The Mythology and Folklore Database
A30 - The corpse-eating moon.




20 Myths, Legends and Folktales
19 Unique Narratives for Motif A30
6 Cultures & Traditions where A30 is told
48 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif A30


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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 moon descends to earth to eat children, corpses or the bones of the dead.

Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 1, Sun and Moon



Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
D6A94.63%The crocodile/caiman is the temporary or original owner of fire or lightning.
B992.85%A huge amount of water is contained in the trunk of a tree, or the tree turns into water.
G589.96%The fruits and shoots of various cultivated plants or the fruits of various wild plants grow on the branches of a single tree or on a single vine; the cultivated plant has a tree-like form that is not characteristic of it in nature.
F18B89.50%After intercourse with a forbidden partner (incest, intercourse with an animal or spirit), a man's penis becomes so long that he is forced to carry it in a basket, etc.
A1A88.47%Before the sun appeared, the world was lit by a large bird with bright colours (a parrot or toucan).
A2688.47%The bird embodies the sun, daylight; it can be caught, released, killed.
B2588.47%Characters who climb trees or vines and then fall turn into wild pigs or other game animals.
B75D88.47%The sound of leaves or grass rustling in the wind has been heard since the time of creation.
F29A88.47%To kill a woman's lover, who has the appearance of a worm or snake and crawls into her vagina from under the ground, boiling water, resin or hot coals are poured on him.
J12C88.47%A girl meets her fiancé at a dance and then follows in his footsteps. See motif J12.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 6 traditions: Nicobarese, Sanema, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Cubeo, Machiguenga


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