The Mythology and Folklore Database
B42P - Ursa Major – bear.
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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 Big Dipper is identified with a bear.Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations
B42 has 27 other sub-motifsB42. Hunters, their dogs, fleeing or killed animals are visible in the sky in the form of stars and constellations. B42a. Hunters chase a bear across the sky and kill it in August-October. The bear's blood or fat falls to the ground in the form of dew or colours the foliage red. See motif B42. B42b. In the cosmic hunting plot, the objects of pursuit are hoofed animals (elk, deer, mountain sheep). See motif B42. B42c. In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is a bear. See motifs B42 and B42P. B42d. In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is a bear. See motif B42. B42e. In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is the rhea (Rhea americana, a large flightless bird). See motif B42. B42f. The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with a large hoofed animal (elk, deer, mountain sheep). Unless otherwise specified, see motif B42 in the description of cosmic hunting. B42g. The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with an animal (animals) pursued by hunters / attacked by other characters. B42h. Orion's Belt – game, another star or group of stars within or outside Orion – hunter. B42h1. In the plot of cosmic hunting, one of the astral objects is identified with an arrow or bullet, and it is emphasised that it struck an animal or three animals, which are identified with Orion's Belt. {In the Khoisan variants, it is emphasised that the arrow did not reach its target}. B42h2. A large reddish star (Betelgeuse or Aldebaran) is identified with an arrow. B42hh. Orion is associated with the theme of cosmic hunting. (Including motifs b42h, b42h1, b42m, b42r). B42i. Cassiopeia is associated with a deer or elk. B42k. In stories about cosmic hunting, the object of pursuit or the hunters are identified with the Pleiades. See motif B42. B42l. The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters, the dipper itself is a bear, an elk or a meat storehouse where the bear climbs. B42m. The three stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three men (hunters, thieves). The stars of the dipper are the object they seek to obtain (the hunted animal; the bed). Alcor (a faint star near Mizar) is a container, a vessel carried by the second of the three characters. B42m1. The three main stars of the Big Dipper's handle are associated with people of three different nationalities. B42m2. The stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three hunters chasing a beast. Each has a distinct character (one is boastful, another is hasty, etc.). In Siberia, the hunters are identified with people of different nationalities, and in the North American Northeast, with birds of different species. B42mn. Only one character (rather than several) chases an animal (elk or bear) across the sky, associated with one of the circumpolar constellations, but not with the Pleiades or Orion. (In the Kalevala tradition, there is no identification with stars). B42n. The constellation Orion is identified with a man, usually a giant, warrior, or hunter. B42o. A certain constellation is represented by a person who has been struck or wounded in the back. B42o1. The Big Dipper is identified with the fisher (Mustela pennati). B42p. The Big Dipper is identified with a bear. B42q. Ursa Major – chariot, cart. B42r. The three stars of Orion's Belt are three characters chasing each other. B42s. The Big Dipper or Polar Star – a small animal (ermine, marten, forest marmot) or anthropomorphic character with animal features, struck by a spear or arrow. B42t. All seven stars of the Big Dipper (and not just the stars of the dipper) are considered to be the figure of an animal - a bear, moose, deer, ram, camel, or dog. B42U. The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper – three people, and the four stars of the dipper – animals or objects (one or more). Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of B42's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K23 | 94.36% | Birds attack inhabitants of another world or a person who has entered another world. See motif K22. |
| B85A | 94.15% | The wind stops blowing (after blowing too strongly). A character approaches it and establishes the necessary balance. Since then, the wind blows, but usually not too strongly. |
| A42 | 94.08% | The character comes to the Sun, tries to fulfil its role, but deliberately or through incompetence breaks the rules, usually causing disasters on earth. |
| F83 | 93.42% | The character does something forbidden and indecent in a place hidden from prying eyes, and then asks people what's new. They reply that there is no news – except that so-and-so (the character) did such-and-such. |
| B87A | 93.03% | A dim star next to the second star of the handle of the Big Dipper (Tibetans: Little Dipper) Ursa Major – dog. |
| K22 | 93.02% | The inhabitants of a distant land, who differ from (ordinary) people, occasionally fight off enemies of a non-human nature who attack them. |
| J5 | 92.84% | The role of the victim is played by two or more brothers (friends). See motif J4. |
| K22A | 92.58% | Birds or other creatures that are harmless to ordinary people attack dwarves living in another world. See motif K22. |
| K27O3 | 92.07% | Two groups of characters compete in overcoming trials or play a game, divided into two teams (at least two episodes with different characters on both sides). The participants are either anthropomorphic but possess different unusual abilities, or they are different animals (natural phenomena, elements, etc.). Cf. motif K27xy (Characters with different properties in opposing camps). |
| M81 | 91.64% | Wandering, the hero finds himself in a place where blind or blind (two or more) live. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 23 traditions: Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Ancient Greece, Ingush, Mingrelians (Megrelians), Laz, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Southern Selkups, Lenape (Delaware), Micmac, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Chilkotin, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Cherokee, Zuni, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Cañari, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Phoenicia