The Mythology and Folklore Database
A32 - Figure on the lunar disc, A751.
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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
A figure or imprint of some creature or object is visible on the lunar disc. Statistical calculations also include motifs A32A – A32J (a rabbit, frog, predatory animal, human, tree, etc. are visible on the moon).Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations
A32 has 19 other sub-motifsA32. A figure or imprint of some creature or object is visible on the lunar disc. Statistical calculations also include motifs A32A – A32J (a rabbit, frog, predatory animal, human, tree, etc. are visible on the moon). A32a. The figure or imprint of a rabbit or hare is visible on the lunar disc. A32b. The figure or imprint of a toad or frog is visible on the lunar disc; the moon is associated with this animal. A32b1. A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon Man and is now visible in the silhouette of the moon spots. A32c. The figures of a man and a dog are visible (or should have been visible) on the lunar disc. A32c1. The figure or imprint of a predatory mammal (fox, wolf, dog, coyote, jaguar, lion) is visible on the lunar disc. Either this animal is associated with the moon, belongs to it. See motif A34. A32d. The figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic creature is visible on the lunar disc. A32d1. Cain and Abel are associated with the moon, usually distinguishable (both or only Cain) in the silhouette of lunar spots. A32d2. A man with a pitchfork in his hands can be seen in the silhouette of the moon's spots. A32dd. The lunar disc shows the figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic character carrying a bundle of wood or brushwood. A32de. A headless man is visible on the lunar disc. A32e. On the lunar (rarely: solar) disc, a character holding an object or animal is visible. See motif A32D. A32f. On the lunar disc, a character is visible who has gone to fetch water and/or is holding a vessel for liquid in his hands. See motif A32D. A32g. On the lunar disc, a character can be seen holding onto a tree or bush and ending up on the moon with them. See motif A32D. A32h. A tree, bush, branch, snag, etc. are visible on the lunar disc. See motif A32G. A32i. A shepherd (shepherd and girl, shepherd and his flock, dogs) can be seen on the lunar disc. A32j. A shaman with a tambourine ascends to the moon and remains there, visible in the silhouette of the lunar spots. A32k. A character, discernible in the silhouette of the moon's spots, first headed for the sun and only then reached the moon, or the Sun and the Moon argued over who he should belong to. A32l. The silhouette of a certain character is visible on the solar disc. Or it is said that the character fell into the sun and remained there. A32m. The moon is called the "Gypsy sun". Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of A32's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K176 | 96.58% | A man sets out on a journey to find or bring back a bride or wife. |
| A32D | 96.05% | The figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic creature is visible on the lunar disc. |
| I22G | 95.62% | Mountains (rocks) are mentioned that constantly collide and diverge, or a crevice or gap in a vertical rock that opens and closes. Cf. motif I22g1, Colliding rocks. |
| K30 | 95.34% | A flying creature carries a woman away. The kidnapper is killed and/or the woman escapes from him. See also motif L102A (Escape from a seagull husband). |
| K12 | 95.31% | The hero returns the woman whom his enemy or rival tried to take away from him. |
| I39 | 95.26% | The rainbow is a bridge, a road, a staircase. |
| K1F | 94.89% | One man traps another, driven by jealousy or the desire to possess his rival's wife. See motifs K1A, K1E, K2A. |
| B3A | 94.43% | The waters are primary. The earth is lowered onto the water, appears above the water, grows from a piece of solid substance placed on the surface of the water or liquid mud, from an island in the ocean, is exposed when the waters recede, etc. |
| K27 | 93.96% | The character receives tasks that are deadly dangerous or can only be accomplished with supernatural abilities or helpers; the hero completes the tasks and/or miraculously survives. The confrontation between the characters unfolds as a game or competition in which the loser loses their life or status. |
| K29A | 93.61% | The hero demonstrates his magical abilities or cunning by remaining alive in a hot bath, oven, fire, or among burning vegetation. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 17 traditions: Tenda (incl Bedik, Basari), Biafada, Nalu, Pajadinka, Badyara (Badiaranke), Melanesians and Papuans of Northern Solomons: Buka, Bougainville (Siuai, Buin), Batak (Toba, Dairi), Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Lithuanians, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Ingush, Kalmyk, Uyghur, Bashkirs, Comanche, Oregon Athabaskans: Lower Umpqua, Tututni (incl Joshua), Upper Coquille, Galice, Tolowa, Jicarilla, Yuracare, Bolivian Guarani: Chiriguano (including assimilated Chane Arawaks), Pauserna (=Guarasu), Guarayu, Tapiete, Chechens