The Mythology and Folklore Database
I107 - Stars – nails.




15 Myths, Legends and Folktales
15 Unique Narratives for Motif I107
12 Cultures & Traditions where I107 is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
1 Sub-Motifs of Motif I107


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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

Stars are nails or stakes driven into the sky, or stars are nailed down.

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations


I10 has 1 other sub-motifs


I10a.  Individual layers or categories of the sky or clouds differ in colour.
I10b.  Individual layers or categories of earth differ in colour (and other characteristics).

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
M11399.19%In summer, during the height of the heat, or constantly, birds of a certain species are not allowed to drink from ponds and springs. It is generally believed that they drink only rainwater and cry out, begging for rain. See motif M112.
M91B198.95%A man is going to sell a pet skin. On the way, he gets big money by deception or by chance. Usually, upon return, a person says that he received money for the skin, after which others slaughter their livestock and try unsuccessfully to sell the skins for money they are not worth. (In India, the hero sometimes supposedly sells not skin, but beef, which is forbidden to brahmanas).
M39A198.82%character misunderstands the first instruction, promises to do the right thing next time; literally follows a memorized rule that does not correspond to the new situation; so multiple times.
K80A98.63%An object or creature that has emerged from the remains, jewellery, etc. of the murdered person tells about the murder, exposing the criminal. The East Slavic texts in this section were mainly provided by K.Y. Rakhno.
K8898.59%Two people set off on a journey or argue about which is stronger: truth or falsehood (stinginess or generosity, etc.). The evil one abandons the good one, crippling or robbing him, but the good one regains his health and achieves success. The villain usually perishes.
I13C98.55%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.
E31C98.48%Several men, each possessing a unique skill, bring a (kidnapped) girl from a distant country.
M157A498.43%The character proves the absurdity of another's statements by claiming that he (or someone else) fished on a mountain, extinguished a fire with straw, sowed wheat in the sea, watched flying fish, etc. (or he himself imitates such actions). The absurdity of the statements stems from the incorrectly chosen locus or means for performing certain actions.
K2B98.35%The occupations or names of the hero's companions are unusual and different for each one, but their specific abilities, which can be inferred from these names, are insignificant for the development of the plot. Cf. motif K66, "Heroes with different abilities".
M11498.33%The character is asked to make (or actually makes) a rope or other object out of sand, ash, smoke, etc.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 12 traditions: Society Islands: Tahiti, Borabora, Raiatea, Miao (Hmong) and Yao of Southern China, Koreans, 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, Ancient Greece, Estonians, Vepsians, Kumyk, Terekemen, Tats, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Kamayura, Russian Federation


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