Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I8H — Man and woman hold up the earth.
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 earth is supported by a man and a woman in the underworld.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature.
I8 has 10 other sub-motifs
RelatedI8A. The world, earth or sky are supported by anthropomorphic beings.
I8B. The earth or sky is supported by zoomorphic creatures.
I8c. The earth is prevented from falling or swaying because it is tied with ropes.
I8D. The earth or sky is supported by mountains, pillars, nails, trees.
I8e. The sky or the earth is supported by four anthropomorphic male characters located at the four cardinal points.
I8e1. The sky or earth is supported by four objects or beings located at the four cardinal points (either four groups of beings, or four at the corners and a fifth in the centre). Th A841. See motifs 8A, 8D.
I8f. The sky, the world rests on a single object (a pillar or tree).
I8g. A single giant holds up the earth or the sky.
I8G1. At the foot of the world pillar is an anthropomorphic character, or a character identified with a tree or pillar on which the world rests, or a character holding ropes on which the world is suspended.
I8h. The earth is supported by a man and a woman in the underworld.
I8i. Initially, the earth rocks, unstable, and must be specially secured.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K33A3 | 100.00% | A woman, turned into a turtle because of her rival's intrigues, tries to establish contact with her children or husband. |
| K27ZZ2 | 99.89% | Several wives of one man (several sisters) go blind â the older ones in both eyes, and the younger one in one eye. |
| A46 | 99.76% | The sun and moon (Rigveda: only the sun) emerge from the eyes of an anthropomorphic creature. |
| M152D | 99.68% | The elephant and the tiger (lion) engage in combat (usually competing to see who can roar louder). The tiger wins and is about to eat the elephant, but a small animal saves it. |
| M152E | 99.47% | A tiger (lion) and another animal compete to see whose roar is louder. The tiger roars louder, but ultimately loses. |
| A2 | 99.17% | There was a time when several, i.e. more than two, suns shone in the sky at the same time. |
| A46A | 99.16% | The sun and moon (Rigveda: only the sun) are associated with the eyes of an anthropomorphic being (the motif of their emergence from the eyes of this being may be absent). |
| B3D | 99.03% | The earth is obtained by a worm; it arises from worm excrement, extracted from the worm. |
| H34C | 98.95% | Rice flew (came) from the field to the house. |
| F45A | 98.79% | A woman or female animal conceives by deliberately exposing her genitals to the wind. |
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
5 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Papua-NewGuinea Highland Papuans:Trans New Guinea & unclassified:Chimbu,Gimi,KaugelHuli,Gadsup,Kuman,Kutubu,Foi (Foe),Kyaka,Kamano (Kafe),Mawatta,Kukukuku (=Anga,=Sambia;Manki,Nauti,Ejuti),Baruya,Kewa,Tembregak,Menya,Melpa,Wiru,Pondoma, Bali, Lombok, Sora (Savara, Saora), Parenga, Tribal groups and castes of Central-Eastern India that speak Aryan languages: Dhoba (Dhobi), Halba (Halbi), Bhunjia, Lohar (Luhar, Luhara), Kahar
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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