The Mythology and Folklore Database
A32D2 - Man with a pitchfork on the moon.
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Motif Summary - Motifs with Simlar Dispersals - Map of Myth Distribution - List of Traditions - Myths |
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 man with a pitchfork in his hands can be seen in the silhouette of the moon's spots.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 |
|---|---|---|
| H6C3 | 100.00% | Large birds that fly in wedge formations (storks, cranes, swans, geese – German: Zugvögel) are associated with the otherworld (they bring children from there, carry children away to the non-human world, control living and dead water, etc.). |
| K56A4E | 100.00% | After meeting a supernatural character, a kind person receives valuables, while a greedy person burns to death upon returning home. |
| K101B1 | 99.97% | The enchanted character (the castle where the action takes place) gradually changes its appearance over several days as the spell wears off: it acquires human features, turning from black to white, from ugly to beautiful. |
| K119D | 99.93% | A cat helps a poor young man marry a princess (a girl marry a prince). |
| I95C | 99.91% | Orion's belt – staff, stick, three sticks, rod, crutch, etc. |
| F73B | 99.89% | The bear (wolf, lion, dragon) believes that the vulva is a wound inflicted on a human being. |
| M38C1 | 99.89% | The character (supposedly) forges a person, rejuvenating or reviving him, the other unsuccessfully tries to imitate him. |
| M197E | 99.88% | A man smears himself with resin, rolls around in feathers, crawls backwards on all fours, lets his hair down, etc. The demon thinks he is facing an unknown beast. The man escapes. |
| K61C | 99.85% | A demon agrees to help (agrees not to harm) a person on condition that the person guesses his name. At the last moment, the person accidentally learns the demon's name, and the demon disappears or rewards the person. |
| N22 | 99.82% | fairy-tale text ends with a formula that says that if the characters are not dead, they are still alive. {Motive at work, more data}. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 14 traditions: France, Dutch, Flemish, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Poles, Lithuanians, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Ossetians, Wallons, Picardie, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria, Terek Cossacks