The Mythology and Folklore Database
B42 - Cosmic hunting, F59.2.
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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
Hunters, their dogs, fleeing or killed animals are visible in the sky in the form of stars and constellations.Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations
B42 has 27 other sub-motifsB42. Hunters, their dogs, fleeing or killed animals are visible in the sky in the form of stars and constellations. B42a. Hunters chase a bear across the sky and kill it in August-October. The bear's blood or fat falls to the ground in the form of dew or colours the foliage red. See motif B42. B42b. In the cosmic hunting plot, the objects of pursuit are hoofed animals (elk, deer, mountain sheep). See motif B42. B42c. In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is a bear. See motifs B42 and B42P. B42d. In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is a bear. See motif B42. B42e. In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is the rhea (Rhea americana, a large flightless bird). See motif B42. B42f. The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with a large hoofed animal (elk, deer, mountain sheep). Unless otherwise specified, see motif B42 in the description of cosmic hunting. B42g. The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with an animal (animals) pursued by hunters / attacked by other characters. B42h. Orion's Belt – game, another star or group of stars within or outside Orion – hunter. B42h1. In the plot of cosmic hunting, one of the astral objects is identified with an arrow or bullet, and it is emphasised that it struck an animal or three animals, which are identified with Orion's Belt. {In the Khoisan variants, it is emphasised that the arrow did not reach its target}. B42h2. A large reddish star (Betelgeuse or Aldebaran) is identified with an arrow. B42hh. Orion is associated with the theme of cosmic hunting. (Including motifs b42h, b42h1, b42m, b42r). B42i. Cassiopeia is associated with a deer or elk. B42k. In stories about cosmic hunting, the object of pursuit or the hunters are identified with the Pleiades. See motif B42. B42l. The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters, the dipper itself is a bear, an elk or a meat storehouse where the bear climbs. B42m. The three stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three men (hunters, thieves). The stars of the dipper are the object they seek to obtain (the hunted animal; the bed). Alcor (a faint star near Mizar) is a container, a vessel carried by the second of the three characters. B42m1. The three main stars of the Big Dipper's handle are associated with people of three different nationalities. B42m2. The stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three hunters chasing a beast. Each has a distinct character (one is boastful, another is hasty, etc.). In Siberia, the hunters are identified with people of different nationalities, and in the North American Northeast, with birds of different species. B42mn. Only one character (rather than several) chases an animal (elk or bear) across the sky, associated with one of the circumpolar constellations, but not with the Pleiades or Orion. (In the Kalevala tradition, there is no identification with stars). B42n. The constellation Orion is identified with a man, usually a giant, warrior, or hunter. B42o. A certain constellation is represented by a person who has been struck or wounded in the back. B42o1. The Big Dipper is identified with the fisher (Mustela pennati). B42p. The Big Dipper is identified with a bear. B42q. Ursa Major – chariot, cart. B42r. The three stars of Orion's Belt are three characters chasing each other. B42s. The Big Dipper or Polar Star – a small animal (ermine, marten, forest marmot) or anthropomorphic character with animal features, struck by a spear or arrow. B42t. All seven stars of the Big Dipper (and not just the stars of the dipper) are considered to be the figure of an animal - a bear, moose, deer, ram, camel, or dog. B42U. The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper – three people, and the four stars of the dipper – animals or objects (one or more). Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of B42's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| J66 | 91.52% | The character cuts or bites through bowstrings and other straps in advance, punctures boats, preventing opponents from fighting or pursuing him. |
| B42B | 90.82% | In the cosmic hunting plot, the objects of pursuit are hoofed animals (elk, deer, mountain sheep). See motif B42. |
| C6C | 89.32% | The bird dives and brings up the desired object from the bottom. See motif C6. |
| B69 | 88.85% | Wishing to reward or punish a small rodent (chipmunk, marmot, squirrel), the character makes it striped, usually by running a paw or hand down its back. |
| M60B | 88.36% | The deceiver, promising to cure a wounded or sick person, finishes him off and eats him or offers a remedy that is only worse for him. |
| K8C | 87.95% | The character enters the belly of an ordinary land animal, kills it from within (K952) and/or returns to the outside without outside help. Cf. motif M118. |
| J17 | 87.61% | Instead of lice in the character's hair, there are other creatures, or he pretends that such creatures live in his hair. |
| J46 | 87.01% | Antagonists perish by falling into water or attempting to cross a water barrier. See motifs J42, J44. |
| B42G | 86.94% | The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with an animal (animals) pursued by hunters / attacked by other characters. |
| K44 | 86.48% | The character kidnaps the boy or hides him from his mother or father, pretending to be his mother or father. The kidnapped boy learns the truth and leaves the kidnapper. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 109 traditions: Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia, Shone (Shona, =Mashona, =Karanga), Makoni (Shoni dialect), Remba (=Hungwe, Wahungwe); Zezuru, Rozwi, Ndau (Vandau), Luchasi (Ngangela), Chokwe (Konwe); Mbukushu, Tswana (Chwana), Suto (Soto; incl Pedi, Mbire), Hausa, Yoruba; incl Ife), Nupe, Bini (Edo), Engenni, Chamba, Dakka, Kukuruku, Mandingo (Manden, incl San, Samo), Kagoro, Bambara (Bamana), Malinke, Kassonke, Diula, Kru: Kru proper, Sapo (Sapã), Grebo, Kran (Krahn, Guere-Krahn; incl. Putu, Tchien), Bete, Neyo, Wobe, Devoin (Dey), Belle (Kuwaa), Bassa, Sikon, Tuareg, Temne (Timne), Bushmen (all groups), Central Australia: Kaitish, Warramunga, Arunta (Aranda), Loritja (Kukatja), Pijandjara (Pitjantjara), Adnjamatana (Andjamathana, Wailpi), Aluridja, Walpiri (Walbiri), Aluridja, Matuntara (Maduntara), Nambutji, Wamma (=Wommana?), Maori, Moriori (Chatam Islands), Batak (Toba, Dairi), Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Spain, Spaniards, Ancient Greece, Finns, Karelians, Western Sami, Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces), Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Mari (Cheremis), Chuvash, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mansi, Eastern Khanty (Ostyaks), Forest Nenets, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Darkhad, Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Khakas, Shor, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Nganasans, Kets, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Evens (Lamuts), Udeghe, Oroch, Nanai, Negidal, Chuvans, Russian-speaking Creols of Markovo, Chukchi, Aleuts, Inland Tlingit, North Alaskan Inupiat, Mackenzie Delta, Copper, Netsilik, Iglulik, Polar Inuit, East Greenland (Angmassalik, Kulusuk), Labrador Inuit (Koksoagmiut), Eyak, Tlingit, Lenape (Delaware), Micmac, Wawenock, Abenaki, Penobscot, Naskapi, Montagnais, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Kiowa Apache, Gros Ventre, Plains Ojibwa, Chilkotin, Shuswap, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lushootseed (Puget Sound: Puyallup, Nisqualmi, Snuqualmi, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Snohomish, Skagit), Twana (Skokomish), Cherokee, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Panamint, Upland Yuma: Walapai, Havasupai, Yavapai, Chemehuevi, Cahuilla, Cupeño, Luiseño, Juaneño, Mescalero, Diegueño: Ipai, Tipai, Kamia (Kumeai), Cocopa, Kiliwa, Yuma proper (Quechan), Mohave, Maricopa, Seri, Papago, Akawai, Locono, Siona, Secoya, Coreguaje, Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Bakairi, Kamayura, Mocovi; Kechua of Santiago del Estero with probable Guaikuruan substratum; Abipon, Vilela, Mataco, Chorote, Toba (incl Pilagá), Northern and Southern Tehuelche, Kpelle (incl Kono), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Greenland, Congo