The Mythology and Folklore Database
A23A - Who will be the first to see the sun? ATU 120,
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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
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).Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
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 |
|---|---|---|
| E9I1 | 99.11% | Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, helper) takes the form of a swan. |
| K65 | 98.74% | Having been cast out, discarded, or born of the first ancestors, creatures of a certain category acquire individuality, transforming into spirits who are the masters of various loci. |
| A23B | 98.49% | 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. |
| M38D | 98.46% | Two or more characters, which are small objects or small animals, live or travel together and die one by one while committing protozoa actions. |
| K79 | 98.15% | Finding himself in a helpless situation, a man sees how a small animal finds a cure for itself or another animal. The man uses the same cure, saves himself or saves another. |
| I13C | 98.05% | Reptiles possess a treasure that humans take or try to take. Usually it is a crown, a precious stone, or horns on a snake's head. |
| N36 | 97.89% | is said about the horse that it jumps above trees (grass, the surface of the earth) and below the sky (clouds, clouds). |
| L72A | 97.84% | Fleeing for his life, the character throws behind him a comb (brush), which turns into an obstacle (almost always thickets) in the path of his pursuer. (In South America, this motif is most likely of European origin). See Andreev 1929, No. 313.I. |
| K47B | 97.83% | A woman marries a man who originally had the appearance of a dog. The birth of children from a dog is not essential to the plot. |
| H46 | 97.82% | A character (usually God) is about to deprive people of their food (most often grain), but does not do so for the sake of the dog (and/or cat; rarely for the sake of birds). Either God gave the ear of corn to the dog, and the man took it for himself. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 48 traditions: Tunisia Arabs, Malagasy, Rawang, Dulong; Anong, Drung, Nepali; Tharu, Ireland, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Catalan, Sicily, Sicilians, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Macedonians, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Lithuanians, Estonians, Finns, Karelians, Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Danish, Karachays, Balkar, Nogai, Tats, Georgians, Kalmyk, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mansi, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Tofa (Karagas), Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Ainu, Tlingit, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Icelanders, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Faroe Islands, Japan