©ri 1879: 155]).
I82i. The name of the object in the night sky (usually Venus) sounds like Zukhra, Zahra, Zura, etc.
I82j. Venus-man or another star is the husband of the Moon-woman. See motif I82a.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| F8 | 98.66% | In the beginning (.55.60.67.73.) women and men lived separately from each other, then came together. Cf. motif F45 (Amazons). |
| M180A | 97.57% | A zoomorphic character invites another to visit, but demands that they wash their hands or feet before eating. This proves impossible, and the guest leaves hungry. |
| H34D1 | 97.52% | The sky or celestial objects were edible, but then this source of food became inaccessible or is now only used by inhabitants of a country beyond the human world. |
| L42H | 97.37% | A cannibal catches the hero and invites other cannibals to a feast. The hero escapes, and the cannibals eat the one who invited them. |
| H36B | 97.18% | The chameleon is to blame for the fact that man is mortal or that he must labour; he loses the trust placed in him by the deity. See motif H36. |
| M102 | 96.94% | The character believes that another has temporarily separated his head or leg from himself, asks to do the same to him, and dies or is maimed. |
| H36HH | 96.85% | The frog or toad is to blame for the fact that humans are mortal. |
| M129 | 96.61% | A parent intends to transfer primogeniture (royalty, other privileges) to a chosen son. Another son or brother comes under the guise of the chosen one and receives primogeniture. |
| H36H | 96.49% | Creatures, including a frog or toad, must cross an obstacle. This does not go as planned and results in humans becoming mortal. |
| B2G | 96.22% | The chameleon walked on the ground when it had not yet hardened. |
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: Efe Pygmies, Kango (Mbuti) Pygmies, Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Shone (Shona, =Mashona, =Karanga), Makoni (Shoni dialect), Remba (=Hungwe, Wahungwe); Zezuru, Rozwi, Ndau (Vandau), Luba (Baluba, Luba-Katanga, Shaba), (Ba)Holoholo, Tumbwe, Bena-Piana, Tabwa, Benabena-Mitumba, Zela, Bene-Marungu, Boa, Komo, (Ba)Nyanga, Mbole, Marshall Islands, incl Ailinglapalap, Arno, Jaluit, Kili, Lae, Maloelap, Majuro, Ratak, Wotho, Ujae, Jaluit (=Jalooj), Namdrik, Comox, Pentlatch, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan)
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