The Mythology and Folklore Database
A23 - Who will become the sun?
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Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of Motif
The first ancestors come together to choose who will become the sun, to raise the sun to the sky, to see the sun rise for the first time, and to name the sun correctly. See motif A22.Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 1, Sun and Moon
A23 has 5 other sub-motifsA23. The first ancestors come together to choose who will become the sun, to raise the sun to the sky, to see the sun rise for the first time, and to name the sun correctly. See motif A22. A23a. Arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide in favour of the one who first sees the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely. (In Uther 2004(1), No. 120: 87, the definition of the motif includes the detail that the winner looks not to the east but to the west and sees the tops of trees illuminated by rays of light. In Europe, in most cases (except for the Scots) that have been verified, this detail is indeed present. However, it is absent in American and some Asian traditions). A23b. Two characters argue about who will be the first to see the rising sun. The winner is the one who first notices not the sun itself, but its reflection or the trees and mountains illuminated by its first rays. A23c. Birds argue about which of them will fly higher or arrive first. The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely (he hides in the feathers of a strong bird and flies away with it). A23d. Animals argue about which of them should start the cycle of 12 months or years. The mouse wins the primacy. A23E. Two birds argue about who will get up first, or agree to consider the one who gets up first to be the better singer. The bird that sings the most melodious trills wins, and the one with a shrill or hoarse voice loses. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of A23's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| A22C | 98.44% | In order for the sun to rise, move to the right distance from the earth, or follow its heavenly path, a human being must be sacrificed. |
| D4G | 98.40% | Hummingbird steals, finds or spreads fire. See motif D4A. |
| J33 | 98.02% | A boy, a young man, or two children live in the house of an older character. In order to elicit a certain reaction from him, they kill a person or a large animal, stuff the scarecrow with insects, worms, ashes, grass, or inflate it. |
| K16A | 97.93% | In an effort to show that he is a good hunter, a man regularly walks in front of a girl, pretending to carry prey. Once he slips, and the imaginary prey turns out to be a scarecrow stuffed with ashes or a bundle of termites. |
| L58 | 96.62% | A man refuses to give food to his closest relatives or spouse; as punishment, he or his food changes its nature. |
| D4D | 96.06% | The opossum obtains fire for humans. See motif D4A. |
| A24 | 95.74% | The first ancestors live in twilight. When they first find themselves in the rays of the sun, they (spontaneously or by someone's will) perish, turning into animals, spirits, or stones. |
| I75 | 94.72% | Before the emergence of the present world or present humans, there were others (at least two worlds or races). |
| E23 | 93.78% | A handful of fleas or lice must be thrown at the character; only this will make him or her move, which is necessary for revival or for the existence of people. |
| B28E | 93.66% | The Moon (alone or together with the Sun) transforms the original "incorrect" world into the one in which people now live. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 28 traditions: Yuchi, Shuswap, Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Twana (Skokomish), Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, (Lower) Cowlitz, Okanagon, Sanpoil, Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel (Pend d'Oreille; incl Spokane), Flathead, Alabama, Koasati, Pomo, Luiseño, Juaneño, Navajo, Hopi, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Huichol, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Chontal, Tequistlatec, Rama, Guatuso, Kogi (Cagaba), Sanha, Creols of Aritama Valley, Bari, Sicuani, Colorado (Tsachila), Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Aguaruna, Huambiza, Yagua, Amuesha