The Mythology and Folklore Database
A32C - Dog and man on the moon.
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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 figures of a man and a dog are visible (or should have been visible) on the lunar disc.Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations
A32 has 19 other sub-motifsA32. A figure or imprint of some creature or object is visible on the lunar disc. Statistical calculations also include motifs A32A – A32J (a rabbit, frog, predatory animal, human, tree, etc. are visible on the moon). A32a. The figure or imprint of a rabbit or hare is visible on the lunar disc. A32b. The figure or imprint of a toad or frog is visible on the lunar disc; the moon is associated with this animal. A32b1. A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon Man and is now visible in the silhouette of the moon spots. A32c. The figures of a man and a dog are visible (or should have been visible) on the lunar disc. A32c1. The figure or imprint of a predatory mammal (fox, wolf, dog, coyote, jaguar, lion) is visible on the lunar disc. Either this animal is associated with the moon, belongs to it. See motif A34. A32d. The figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic creature is visible on the lunar disc. A32d1. Cain and Abel are associated with the moon, usually distinguishable (both or only Cain) in the silhouette of lunar spots. A32d2. A man with a pitchfork in his hands can be seen in the silhouette of the moon's spots. A32dd. The lunar disc shows the figure or imprint of an anthropomorphic character carrying a bundle of wood or brushwood. A32de. A headless man is visible on the lunar disc. A32e. On the lunar (rarely: solar) disc, a character holding an object or animal is visible. See motif A32D. A32f. On the lunar disc, a character is visible who has gone to fetch water and/or is holding a vessel for liquid in his hands. See motif A32D. A32g. On the lunar disc, a character can be seen holding onto a tree or bush and ending up on the moon with them. See motif A32D. A32h. A tree, bush, branch, snag, etc. are visible on the lunar disc. See motif A32G. A32i. A shepherd (shepherd and girl, shepherd and his flock, dogs) can be seen on the lunar disc. A32j. A shaman with a tambourine ascends to the moon and remains there, visible in the silhouette of the lunar spots. A32k. A character, discernible in the silhouette of the moon's spots, first headed for the sun and only then reached the moon, or the Sun and the Moon argued over who he should belong to. A32l. The silhouette of a certain character is visible on the solar disc. Or it is said that the character fell into the sun and remained there. A32m. The moon is called the "Gypsy sun". Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of A32's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| I39A | 93.27% | The souls of the dead walk across the rainbow to another world; a rainbow bridge spans the river separating the world of the dead from the world of the living. |
| K77A | 92.48% | Various objects and animals (rarely: only animals, but including those that are safe in reality) defeat a strong enemy (usually joining the hero who is going to take revenge on the strong enemy for an insult and hiding in the house where the enemy is supposed to appear), attacking him in turn; he dies or flees. Either someone or the attacked character himself places objects in his dwelling that then harm that character. |
| B46D | 90.43% | Men, each of whom excels others in a particular art, turn into stars. |
| A32L | 90.37% | The silhouette of a certain character is visible on the solar disc. Or it is said that the character fell into the sun and remained there. |
| L1C2 | 90.37% | Fleeing from a demonic creature, the characters hide their children (younger brother or sister) in a camouflaged pit, usually under the hearth. See motif L1C. |
| I104 | 89.90% | Stars are formed from particles of the body, fragments of a larger celestial body (usually the moon); stars (usually also the sun and moon) are formed from the body of a single being. |
| B6 | 89.86% | The first or only remaining man and woman move towards each other, going around a mountain, a pole or otherwise following a circle from opposite sides, and when they meet, they get married. |
| K56AA | 89.52% | Two or three sisters successively become the dog's brides. The first or the first two act incorrectly, perish or fail to achieve their goal. The last one acts correctly and succeeds. |
| G29 | 88.89% | The character consists of various artefacts of domestic and industrial use or transforms into them. |
| A4 | 88.47% | The Sun is a woman (the Moon is usually a man, sometimes also a woman, see motif A6; highlighted in bold italics in the list of ethnic groups below). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 15 traditions: Timor: Amarasi, Tetum, Meto, Atoni (incl Mollo), Kedang (Lomblen island), Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor), Bengali, Wales, 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, Karachays, Balkar, Nganasans, Ainu, Udeghe, Nivkh, Chipewyan, Copper, West Greenland, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Quileute, Chemakum (Hoh)