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)
Human being or imprint of human being is seen in the moon
Person who holds some object in his or her hands is seen in the moon (rare: in the sun)
Person seen in the Moon initially had to get to the Sun or the Sun and the Moon argue who of them should get the person
The Moon-person runs out of the lodge and flies up. He forgets to put his footwear on one foot, or somebody attempts to seize him grasping his foot or cuts the foot off. Now the Moon-person lacks one foot or footwear on one of his (or her) feet
While being transformed into a bird or ascending to the sky a person was in a hurry and put a footwear only on one foot, or somebody attempted to seize him grasping his foot. Now the corresponding bird or a sky-person is believed to have different feet
A person pursued by an enemy or tyrannized by others asks the Moon to take her or him to the sky. The request is granted and the person is now seen in the Moon
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
Islands or continent are fished out of the ocean or pulled to their present place by rope
Day light (also warmth, the sun, the moon) is kept as a particular object in a container, under a cover, etc.
Person who follows the wild animals turns into one of them or into their master
The transformer walks along coming across different persons and creatures, transforming them into birds, animals, stones, shrines, etc. (or transforming monstrous animals into present day ones) and introducing cultural norms, landscape features, etc.
Person decorates different birds (rare: fish), share fat between anomals. Since then, the corresponding species acquire present characteristics
Person paints birds or animals or they paint each other. Some of them are not satisfied with the result
Person kicks loon or other water bird. Since then this bird has flat tail base and it walks on dry land with difficulty
Ursa major or Polaris are identified with a middle size animal (ermine, fisher, woodchuck) or with a basically anthropomorphic person (with some animal characteristics) hit with a dart or an arrow
It is discussed if darkness or light, cold or warm periods should exist
The primeval ancestors (usually birds and animals) participate in discussion concerning the desired predominance or wamth/light or cold/darkness, number of the units of time in a tempoi cycle, etc.
In a dispute about should it be dark or light, the fox stands for the light
When some person or animal is killed, blood paints the sky (origin of the sunrise or sunset, of reddish colors of Aurora borealis) or other natural objects (Moon, autumn vegetation)
Raven or other carrion-eating bird of dark color and a similar size was originally white
Alcor (a weak star near the second star of the handle of the Big Dipper) is selected as a particular sky object
Grateful person decorates (rare: punishes) a bird who lives near water (kingfisher, loon, goose), thence its appearance (crest, beak, feathers)
During the creation of the world or after the world cataclysm animals run around making the earth big, reporting about its condition or they are sent to report the size of the growing earth
Persons or animals dive or otherwise decend to the lower world to get a desired object and to bring it to earth (besides episodes in the fairytales, cf. motif k27x9)
A muskrat (more rare beaver or otter) brings the desired object from under the water
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)
Against person's will, butchered, dried or cooked meat, tanned hides, etc. turn back into animals or fish and escape.
The Sun (the day light) that was absent, stolen or hidden appears (again)
Raven or other big dark-feathered bird scavenger is the owner, personification, spouse, obtainer or stealer of fire, daylight, or the Sun
Certain person is made of improper material and proves to be short-lived or unfit for fulfilling his functions
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
Frame of canoe is made according to breast bone of a bird
While man is asleep, birds turn into girls and sew covering of his canoe
Woman, female supernatural or animal females are created by changing the sex of a man (or male animals)
For different reasons, sexual contact with a woman is deadly dangerous for a man
There are small mammals with sharp teeth in woman's genitals.
A man gets into the village of women. Usually he has to satisfy every woman against his will or every woman claims him for herself
There are (or were) women who live apart from men in their own village or villages
In the beginning of time two or more men (animal people) have only one woman
Cesarean operation upon a woman at childbirth as a custom
A woman cannot understand what does her partner want. She points at, names or suggests different things. At last she points at, names or exposes her genitals. This is the right answer
The first men and/or women have no genitals
Genitals exist by themselves as separate beings, they can be stuck to the human body, remove, etc.
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
Raven hides or scares game animals preventing hunters to kill them. People outwit him
All the fish or (rare) shellfish) was concentrated in one place. Certain person lets it lose or puts it into the rivers or sea
Raven is responsible for introduction of permanent death
Creatures that produce rain and/or thunderstorms are birds or anthropomorphic beings with wings; or (rare) some or all birds are connected with thunder, lightning or rain though Thunder is not a bird
Lightning emerges from eyes or mouth of the being who is thought to produce thunderstorms
A man meets a giant bird that brings with it clouds, rain, hail, thunderstorm, etc.
The male and the female birds bring with them different kinds of precipitations (e.g. the male comes with a hail, the female with a rain). Or (Buryats of Mongolia) one and the same bird brings different kinds of precipitations depending on is it angry or not.
Beings without mouth, anus, genitals, whose women do not know how to give birth live in the underworld, in the sky, or in a far-away land
Person visits people who have no anus or mouth. He or his sister marries or tries to marry a local dweller
Anthropomorphic beings satisfy their hunger cooking food and inhaling the odor
It is necessary to approach a tree which is surrounded with fire, ejects fire, shoots sharp splints, etc.
Some beings are half-men and half-dogs (usually anthropomorphic with heads of dogs)
Shining sky objects or atmospheric phenomena are excrements of sky dwellers
Spider person raises the hero to the sky, helps him or her to return back to earth or otherwise helps to overcome the borderlines between worlds
Two constellations (usually Ursa major and Ursa minor) are interpreted as twin objects of the same type (two animals, two carts, etc.)
Two sisters (if more, only two play a significant role in the plot) travel and meet an unpleasant suitor or get to an ogre
A man turns into powerful bird or creates it. The bird carries away his enemy
Person or his helper draws his enemies on the unstable bridge and destroys it. The enemies fall into water, into a precipice
Antagonist perishes falling into the water or trying to cross a water body
To climb to the sky, person must first to shoot an arrow that reaches the sky and sticks to it
Person gets into the belly of ground animal or bird. He kills it from the inside and/or returns to earth by himself (i.e. not extracted by other people)
Hero transforms nestlings or monster bird into common eagles or owls
Hero substitutes powerful person's weapon or amulet with a fake
When a woman or two sisters descend from sky back to earth, they get to the top of a tree. Some animals who walk by cannot help them or do not want to help. Wolverine gets women down because he plans to marry them but they escape from him
A human person admires a star or (rare) the Moon in the sky, expresses desire to marry it or (rare) to get a star-object. Star descends to him or to her or takes him or her to the sky
Inhabitants of a distant land who have different nature than (normal) human beings struggle from time to time with some non-human enemies. Man helps local dwellers because their enemies are not dangerous for the human beings
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 man must fulfill difficult tasks (to win competition) to receive the permission for a marriage
The antagonist sends the hero to the place where he is attacked by dangerous creatures. The hero kills them and brings to the antagonist. The creatures are the antagonist's relatives, pets, or helpers, therefore he or she mourns their death or revives them
When father-in-law (rare: mother-in-law) asks the hero to killl or to tame a dangerous animal or not to kill certain animal during a hunt, he (she) turns into this animal himself or transforms into it his daughter(s) or wife (husband)
Hero is sent or sets off by his own will to get two or more different materials needed for making bow and arrows (wood or reed for shafts, feathers, tendons for string, flint for points, paint to paint the shafts, gum to stick points to the shafts)
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.
Mother-in-law of a man takes the appearance of her daughter to replace her
People abandon a boy, a girl, brother and sister, a group of children, or a young family without fire and food. A compassionate person conceals hot coals for the outlaws in the abandoned camp
A man meets a dangerous giant (or serpent) who proves to be friendly to him. When another giant fights with the first one, the man helps his friend
A man and a friendly giant live together. The friendly giant fights with another one and asks the man for help. This help proves to be crucial because the man badly injures a foot of another giant
One man puts another into a box, closes the lid (or ties him to a board, to canoe, etc.) and puts the box adrift. It floats to another land, man is released there, returns home, revenges on his enemy
Person is lured into a trap being invited to lie in a box or a hole to measure it. Being unable to liberate himself from the box etc., the person remains in power of his enemies
Two men spend a night in a forest, take their moccasins or clothes off usually to dry them near the fire. One plans to burn the moccasins or the clothes of another at night. The latter imperceptible interchange their things and the first man burns his own property
Rolling head is a dangerous mobster (pursues celestial bodies, people etc.)
The beheaded woman pursues her husband while her head pursues her children
A monster kills victims with his or her sharp or stinging tail or protrusion on his or her back
Person or creature has another pair of eyes (or one eye) on the back of his head or (rare) on his back
Person discovers (rare:still fails to discover) another getting to see his or her shadow or reflection in water
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
To overcome a disaster, hot stones or ashes are thrown into the water
Person loses his organ or body part, it is carried away. He finds its new owner, gets his property back
The antagonists acquire person’s organ or body part (his remains) . Another person gets back what has been stolen and the first one revives (becomes strong again)
Person devours his or her own flesh or disembowels himself or herself
A baby or small child proves to be a demon, devours or injures people
A small animal digs an underground hole to the place where the monstrous stag, elk, antelope, or buffalo lies. Hero climbs along the tunnel and kills the monster
After digging a tunnel under a lying monstrous animal, a small animal (usually a mouse) bites off the monster's hair at a certain place. Hero kills the monster thrusting his spear or arrow through the hairless place into the monster's heart
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
A bear or other dangerous being tears off and carries away a hand of a person and holds it at his sleeping place. Another person steals the hand, gives it back to the owner
A woman turns into demon and pursues her children
An ogre sends a man to bring him a roasting stick and/or firewood to cook him. The man intentionally does it slowly, brings unfit objects An ogre sends a man to bring a roasting stick and/or firewood to cook him. The man intentionally does it slowly, brings unfit objects or a an animal helps him to escape
A kinfolk (often his mother) or wife (bride) of a sick (ugly, old) man or boy do not care for him. He becomes healthy (and handsome), punishes and/or abandons those who were evil with him
A supernatural helper (usually a loon) makes a blind man to regain his eyesight diving with him into water
A blind man or lad kills an animal. His wife or (grand)mother lies that he has missed, cooks and eats all the meat alone
Person commits something that is socially unacceptable. They catch him and injure (cut off) his bill or jaw. Usually he gets his ripped off jaw (bill) back
Acquiring possibility to fly, person ultimately falls to the ground or remains in a faraway place being unable to fly any more
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is raven
Person or creature who has no wings or is unable to fly on a long distance attempts to ascend to the sky or to fly far away but falls down or, deprived of his wings, remains in a place from which he is unable to return
Person plays throwing his eyes or (Alaska Athabascans) his tooth up or away. Eyes or tooth first come back to eye sockets or mouth but eventually are lost
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 turns into tiny object or creature. Touching or swallowing it, the woman conceives and gives birth to a baby-boy. The boy steals valuables or make love to the woman
Person turns into conifer-needle, a tiny particle, a small insect. Swallowing it by chance, the woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a boy
Person invites birds or animals (usually geese and ducks) to dance or stand around him and concentrate their attention on some activity (usually to dance with their eyes shut), kills them, usually one by one. Or (rare) he dances himself with his eyes shut and then kills water fowl who gather around him
One person or animal suggests another to slide downhill to kill or harm him or her
Person is lost or becomes blind. He walks asking different trees their names and makes decisions according to their answers reaching ultimately his destination
Animal person puts his tail (penis) down and waits in hope to get something edible. The tail (penis) is torn or cut off, the person escapes or dies
Raven marries or tries to marry a girl pretending to be handsome chief. They notice that somebody is eating carrion. Usually when everybody have to take off there footgear, raven's three-toes feet are exposed. He is driven away or runs away being ashamed
A man gets a woman thanks to a trick, carries her away in his canoe. She asks permission to go to shore to relieve herself, runs away
Raven (crow) gets the hidden or stolen Sun (daylight)
Raven is going to marry a girl but is rejected after they see that he eats filth
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
Sideral objects in different parts of the sky are identified with one and the same humanoid figure (parts of its body, decoratioons, etc.).
Because of its stupidity or unsocial behavior, the bear suffers a reverse, is injured or dies
Because of its stupidity and unsocial behavior, the wolverine suffers a reverse, is injured or dies
A strip of light or dark feathers or hair on the neck of a bird or animal is its necklace
A demonic person provokes his victims to slide downhill and kills them
Killing (injuring, offending) of some cruature (usually related to water) triggers deluge
Woman gets to the sky and marries a sky-dweller
In a dispute about should it be cold (dark) or warm (light), the bear stands for the cold; or the world is dark because the bear hides the sun in his house
Monstrous bird (giant bat) predates on humans. Heroes fight with it
Person attracts and catches the carrion-eaters (usually some birds) and thanks to this obtains valuables retrieves valuables (fire, woman, animals, etc.)
Animal person (mammal, bird, fish) of a small size (less than a fox) gets inside the bear and kills him from the inside (usually eat his meat)
Mother tries to kill her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair
Animals of particular species that were enemies of the heroes are exterminated besides the only pregnant female (rare a female and a male). Thanks to this, these animals still exist
Hero brings a feather (feathers) of a dangerous bird
A woman who had changed into demon pursues her own children
Body members of a person has the form of cutting or piercing weapon
Person who gives difficult tasks to the hero is associated with an animal, a bird or a fish
The task-giver is the bear who is the hero’s father-in-law
Wife of a blind man helps him to shoot a game but lies that he missed and secretly eats meat alone
Woman is dangerous because biting or stinging animal or animals is (are) inside her genitals (and not only the head of such an animal)
In three or more different episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is raven (crow)
Planning to get or to return valuables, person turns into baby or in a small objects that has power to impregnate a woman. The picked up or the born baby steals the valuables and acquires his real guise (including cases according to which the girl herself is the desired valuable)
A human being and a dog together are seen in the moon
During the time of creation particular species of animals (rare: plants) exchanged certain organs or traits or one animal borrowed an organ from another one but never brought it back. Thence the characteristics of these animals now. In rare cases the back exchange and restoring of the initial situation or the passing of certain organ from one animal to another without compensation are described
Trickster burns his own anus to punish it for improper behavior
Hero demonstrates his supernatural abilities remaining alive in a burning hot chamber, stove, bonfire, among burning vegetation
A Man disappears or goes away for long time. His wife sets off, comes to a house where her husband lives now or first sends her son there. She gets to know that he has married another woman
A woman comes to her rival and kills her pushing her head into boiling liquid or pouring it into her ear
Persons climbs a tree and thanks to this escapes from a demon (who usually tries to fell the tree)
When father-in-law (rare: mother-in-law) asks the hero to kill a bear, he (she) turns into the bear himsel or tranfforms into the bear his daughter or wife (husband)
The blind person walks asking different trees their names till he finds one that is needed to make (receive) the new eyes
A small child cries and becomes satisfied only when he gets a particular object to play with. This object is of high value and is hidden in the house. As soon as the object is given to him, the child or a person related to him carry it away
The sun and/or the moon are inanimate objects thrown up to the sky or fixed in the sky
The beaver had tail which the muskrat has now and vice versa
Two zoomorphic personages decorates each other or somebody decorates each of them