The Mythology and Folklore Database
I59B4 - The Milky Way – snow, hoarfrost.




10 Myths, Legends and Folktales
10 Unique Narratives for Motif I59B4
5 Cultures & Traditions where I59B4 is told
10 Mythemes Indexed
5 Sub-Motifs of Motif I59B4


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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

The Milky Way is associated with snow, hoarfrost, and cold.

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

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


I59 has 5 other sub-motifs


I59.  The Milky Way is associated with agriculture and scattered objects – straw, chaff, less commonly flour, hay, peas.
I59a.  Astral objects or lunar spots are associated with stories about the theft of various items, the value of which is insignificant (straw, firewood, cabbage, etc.).
I59b1.  The Milky Way – the road to a distant city, usually with religious significance (Rome, Jerusalem, etc.).
I59b2.  The Milky Way – St. James' Way.
I59b3.  The Milky Way – the road of salt traders, "Chumak Way".
I59b4.  The Milky Way is associated with snow, hoarfrost, and cold.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
I20A90.95%Anthropomorphic inhabitants of the upper world – giants.
I10A87.52%Individual layers or categories of the sky or clouds differ in colour.
B47A87.45%A cow steps on the Pleiades stars lying on the ground, which were demonic creatures. Some of the stars slipped through her split hoof.
K27V187.40%The character must hit the eye of a needle with an arrow (the eye of a needle).
M188A87.35%The character demands to be addressed as a ruler (usually sits on a pile of rubbish and demands to be recognised as king). One of the animals exposes him.
M83C87.31%Animals argue who of them gets drunk easier. The last one falls down because he becomes drunk as soon as somebody talks about alcohol
M114B287.12%A man (an authoritative character) asks a girl (a subordinate) a question about the number of routine actions she has performed (or small items she has), which no one counts. She asks a counter-question about the number of similar actions performed by the questioner.
K27Z2D86.95%A conflict arises between a pair of birds (sparrows, pigeons, etc.), in which the male is more likely (and more often clearly) to be at fault. This episode serves as the starting point for a story about the relationships between people of noble origin.
M91B86.92%A person manages to fraudulently sell or exchange ash for gold and money. Others are unsuccessfully offering ash for sale.
F100B86.77%Thanks to her virtue, a woman is capable of doing what others cannot, but she succeeds only after she remembers a minor transgression she committed in her youth.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Early Chinese written sources, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Khakas, Shor, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians


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