The Mythology and Folklore Database
M151A - Supports a rock, ATU 1530, J2273.1.




124 Myths, Legends and Folktales
122 Unique Narratives for Motif M151A
38 Cultures & Traditions where M151A is told
68 Mythemes Indexed
0 Sub-Motifs of Motif M151A


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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 character pretends to hold a rock, tree, etc., which is supposedly about to fall. See Dixon 1916: 189. (It is possible that in America the motif is of late African origin).

Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes


No dispersal data found for motif 'm151a'.

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.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 38 traditions: Zande (Azande, incl Nzakara), Tiv, Bamum (Bamun), Mungaka (Mgaka, Bali), Beba, Anaguta, Bete (Mbete, Karang), Ekoi, Nyang, Vute (Wute), Jukun, Chamba, Bamileke, Kwotto, Kirri; Denya (Nyang), Zaghawa, Khmu (Kammu), Puoc, SW Arunachal Pradesh: Sherdukpen, Tawang (Monpas), Aka (Hrusso), Miji, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Sindhi, Vepsians, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Bashkirs, Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Kiowa Apache, Hitchiti, Creek, Seminole; Tuskegee; iconography of Kentucky Hopewell, Chumash, Northern Foothills Yokuts (Chukchansi, Dumna, Kechayi), Navajo, Chiricahua, Hopi, Tewa (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe; Hano), Tiwa (Taos, Picuris; Sandia, Isleta), Towa (Jemez), Cocopa, Seri, Western Mexico Nahuatl, Popoloca; Tlapanec, Tojolabal, Chuj, Jacalteca, Kanjobal, Mocho (incl Tuzantec), Acatec, Sayula Popoluca (=Veracruz Mixe), Sierra Popoluca, Veracruz Zoque, Chinantec, Mazatec, Mixtec, Trique, Cuicatec; Amuzgo, Zapotec, Chatino, Huave, Tzeltal, Lacandon, Kekchi; Mopan, Waiwai, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Napo (Quijo), Kanelo (“Jungle Kechua”), Aimara


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