Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
I9A — Zenith and nadir.
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
OverviewZenith and/or nadir are considered together with the four cardinal directions as one (or two) more main directions.
Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group -, Undefined.
I9 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedI9. Each (or at least three) of the four cardinal directions (as well as the zenith and nadir) and/or the objects located there have their own colour. Abbreviations: E: east, S: south, W: west, N: north. (Cf. Podosinov 2000: 143-147).
I9a. Zenith and/or nadir are considered together with the four cardinal directions as one (or two) more main directions.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| A40 | 98.22% | The Toad or Frog is the wife (or one of the wives) of the Sun or Moon. Traditions in which the frog jumps onto the face (chest, back) of the Moon and remains there are highlighted in italics; those in which the frog is visible on the lunar disc are marked with an asterisk; traditions in which the frog or toad is the wife of the Sun are marked with a hash (#). |
| K15C | 97.94% | The owner of stone (ice) clothing kills people. By hiding or replacing his clothing, the hero kills him. |
| F94 | 97.62% | A man ascends to the upper world, where he can choose a wife associated with either life or death. |
| C22 | 97.47% | During a severe drought or global fire, birds and animals are sent to the thunder gods living at the edge of the world to bring rain. The last of those sent achieves the goal. The toad plays an important role in the action. |
| F28D | 97.34% | By masturbating with an artificial penis, a woman conceives children. |
| A34 | 97.13% | The jackal, coyote or fox are associated with the moon (usually with the appearance of lunar spots). |
| K87A | 96.84% | A forest woman receives or kidnaps a little boy and raises him to be her lover. |
| M71 | 96.76% | A character (usually carried away by a river or fallen from a height) turns into a piece of wood. Someone is picking it up. The character then takes on his true form, usually in the absence of the hosts. |
| B1G | 96.73% | Four brothers change the world, freeing it from monsters, transforming its inhabitants and obtaining valuable resources (water, fire, cultivated plants, etc.). Usually one of the brothers is the leader, and the others help him. All four often have a common name. |
| B14 | 96.67% | In order to regulate the flow of the river in a certain way, the character creates rapids and waterfalls. |
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: Songhai, Koreans, Plains Ojibwa, Pomo, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Kiliwa, Huichol, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Gulf Nahuatl, Chol; pre-Columbian Mayan iconography outside of Yucatan, Yucatec, Itza, Warao, Nivakle (=Chulupi, Ashluslay, Ajlujlay)
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