The Moon is male, the Sun is also male or (much more rare) asexual
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)
Frog or toad are seen in the moon or the Moon is associated with them
Frog or Toad is a wife of the Sun or 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
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
Weak or herbivorous animals were dangerous predators but have been transformed
Some game animals have a piece of human flesh in their body that remained since the time when these animals were anthropomorphic
Raven or other carrion-eating bird of dark color and a similar size was originally white
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)
An aquatic bird dives and brings the desired object from the bottom
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)
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
The first people or first anthropomorphic divine beings descend to earth from the sky.
Person changes his or (rare) her guise to marry his or her close relative in descending or (rare) ascending line
Going away or pretending to die, a person bids his or her relative to marry another person who resembles him (her) or has some special traits; or he describes a man who should be met as a dear guest; person comes himself unrecognized and is taken for one whom he had described
To realize his or her secret desire (illicit sex, refusal to share food with relations), person pretends to die and is abandoned at a burial place
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
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 commits something shameful, obscene. Presumably, nobody could see him doing it. When he asks people, "What's the news?", they answer that so-and-so (this person) has done such a thing
One person wants man to live forever, another wants man to be mortal. When somebody dear to the latter one dies, he or she is eager to accept the suggestion of his or her opponent but the original decision cannot be changed
Person does something that makes death inevitable because the death of a child or a woman beloved by another person is indifferent or desirable for him or her
Raven hides or scares game animals preventing hunters to kill them. People outwit him
Frog or toad 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 helps Thunder who fights with his enemy
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
One of constellations represents a hand with fingers
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
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
A demonic person visits a woman when she remains alone. He or she claims that needs a particular part of her body to complete a particular act that is against logic and custom. After this the demon kills the woman (extracts a child from her abdomen, pulls out her tongue)
An evil spirit kills a woman burning her belly through
When husband o brother leaves home to hunt, an evil spirit comes to his wife or sister and kills or injures her being able to do it because she has broken taboo to open the door, to look at the guest or to answer him or her
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
After the hero comes back after a long absence and finds his parents enslaved, he tells them to demonstrate openly a lack of respect to their masters and punishes those who were cruel with them
When hero returns and finds his mother being tormented during his absence, he burns the tormentors producing fire and heat by magic
Person gets to the sky, makes hole through the firmament digging out a root. Usually woman's husband or his kinsmen warn her against digging out a special bulb or tuber; breaking taboo, she gets to see the earth, decides to descend
Pursuing a porcupine, woman climbs a tree and gets to the upper world
Finding a hole in the ground or making it, person gets to see below another world. Usually the earth is seen from the sky
A serpent or water monster regularly devours or injures children of a bird or other flying creature (almost always nestlings of giant bird). The hero kills the serpent (monster)
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
One brother marries a girl, another a frog or toad, both bring them to their parents, or one man takes two wives, a woman and a frog. Both wives have to pass a test. Values of the girl are highly assessed, the frog’s poor qualities are revealed
Person who have eaten a prohibited meat or fish turns into monstrous snake or fish
Trickster takes off an object (often a blanket) that lies on or near a rock or other seemingly inanimate object and that has been presented to it. The object pursues or otherwise punishes the stealer
Trickster takes a blanket or decorations which are a property of Rock or other seemingly inanimate object (usually the same trickster presented this blanket to Rock before)
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
Person turns into monster at night when he remains alone with his companion in the wilderness
An antagonist carries away the hero or rips off and carries away his limb and hangs the prisoner or the limb (usually over the fire). The hero is suffering from pain. Another personage saves the hero or brings his limb back
Two or four boys go to war or are on their way home. A long serpent-like creature blocks the passage, they cannot find a path around it and burn it through. One eats its roasted meat and turns into serpent himself or dies
Dangerous cannibal or bush spirit who abducts children, attacks people, etc. is associated with an owl
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is fox, jackal or coyote
A boy or young man comes to steal food of a person who is elder than he. Usually he is caught but not punished and invited to live with the elder person
Hero imperceptibly causes detriment to two persons or creatures. They accuse each other and fight
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
Rock chases or otherwise punishes person who has offended it (usually deceived it or has taken objects that belong to Rock)
A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon man and now is seen as the shadows on the lunar disc
Person attracts and catches the carrion-eaters (usually some birds) and thanks to this obtains valuables retrieves valuables (fire, woman, animals, etc.)
First seeds (sprouts, tubors) of cultivated plants or of important edible wild plants are brought from the sky (received from the sky-dwellers)
Powerful bird has its nest on the tree that stands in or nearby the body of water. The serpent (reptilian monster) comes out of it to devour the nestlings
The Sun has the mother who shares with him (rare: her) his dwelling place
The duck (or an aquatic bird similar to the duck) dives and brings a piece of earth that is transformed into the dry land (it is the only or the only successful diver)
A woman is murdered. Her son or children (rare: grandchildren, nephews) revenge for her death
Persons avenge the death of their father, mother or other relatives who are one (rare two) generations older than they