Water is the original element, the dry earth appears later
Original earth was small and later increased in size or the fertile soil grew from a small amount of original substance
Ursa major (seven stars or only four stars of a dipper) is identified with an ungulate (elk, deer, mountain sheep, etc.)
Seven main stars of Ursa major are interpreted as a figure of a mammal: bear, deer, mountain sheep, camel, dog
The dry land (the earth) grows from a small amount of solid substance (sand, clay, dirt and the like) brought from the lower world (usually from the bottom of the ocean)
Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different objects or creatures (only etiological narratives are considered)
Demonic person turns into or consists of different household objects or tools (and into elements of a landscape)
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
Person comes to the land of the dead and brings back somebody who has recently died or brings his remains. The dead one becomes alive and lives normal life (for some time)
Shining sky objects or atmospheric phenomena are excrements of sky dwellers
Milky Way is a path of a person who was walking on snow-shoes
Instead of lice, there are other (bigger or dangerous) creatures in the hair of some persons or he or she pretends that his or her hair is infested with them
A mighty bird thrust its talons into a big fish, whale, water monster, etc. Talons get stuck, the bird is either pulled down under the water or makes itself free with great difficulty
Person gets into the belly of water being or into the belly of giant creature which appearance and living place remain vague. He kills the monster from the inside and/or returns to earth by himself (i.e. not extracted by other people)
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.
A man travels with his wife or daughter. Another woman or a demonic person replaces her when the man goes away for a short time or (rare) falls asleep
Thunder or giant bird fights against a reptile, big water animal or other big and strong creature who lives in water or under the earth
A bodiless head, face, or skull is a woman's husband, suitor or son. He is not dangerous but a good provider, saves people from hunger, etc.
An ogre or ogress catches a person and brings him to his or her home where he or she plans to cook and eat him. The hero escapes
Running away from a dangerous being, person throws small objects behind him or her which turn into mighty obstacles on the way of the pursuer
Running away from a dangerous being, person throws objects that turn into mighty obstacles on the way of the pursuer. One of the thrown objects is a whetstone which turns into a mountain
The antagonist tries to drink a river or sea and bursts
Cunning fox, jackal or coyote saves particular person or many people, helps them
Person loses his eyes because of his playfulness or negligence. He makes new eyes of some substance or/and takes eyes of another person
Person (usually after losing his own eyes), makes new eyes of berries and is able to see again
Before falling asleep, person tells his eyes (which he extracts and puts aside) or his anus to awake him in case of danger. Eyes or anus do not make an alarm or person himself does not react to it. As a result he suffers a damage
There are objects which remaining on the same place are moving permanently or periodically (meet and part. rise and fall down, shut and open, rotate)
Hero demonstrates his supernatural abilities remaining alive in a burning hot chamber, stove, bonfire, among burning vegetation
Hero is asked to climb into a hole or pit. When he does it, they fill it with soil or throw down a post, a stone, etc. The hero demonstrates his magic capacities coming back uninjured
Pursued by demonic creature (usually a whale or walrus), people throw behind piece by piece children’s or woman’s clothes. These attract the pursuer’s attention, he loses time, the runaways escape
Seriously of for fun, a girl or a woman names an animal or remains of an animal as her husband or steps on the animal’s bones. The animal (revives and) carries her away. Her human husband or brother comes after her and they run away. The animal husband pursues them but abandons the chase or dies
Treasure, or the like, is thrown back to tempt pursuer to delay
Hero comes across a (animal-)person from an enemy group and takes his or her appearance, usually dressing himself in a skin of his victim; after this he penetrates the enemy camp
A girl marries an animal or brings an animal to her home, the animal turns into a handsome man. Her sister or friend tries to do the same but perishes or suffers a reverse
One of (step)sisters, co-spouses or young female neighbors meets a being that is able to reward and to punish. She behaves herself properly and is rewarded. Another (other) girl comes to the same being but behaves in a wrong way and is punished (not rewarded).
The Moon is female or bisexual, the Sun is male
Finding a hole in the ground or making it, person gets to see below another world. Usually the earth is seen from the sky
Opening in the firmament is covered with a flat stone. When person puts the stone aside, he or she gets to see the earth
A woman comes to her rival and kills her pushing her head into boiling liquid or pouring it into her ear
Person is suggested to fulfill tasks that are mortally dangerous or cannot be fulfilled without supernatural helpers or capacities. The person fulfills the tasks and remains alive. A contest between persons has form of a competition or game in which the loser is deprived of his status or life
A girl goes to the other world, acts correctly and brings back an animal or a box with a handsome man inside. Usually another girl acts wrongly and suffers a reverse
Person who gives difficult tasks to the hero is associated with an animal, a bird or a fish
The hero has to come unrecognized to the meeting place of his enemies. He meets an old woman (usually a shaman, a medicine-woman) who goes there, puts on her skin and acquires her appearance
An ogre puts children (usually they are mice) into his bag, tell a tree (post, etc.) to bend down, hangs the bag on the tree and tells the tree to straighten itself back. Another animal person (usually the fox) releases the children
The false wife who acquired guise and place of the real one is a smelling bug or a grub
Ogre catches children when they play sliding down a slope
A man must fulfill difficult tasks (to win competition) to receive the permission for a marriage
Bodies of the killed ones are put in such a position as if they are in a good mood (smile, laugh, dance)
Person draws a line on the ground creating an obstacle that the pursuer is unable to cross
In the sky there is a special container (vessel, skin, box, etc.) for storing the rain
To kill the hero, his enemies involve him into a game with a dangerous ball (or ice, stone, bone, iron, a walrus head, a biting skull, etc.)
Person succeeds in getting through the opening which is going to bang shut but the stern of his boat, the tail of an animal or a bird, the body of his horse, or his own heel is flatterned, torn off, etc.
There are mountains or rocks which permanently collide and separate again from each other or a crack (jaws) in a vertical cliff which is opening and closing
Man marries a polar bear or grizzly who becomes a woman or a woman who becomes a bear
A man consciously marries a woman related to the non-human world
Inhabitants of the village of the polar bears who are relations of the hero’s wife give him difficult tasks and tests