The Mythology and Folklore Database
B42H2 - Reddish star – arrow.




10 Myths, Legends and Folktales
10 Unique Narratives for Motif B42H2
3 Cultures & Traditions where B42H2 is told
32 Mythemes Indexed
27 Sub-Motifs of Motif B42H2


Please log on to view the narratives.




 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

A large reddish star (Betelgeuse or Aldebaran) is identified with an arrow.

Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment


B42 has 27 other sub-motifs


B42.  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?


No dispersal data found for motif 'b42h2'.

Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
A10.00%Another sun — less powerful or less favourable to humans — existed before the appearance of the current one.
A100.00%The sun gets its sparkling eyes (eye) from an animal.
A11A0.00%The visible sun or moon are their eyes; if the eyes of the luminaries were not damaged, it would be much brighter and hotter.
A11B0.00%The sun or moon has one eye (usually the second eye is knocked out or sucked out, but sometimes the reason is not explained; among the Munduruku, the sun of the rainy season has lost both eyes, while the sun of the dry season has retained both). See motif 11A.
A11C0.00%The Sun and Moon kill a monster whose eyes shine differently. At first, the Moon takes the brighter eye, but then swaps with the Sun.
A120.00%A creature or creatures regularly (sunrise and sunset, winter and summer, night and day, phases of the moon) or occasionally (eclipses, eschatological catastrophes) attack the luminaries or block their light.
A12A0.00%During an eclipse or under other circumstances, predators attack the luminaries: wolves, bears, jaguars, pumas, dogs, foxes, raccoons. See motif A12.
A12B0.00%During an eclipse or at sunset (marked *), the luminaries are swallowed by a toad or frog.
A12C0.00%Eclipses of the sun, moon or their setting (marked*) are caused by a snake, lizard, dragon, fish or crocodile; these creatures attack the luminaries now or attacked them at the beginning of time. See motif A12.
A12D0.00%Birds attack the sun or moon during an eclipse (covering them with their wings) or (*) cover the sun during sunrise or sunset. See motif A12.

 See more...

Please log on to view the narratives.



Map of Motif Dispersal

Click here for a clustered map

Drag the map around by clicking and using the mouse, use the wheel to zoom



This motif has been recorded in 3 traditions: Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Chukchi, Tlingit


Please log on to view the narratives.