The Moon is female or bisexual, the Sun is male
The Sun is female, the Moon is male or (more rare) also female
After passing half of the its way across the sky (in the day time) or in the underworld (in the night time), the Sun stops to have a rest
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)
A human being and a dog together are seen in the moon
Human being or imprint of human being is seen in the moon
Two male anthropomorphic creators compete in producing things. One of them is or becomes master of the underworld and/or spirits while another is associated with humans
The earth is a female person (alone or together with a male person); she is female being or associated with a woman
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
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
Animals get meat and fat extracted from some original creature or created otherwise. Some get a lot, some remain lean
Certain stars or constellations are interpreted as hunters, their dogs and game that the hunters pursue
Hunters pursue a bear across the sky, kill it in August – October. Its blood or fat drops to earth as a dew or painting leaves of the trees in red
In the cosmic hunt tale the game pursued by the hunters is a bear
Stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are identified with the hunters, the dipper itself with the game (bear or elk) or a neat-barn ravaged by bear
Three stars of the Dipper’s handle of Ursa Mayor are three men (hunters, thieves) who are eager to get an animal (an elk or a bear) or an object (a cot). Alkor (a weak star near Mizar) is a receptacle in possession of the second man
Stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are three hunters who pursue an animal and demonstrate particular psychological characteristics (one is a boaster, another is a hurried one, etc.). In Siberia the hunters belong to different ethnic groups and in the North American Northeast they are different species of birds
Animals (Melanesia: persons) discuss the number of discrete units of time that should be in a certain calendar period or in the night
Toes, claws, feathers, hairs, color stripes, etc. are counted and compared to establish the number of period of time or particular way of alternation of periods
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.
Weak or herbivorous animals were dangerous predators but have been transformed
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)
A group of people (usually children, brothers or sisters) play, dance, ascend to the sky and turn into Pleiades or other compact constellation
Children conflict with their parents who do not pay them enough attention, condemn their sexual behavior, do not give them enough food, clothes, etc.; the children abandon their parents and become birds, bats, atmospheric phenomena, or stars (usually the Pleiades)
To thank or to punish a small mammal like chipmunk or (ground) squirrel, animal or person scratches or paints it producing stripes on its back
Chipmunk or an animal of similar size (weasel, pika) is engaged into argument with another animal person (bear, elk, puma, snake) if it should be warm and light or cold and dark
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
A weak star near the second star of the handle of the Big Dipper (the Tibetans: Small Dipper) is interpreted as a dog
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)
During or before the world catastrophe (deluge, darkness) wild beasts and monsters attack and destroy people
The Sun (the day light) that was absent, stolen or hidden appears (again)
The destiny of creation depends on a person (usually an old woman) who is cooking soup somewhere outside of our world (in the sky, in the Moon, etc.)
In the sky, on the Moon (rare: on the Sun), i.e. somewhere outside of our world certain person is spinning, weaving, plaiting, or embroidering
Monsters or ghosts try to invade our world. Powerful person or creature is on guard and prevents the invasion
Coyote or fox bring people the fire, the daylight or the Sun
Fire owner, stealer, or stealer's companion is a rabbit, a hare or (among the Ofaie) a guinea pig
Female person is the owner or inventor (but not the personification) of the fire
First fire was hidden in genitals or anus of a woman
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
People live underground or in a small enclosure. When they come out they are attacked by monster or dangerous animal. Monster is killed or transformed
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
A man marries a woman who initially has guise of an ungulate animal (buffalo, elk, derr, etc.)
For different reasons, sexual contact with a woman is deadly dangerous for a man
Snake (Pacific snake-eel in Polynesia) is in vagina; around the woman's thighs; vagina is a mouth of a snake; a woman with toothed vagina is associated with a snake; a snake crawls out of woman's mouth to bite off the man’s penis during the copulation
Initially men possessed women's biological traits and vice versa (beard, menses, breasts, bearing children)
Woman is smeared with blood or red paint. Since then women menstruate
A woman or a girl takes a snake, an eel (i.e. Pacific snake-eel), a lizard, or a worm for husband or paramour. People kill or badly injure him, the woman and/or her progeny or the woman herself is transformed into snake. Cf. motif k76b: the snake-husband becomes and remains a handsome man
Certain woman or a group of women takes for a paramour a big land animal. Husbands, brothers or (adoptive) children kill or maim paramour and (sometimes) the woman
Person feeds another with the meat of his or her sexual partner who cooks or eats it without knowing whose meat it is
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
A man cohabits with a group of women (or with several women in succession) concealing his identity and/or intentions. He is either eventually exposed and punished by women or escapes to continue his tricks
Woman makes vain overtures to young man and/or falsely accuses him of sexual abuse. Her husband believes that the young man is guilty, kills or tries to kill him
To accuse a man or boy of (sexual) abbuse, a woman tears her clothes, smears or scratches her body pretending to be attacked
A woman revenges on a man who rejected her love but necessary not pretends to be an object of sexual harassment from his part
Person summons with a certain signal a non-human being (usually his or her sexual partner or his or her protégé). Another person spies, uses the same signal or pronounces the same words and kills the being who comes to him (or uses this being sexually himself)
Valuables (earth, soil, sun, crops, fire, sacred knowledge, hunting luck) are got or returned when son or daughter is stolen from his or her parent
Food crops emerge from remains of a woman or girl
Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different objects or creatures (only etiological narratives are considered)
Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different plants, mostly edible or cultivated
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)
A dead woman returns to earth but flies back as a bird or a fly
Game animals were concentrated in one single place. Certain person lets them disperse in the world
Container with valuables or with dangerous creatures is opened (before time). Its content goes out of control or disappear
Killed and destroyed (often burned) person or creature (usually ogre, fierce animal, powerful shaman) turns into a multitude of biting insects or into other small molesting creatures
Supernatural woman comes to live with humans. Thanks to that, food becomes easily available. She is maltreated, goes away, temporal superfertility is lost forever
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
Rivers were flowing or according to the original plan had to flow in both directions; somewhere there is a river that flows in both directions
Magic object, device that makes hunting or fishing easy gets into possession of a person who is unable to operate it or abuses it. The device kills or injures the failure himself, other people and/or disappears
A man helps Thunder who fights with his enemy
Thunder-god is temporarily overcome and imprisoned by his enemy
A turtle, toad, or frog supports the earth (sky) or is its embodiment
A tree or post pierces and unites different layers of the universe
Giant water-chthonic or sky serpent or dragon has horns or antlers on its head
Anthropomorphic beings satisfy their hunger cooking food and inhaling the odor
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)
The sky is constantly moving up and down in respect to earth
Way to the place of a certain person is guided by dangerous creatures (which often stand on the both sides of the pathway). Person placates them by gifts or nice talk, and they let him or her go the both ways, sometimes being punished for this by their master
A dog is the lord, guard or guide of/to the land of the dead; or dogs live on the way to the land of the dead
Souls of the dead dogs have their own towns in the Beyond or their own paths to travel there
Game animals live inside a mountain, in a cave or in the underworld where they often look like humans and have a master
Milky Way is the path over which souls travel to the beyond or a path of the funeral procession
The Pleiades are a group of boys or men, or a group of different people but predominantly males
The Pleiades are a group of girls or women (with children)
The Pleiades are any people (of any ages and sex, combined data of i99-i100a)
Stars are fragments of a bigger luminary (usually the Moon); or stars, the sun and the moon are formed from one and the same primeval person or creature
Heroes avenge the murder or captivity of the male relatives: (grand)father, uncles, or the elder relatives in general, the loss of the males being the most traumatic
Two or several brothers or friends are killed by antagonists. One of them is the father of the young hero who avenges their death or all of them are his uncles
A girl (or two sisters) travel, usually in search of a proper marriage partner who lives far away or who has gone away. On her way or after reaching the place of destination the girl gets to some unpleasant suitors
After a girl marries a valuable suitor, a rejected imposter or his relations kill him
In village where valuable marriage-partner lives an imposter plays the role of a buffoon
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 girl or two sisters walk in search of the man whose beautiful voice or whose flute-play they listen
Walking in search of her husband, boyfriend, kinsmen, shelter woman or girl gets to the house of dangerous creatures where she is injured or killed
A woman who is pregnant or has a small child falls from the sky. She or a daughter born by her dies but her (grand)son is grown up
When husband o brother leaves home to hunt, an evil spirit comes to his wife or sister. The spirit kills her or carries her away. Her baby boys extracted from her womb or born at this time survive
Heroes (usually one or two), being still babies or embryos, escape or are thrown away, often into the water. To bring them back into the human world, they are lured (persuaded) to come out or caught with difficulty
Baby heroes, embryos or objects from which they emerge are found in a river or lake or come to people out of the water
A small boy (several babies) was thrown away, born by the dead woman, lives in the water (in forest, etc.). Another boy lives with his father or mother. Ultimately the first boy comes to live in the locus of the second one. Often (see motif j25, Babies escape and return) during some time the boy who lives in the wilderness meets secretly with his brother (with other children, with pups that had been fed up by his mother) who lives with the people
A murdered parent of the hero comes to him as a ghost and informs about the circumstances of his or her death
Before the hero destroys the antagonists or escapes from them, he finds or receives the remains or possessions that belonged to the antagonists' victim
When the hero returns home after a long absence, his relation does not believe at first that it is really he because all this time somebody jeered at him or her imitating the hero's voice, telling that the hero is back, etc.
Person or his helper draws his enemies on the unstable bridge and destroys it. The enemies fall into water, into a precipice
Person stretches his or her leg or neck as a bridge across water body. The fugitives or those who walk ahead cross the bridge; the persecutor or those who are behind usually fall because the person takes his bridge off
Antagonist perishes falling into the water or trying to cross a water body
Twin heroes (or one boy) come to their divine father. He puts them under trials to get know if they are really his children and possess supernatural power
A virgin girl is impregnated by the Sun and gives birth to a son or twin boys. When her son (or the twins) grows up, he (they) comes to his father
Shooting and an arrow (rare: throwing a ball), person flies on it, after it or ahead of it or sends on the arrow another person
Not being burned in a fire, person ascends to the sky or gets across a river on clouds of smoke
Person is marooned on an islet or on another side of a sea or wide river
A man maroons another because of jealousy or because he plans to take hold of his wife
Person is imprisoned in a tree-hollow or inside a rock and is released by somebody who makes a hole from outside
A tree or vine quickly grows up near the rock or in the bottom of a pit where the hero was marooned. He gets to the ground climbing down (or up) this tree (vine)
The sky chief discovers or thinks that his wife, sister or lover is untrue or incestuous. He throws her down from the sky. She becomes the mistress of the lower or middle world or a part of it or one of her sons gets power over the lower world
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
A man must fulfill difficult tasks (to win competition) to receive the permission for a marriage
Person must kill a bird with an arrow or a stone
Person becomes a master of another after winning a game (game of chance or Intellectual game but not a sport tournament)
Maternal uncle or father (or grandfather if he replaces father who is not mentioned) of the young man is his rival or enemy and tries to kill him
An imposter pretends to be the hero to take his position and/or to marry or to violate his woman
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
An antagonist wants that a wonderful bird of the hero sing but it remains mute or cries differently. The bird begins to sing when the hero triumphs over his adversaries
Alive birds and beasts decorate hero's costume and headgear. Imposter steals hero's attire, takes his place but the birds and beasts are mute or cry differently
A woman who is transformed into animal or driven out of the human world returns to her baby to feed and to care for him
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 group of persons decide to go to the end of the world to meet the Sun or other supreme god. One (or several) of them perish on their way, some reach destination, at least one returns home using the shorter way than the one they have took before
Rolling head is a dangerous mobster (pursues celestial bodies, people etc.)
Person's leg is injured intentionally or by chance. The loss of one leg does not bother him. He uses the sharpened bone as a thrust weapon
A small creature is reared up by people. When it is grown up, it becomes harmful and dangerous
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)
The only vulnerable spot is near the surface of person’s or creature’s body and not in his inner organs
During a fight between the good and the evil creators the good one chooses a deer horn for a weapon (because his adversary is afraid of it most of all)
Dangerous person tells simple-heartedly what he is afraid of giving the hero a good opportunity to scare him
Life of a person or creature is preserved outside of his (her, its) body. Person or creature dies after the corresponding object is destroyed
Person who have eaten a prohibited meat or fish turns into monstrous snake or fish
Person catches fish in a place where it ought not live, i.e. in a forest pond or in a tree hollow isolated from other water bodies. After eating he dies, is transformed and/or attacked by monsters
Person who breaks some sort of taboo (usually has eaten a prohibited food) is thirsty and drinks enormous quantity of water
Stone man kills people but ultimately is killed himself
Person turns into monster at night when he remains alone with his companion in the wilderness
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
One of twin brothers is evil. Being still in the womb, he does not want to be born in a normal way and bursts through his mother’s side killing her
Unintentionally, person gets to taste his or her own blood or flesh, likes the taste, turns into a cannibal
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
Treasure, or the like, is thrown back to tempt pursuer to delay
To confuse pursuer, person many times runs away in different directions and comes back
Non-human persons work hard to destroy a strong and durable obstacle that blocks access to some place or object
Person or creature pretends to be afraid of a particular sort of treatment that really cannot do him any harm
Person attempts to hunt ducks or geese catching them by the legs. They rise him into the air, he falls down
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is fox, jackal or coyote
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is owl
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is a racoon
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 sees how others act using magic or according to their animal nature. He or she imitates their actions and gets into trouble. Actions are not heroic deeds, competitions or tests and refer to everyday activity, mostly to providing and cooking food
Person loses his eyes because of his playfulness or negligence. He makes new eyes of some substance or/and takes eyes of another person
An ogre or a stronger animal catches a man or a weaker animal or drives him into a small enclosure. He goes away for a while leaving a watchman. The watchman is unable to fulfill his duty and the man (the weak animal) escapes (usually he dupes the watchman). Most, though hardly all American cases can have post-Columbian African origin
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
Instead of common body discharges a man or a woman urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular person
Hero imperceptibly causes detriment to two persons or creatures. They accuse each other and fight
Old person tricks a young man into smelling her or his intestinal gas
A man travels and comes to two or several blind (usually old) persons
Somebody claims that he has been born before present world came into being. His opponent claims the same, and they argue who of them is the older
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
A man consciously marries a woman related to the non-human world
Person who gives difficult tasks to the hero and/or person who demands the fulfillment of certain conditions from those who want to marry his daughter is a prominent figure in social hierarchy. He is a head of the socio-political unit of community or super-community level and is neither a member of the hero’s household nor a mythical being
Both the Sun and the Moon are considered to be females (incl. cases when the gender is not directly specified but both emerge from parts of the body of a female person)
Ursus major (seven stars or only four stars of a dipper) is identified with the game animal or anmials (usually pursued by the hunter)
Being on a visit to other people or (more often) animals, an (animal)-person sees them act using magic or according to their animal nature. Back at home, he imitates their actions and gets in trouble. Actions are not heroic deeds, competitions or tests and mostly refer to providing and cooking food
A demonic woman or (rare) her paramour or a monster is going to kill a man usually after driving him up a tree. At the last moment the man's dogs or other animals or birds who are the man's pets come and kill the demon
There are two women in the beginning of time, an old and a young one. One or both conceive in a supernatural way. A son or twins are born, they establish natural order and social rules
Dangerous person tells simple-heartedly what he is afraid of or what particular object is the receptacle of his life giving the hero a good opportunity to scare or to kill him
Being smart and persistent, the turtle (toad, frog) overcomes strong adversaries
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
A girl or young woman sets off to find or return her fience or her husband or she escapes from a fanger and ultimately marries happily
Eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) of personage hang long down over his eyes. To make the eyes widely opened, the eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) should be propped up with poles, folks, sticks, etc. (rare: cut off)
To revive the dead, person shoots an arrow into the sky (it is suggested that the dead would be afraid of the arrow falling, jump aside and become alive)
Parts of the body of the primeval person or creature are transformed into different elements of the landscape and parts of the universe
Mother tries to kill her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair
Dogs having spots over the eyes are called the four-eyed and believed to have special properties (e.g. to see ghosts)
First seeds (sprouts, tubors) of cultivated plants or of important edible wild plants are brought from the sky (received from the sky-dwellers)
Vulnerable place on the body of a person or creature is on his or her foot (toe, heel, sole, ankle)
At the terminal part of the narrative the antagonist of the hero descends into the underworld
Body members of a person has the form of cutting or piercing weapon
The Sun and/or the Moon are cut off heads of anthropomorphic beings
A girl (rejects suitors for a long time but at last) falls in love with a handsome man who proves to be a demon or animal. Usually she eventually escapes from him
Person is able to split himself in two after which his left and right halves stick together again
Instead of common body discharges a a man urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular male person. See motif m57a
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
A woman is impregnated by wind in defiance of her wish
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)
Woman is dangerous because biting or stinging animal or animals is (are) inside her genitals (and not only the head of such an animal)
A girl (a woman, a group of women) intentionally takes a penis-being, a snake, an eel, a lizard, a worm, a big water animal or water monster or a big terrestrial mammal for paramour. People kill or maim the paramour, the woman and/or her progeny or she is transformed herself into an animal. She is blamed for her behavior
Before the cultivated plants or edible wild plants become known, people ate (decomposed) wood, bark, mud, stones, fungi
It is described how the earth was obtained and put on the back of a turtle or frog
The blind person walks asking different trees their names and thus finds his way to the water
A woman is murdered. Her son or children (rare: grandchildren, nephews) revenge for her death
Children (son, sons, son and daughter) of the murdered woman or man revenge on persons who have marital or close kin relations with the victom
Severed human heads are compared with balls or used as balls
Persons avenge the death of their father, mother or other relatives who are one (rare two) generations older than they
Person decorates different birds (rare: fish), share fat between anomals. Since then, the corresponding species acquire present characteristics
Three stars of Big Dipper’s handle are three persons. Four stars of the Dipper itself are objects of animals (one or several)