The Mythology and Folklore Database
I9A - Zenith and nadir.




26 Myths, Legends and Folktales
26 Unique Narratives for Motif I9A
18 Cultures & Traditions where I9A is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
1 Sub-Motifs of Motif I9A


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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

Zenith and/or nadir are considered together with the four cardinal directions as one (or two) more main directions.

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group -, Undefined


I9 has 1 other sub-motifs


I9.  Each (or at least three) of the four cardinal directions (as well as the zenith and nadir) and/or the objects located there have their own colour. Abbreviations: E: east, S: south, W: west, N: north. (Cf. Podosinov 2000: 143-147).
I9a.  Zenith and/or nadir are considered together with the four cardinal directions as one (or two) more main directions.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
A4098.22%The Toad or Frog is the wife (or one of the wives) of the Sun or Moon. Traditions in which the frog jumps onto the face (chest, back) of the Moon and remains there are highlighted in italics; those in which the frog is visible on the lunar disc are marked with an asterisk; traditions in which the frog or toad is the wife of the Sun are marked with a hash (#).
K15C97.94%The owner of stone (ice) clothing kills people. By hiding or replacing his clothing, the hero kills him.
F9497.62%A man ascends to the upper world, where he can choose a wife associated with either life or death.
C2297.47%During a severe drought or global fire, birds and animals are sent to the thunder gods living at the edge of the world to bring rain. The last of those sent achieves the goal. The toad plays an important role in the action.
F28D97.34%By masturbating with an artificial penis, a woman conceives children.
A3497.13%The jackal, coyote or fox are associated with the moon (usually with the appearance of lunar spots).
K87A96.84%A forest woman receives or kidnaps a little boy and raises him to be her lover.
M7196.76%A character (usually carried away by a river or fallen from a height) turns into a piece of wood. Someone is picking it up. The character then takes on his true form, usually in the absence of the hosts.
B1G96.73%Four brothers change the world, freeing it from monsters, transforming its inhabitants and obtaining valuable resources (water, fire, cultivated plants, etc.). Usually one of the brothers is the leader, and the others help him. All four often have a common name.
B1496.67%In order to regulate the flow of the river in a certain way, the character creates rapids and waterfalls.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 18 traditions: Songhai, Koreans, Plains Ojibwa, Pomo, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Kiliwa, Huichol, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Gulf Nahuatl, Chol; pre-Columbian Mayan iconography outside of Yucatan, Yucatec, Itza, Warao, Nivakle (=Chulupi, Ashluslay, Ajlujlay)


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