| Motif | Name | Description |
| a22 | To the sky from a bonfire | After getting into the fire or boiling water, one or two persons ascend to the sky and turn into the Sun and/or Moon |
| a2e | The Sun and the Moon are cut off heads | The Sun and/or the Moon are cut off heads of anthropomorphic beings |
| a32 | Figure on lunar disc | A figure or an imprint of some being or object are seen in the Moon. (For statistical analysis motifs A32A – A32J are also included into A32) |
| a32d | Man in the Moon | Human being or imprint of human being is seen in the moon |
| a35 | Spots on the lunar disc | Dark spots on the lunar disc are dirt, blood, paint, traces of beating, burning, scratching, etc. on the Moon person's body or face (Kiliwa: spots on the Sun) and do not form any particular figure |
| a4 | Female sun | The Sun is female, the Moon is male or (more rare) also female |
| a5 | The Sun and the Moon are males | The Moon is male, the Sun is also male or (much more rare) asexual |
| b2a | The female earth | The earth is a female person (alone or together with a male person); she is female being or associated with a woman |
| b2e | The male earth | The earth or the world as a whole is a male person (alone or together with a female person) |
| b3a | Primeval waters | Water is the original element, the dry earth appears later |
| b3b | Earth grows big | Original earth was small and later increased in size or the fertile soil grew from a small amount of original substance |
| b3e | Earth falls on waters | In the beginning there are only air and water. 1) Person descends from the sky, creates the dry land or a hard support created for her or him grows into the earth. 2) The earth is sent or dropped from the sky, put on the surface of the water. 3) The earth is brought from somewhere (not from the underworld) and put on the water |
| b42n | Orion is one person | Constellation of Orion or the Belt of Orion is identified with only one male person, usually with a warrior or hunter |
| b54 | Chips turn into fish | Chips of wood, branches or pieces of bark thrown or fallen into the water turn into fish and/or aquatic animals |
| b5b | The universal mother | Woman (alone or with her companion) gives birth to or creates not only people but also different creatures and objects |
| b77 | Primeval sky close to earth | Originally the sky was close to the earth, then it has risen up |
| b77a | Giant pushed the sky up | One or several (animal)-persons push sky up to its present height |
| c19 | Acquisition of the sun | The Sun (the day light) that was absent, stolen or hidden appears (again) |
| c2 | Deluge and conflagration combined | Inhabitans of the Middle World are (partly) destroyed (or will be destoyed) once by fire or draught, another time by a flood or the world is destroyed with a flood of fire or boiling water |
| c8 | The couple of close relations originates the mankind | In the beginning of time or after the natural disaster brother and sister, mother and son, or father and daughters are the only human beings. They marry and the present day people are their descendents |
| c8c | Mother and son produce people | After the world cataclysm, in the beginning of time or coming to a new land a woman marries her son and produce people |
| d10 | Fire sticks are two persons | A male and a female persons personify fire-sticks |
| d4a | Theft of fire | Fire is stolen from its original owner or brought back to the people from somebody who had stolen it before |
| d4e1 | The dog and the fire | Dog obtains fire, daylight or the Sun or steals them |
| e12 | The animated drawing | Person draws an object or creature and it becomes alive |
| e15 | Ducks and canoes | People learn from aquatic birds how to make canoes or how to paddle; or the first canoe is a transformed bird or is made of bird bones |
| e32 | People born from trees | First people are born by trees or come out of a tree, flower, reed |
| e34 | Sacred flutes from ogre’s remains | Ogre is killed. Musical instruments used in male rituals and taboo for women emerge from his remains |
| e39 | Pig ancestor | A pig is an ancestor of a particular group of people |
| e5a | Mankind ascends from the underworld | The first people (or only the first men or the first women) are not created but come to earth from the underworld (from a cave) or from a small enclosure under the earth or on its surface (tree trunk, rock, gourd, etc.). Many people of both sexes and of different ages or people and different species of animals come out together |
| e5b | First couple from the underworld | First man (a group of brothers) or first human couple come out from the underworld (a cave) or from a small enclosure on its surface (tussock, reed, tree, rock, gourd) |
| e5e | The two-headed being is not allowed to come to the earth | First people or animals ascend or descend to earth. The two-headed monster attempts to follow them but is prevented from coming to the earth |
| e9 | The mysterious housekeeper | Person observes traces of some activity that takes place in his (rare: her) house in his (her) absence and then takes by surprise the responsible one |
| f1 | First woman is a transformed man | Woman, female supernatural or animal females are created by changing the sex of a man (or male animals) |
| f18a | The long penis | Penis is so long that he can turn it round his waist or send into a woman who is at a long distance from him. (Only texts considered to describe real events and beings and not anecdotes are included) |
| f20 | A strong embrace | Man and woman embrace each other forever or for a long time |
| f22 | Study of partner’s body | Person asks another person of the opposite sex about destination or place of her or his genitals. Usually it is made after putting questions about function of other body parts; or person tries to use for sex different parts of the partner's body or tests them before reaching the best place where the genitals should be put |
| f38 | Women and sacred knowledge | Women were possessors of the sacred knowledge, sanctuaries or ritual objects which are now taboo for them or they made attempts to acquire such a knowledge or objects |
| f39 | The time of women | The women dominated over the men in the past or in a far away land, were the active part in marriage relations, practiced activities which now are reserved of the men only. Or the women could obtained supremacy but failed to do it for some reason |
| f44 | Women and men separate | The women and the men of the primeval community quarrel and abandon each other |
| f47 | Pieces of flesh turn to people | A living creature or a lump of alive flesh is cut into pieces which are diepersed around. After some time every piece turns into human being |
| f6 | Gouged our vagina | Woman has no vagina and it is later made by bird or animal |
| f7 | The underwater-maiden | Man takes or attempts to take a wife who is connected with the underwater world (fish, crab, snake, water animal and the like) |
| f88 | Odor of women | Initially women's genitals were fragrant or had no smell. Because of a bad chance they acquire unpleasant odor or do not acquire fragrant odor |
| g20 | Woman turns into plants | Food crops emerge from remains of a woman or girl |
| g21 | Coconut palm from a human head | Coconut palm grows out of the human head |
| g23 | Alive being turns into many objects | Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different objects or creatures (only etiological narratives are considered) |
| g23a | Alive being turns into plants | Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different plants, mostly edible or cultivated |
| g23b | Alive being turns into nations | Different body parts of a being turn into people of different ethnic affiliation or such people receive their names and characteristics according to body parts that they got |
| h12 | The alive person comes to the land of the dead after somebody’s death | The alive person comes to the land of the dead to bring back somebody who has recently died (besides stories about shamans who journey to the other world to bring back the soul of a sick person) or, having no particular aim, goes there in company of somebody who had recently died or following his or her tracks |
| h12c | Orpheus: to return the dead wife | Husband follows his dead wife to the other world but is unable to bring her back or succeeds to do it but loses her once again |
| h34a | Controversy over conditions of life | Person has a series of suggestions how to make the world easy for living and free of hard work and death. His companion successively rejects them. Their dialogue forever defines conditions of human life |
| h34d | Piece of sky bitten off | Animal person climbs (or attempts to climb) to the sky or to the Moon to bite off a piece of it |
| h34d1 | Edible sky | Sky or sky objects were edible but later this source of food became inaccessible or used only by the inhabitants of the distant land where the sky and the earth meet |
| h39 | Snakes become dangerous (the spilled poison) | Certain creatures (snakes, insects) get access to special substance that proved to be out of control and become poisonous or immortal; creatures obtain their characteristics (usually becomes poisonous) after drinking or licking a particular medicine |
| h4 | The shed skin | Those who change their skin become young again |
| h5 | People and snakes | Reptiles or invertebrates possess the medicine of immortality; are contrasted with men as immortal with mortals and/or are responsible for originating of death; or a snake's bite inflicts the first death |
| i100 | The Pleiades are girls | The Pleiades are a group of girls or women (with children) |
| i14 | No-anus people | Person or creature has no anus opening |
| i15 | No-mouth people | Anthropomorphic beings have no mouths |
| i16 | Body anomalies of the first people | First human beings have no mouth, anus or genitals, their women do not know how to give birth |
| i19 | People inhale the odor of food | Anthropomorphic beings satisfy their hunger cooking food and inhaling the odor |
| i3 | Weapon of Thunder | The lightning (and thunder) is (produced with) an object (axe, sword, mirror, belt, stones, skin, etc.) in hands of anthropomorphic being |
| i41 | Rainbow serpent | Rainbow is a reptile (usually a snake) or (more rare) a fish, or it is related to snake, to its tongue, breath, or to scorpion's tail |
| i41c | Sky object is a reflection of a snake | The rainbow of the Milky Way is a reflection of a snake (fish) that is on the earth or in the sea |
| i43a | The celestial monster | Giant reptilian monster (serpent, more rare fish, chain of fish) extends in the sky and/or supports the sky being associated with Milky Way or the rainbow |
| i43b | Milky Way is a serpent or fish | Milky Way is a reptile, fish, or chain of fish |
| i44 | Chthonic serpent | Giant serpent lies on the perimeter of the earth or supports the earth |
| i48 | Confined to the underworld | Certain person loses his or her freedom, is confined to a far away place (often, to the underworld) and acquires cosmic dimensions: supports the earth or the sky and/or his or her movements produce earthquakes or (rare) storms |
| i66 | Ashes on Milky Way | Milky Way is ashes or smoldering coals |
| i72 | Stars are people | Stars are people, ghosts, anthropomorphic beings (interpretations of unique star objects like Venus or Polaris as persons not considered) |
| i74a | Stars are fire-flies | Stars are fire-flies, glow-worms |
| i82b | Venus is female | Morning and/or Evening Star is a female personage |
| i82c | Venus is the Moon’s wife | Venus or some other bright star seen near the eastern or western horizon is female and wife of the Moon |
| i96 | Bloody rainbow | Rainbow is blood, associated with war and death |
| j22d | Two animals from one cut in two | Two halves of one animal or person which was cut in two turn into two animals of different species or into foreigners |
| j26 | Babies come out of the water | Baby heroes, embryos or objects from which they emerge are found in a river or lake or come to people out of the water |
| j46 | Enemy drowns | Antagonist perishes falling into the water or trying to cross a water body |
| j59 | Following arrow to get to the sky | To climb to the sky, person must first to shoot an arrow that reaches the sky and sticks to it |
| k18 | Infant picks out his unknown father | A boy is born whose father or (rare) mother is unknown. He himself points at his parent who as a rule occupies the lowest social position. Usually many men (women) come together and everyone hopes that the boy points at him (her) |
| k18b | Baby boy does not cry anymore | A baby boy has to recognize his father or mother among many people. When his parent takes him, the boy ceases crying |
| k1f | Conflict because of a woman | A man maroons another because of jealousy or because he plans to take hold of his wife |
| k2 | The destroyed ladder | Hero climbs up (e.g. to a tree) or down (e.g. into a deep cave) by ladder, rope, from branch to branch, etc. The rope etc. breaks or is intentionally destroyed and the hero cannot return to the ground. (All cases of motif K2A, besides the Koreans, also contain motif K2) |
| k24a | Supernatural male hides clothes of human girl | Supernatural male person (often a snake, a dragon) hides clothes of a human girl or sits on it. To return her clothes she had to become his wife |
| k30 | Flying enemy abducts woman | Flying person or creature abducts a woman but is ultimately killed or the woman escapes from him |
| k32 | The false wife | An ugly, old, lazy, etc. woman or (in Chaco) a male trickster comes to man under disguise of his wife or bride who is driven out, confined to the underworld, killed, etc. |
| k4 | The bird nester | Person climbs up a tree or rock or descends to a cave to get eggs or nestlings from the bird's nest. Another person remains on the ground. They get into conflict and/or the first person is unable to get back to the ground |
| k98 | (Animal) helper turns into household | An animal or (rare) a person that gave birth to the hero or supported him for a long time asks his master or son to kill him or her. Its (her) remains turn into a house with a household where the hero can live |
| l110 | The devourer | A demonic being swallows a multitude of people and animals. When it is killed and cut open, the swallowed ones come out alive or are revived |
| l13 | The reared up monster | A small creature is reared up by people. When it is grown up, it becomes harmful and dangerous |
| l14 | Reared up serpent | A small creature (often a worm or a reptile) is brought home and reared up or it becomes to live by itself in an artificial body of water. When big, it goes out of human control or becomes something huge and/or dangerous. Cf. motif L13A (The reared up monster attacks people) |
| l19a | Beings with even number of heads | Beings (any besides birds) with even but not more than ten number of heads are described in tales or represented in art. Beings that with even number of heads named in a row with other multi-headed beings and the highest number is even or bigger than ten are not considered |
| l46 | Head downward | Person ascends, descends, walks head downward or sees the world upside down |
| l53 | Stones into the maw | A monstrous being is killed or neutralized by (burning hot) stones (pieces of metal, heavy fruits, etc.) thrown into its maw or anus or the being retreats when they menace to throw a stone into its maw |
| m63 | Body parts enumerated | Before finding a part of the body that is the best for some particular function, other parts are proven or enumerated |