| Motif | Name | Description |
| a11b | One-eyed luminaries | The Sun or the Moon is one-eyed (usually another eye was knocked or sucked out but sometimes this defect is not explained |
| a17 | The Sun’s relax at the midday | 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 |
| a20 | Childhood and youth of the Sun and Moon | The Sun and the Moon (rare: the Sun and a star, the Moon and a star) are two siblings who live on earth and then ascend to the sky being still young persons |
| a23 | Elections of the Sun to be | The primeval ancestors come together to choose the best candidate to become the Sun and/or to send the Sun to the sky or to see how the Sun rises to the sky for the first time |
| 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) |
| a32b | The Moon toad | Frog or toad are seen in the moon or the Moon is associated with them |
| a32b1 | Jumps on the face of the Moon | A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon man and now is seen as the shadows on the lunar disc |
| a32d | Man in the Moon | Human being or imprint of human being is seen in the moon |
| a32l | Figure in the Sun | The figure of a person or creature is visible in the Sun or it is told that a person got to the Sun and remained there |
| a37 | The Sun is attacked with weapons | Person intentionally and with special equipment (usually shooting arrows) attacks the Sun (or several suns if they were many) |
| a5 | The Sun and the Moon are males | The Moon is male, the Sun is also male or (much more rare) asexual |
| b28 | Travelling transformer | 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. |
| b28b | Pacification of things | Hero comes to a country where inhabitants are afraid of objects or plants who attack them. He easily overcomes these objects and transforms them in what they are now |
| b28e | The Moon organizes the world | The Moon (alone or together with the Sun) transforms the original abnormal world establishing present day norms and forms |
| 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 |
| b2d | Marriage of the sky and the earth | The male Sky (the Sun, the Thunder, the creator of the sky) marries the female Earth (or its female creator) or the female Sky marries the male Earth |
| b42 | Cosmic hunt | Certain stars or constellations are interpreted as hunters, their dogs and game that the hunters pursue |
| b42g | Ursa major is a game animal(s) | Ursus major (seven stars or only four stars of a dipper) is identified with the game animal or anmials (usually pursued by the hunter) |
| b42l | Animal is the dipper, hunters are the handle | 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 |
| b42p | Ursa major is a bear | Ursa major is identified with a bear |
| b44c | Should warmth and light exist? | It is discussed if darkness or light, cold or warm periods should exist |
| b48 | Predators become herbivorous | Weak or herbivorous animals were dangerous predators but have been transformed |
| b69a | Council on seasons, chipmunk participates | 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 |
| b85 | Wind pacified | Wind is too strong, hero makes it to blow more calmly |
| c16 | Processed objects turn into animals | Against person's will, butchered, dried or cooked meat, tanned hides, etc. turn back into animals or fish and escape. |
| d4e | Coyote or fox obtain fire | Coyote or fox bring people the fire, the daylight or the Sun |
| e30 | The make-believe spouse of wood | Person does not have a spouse, uses wooden fakes for his wife or her husband |
| f28d | Artificial conception | Woman conceives after masturbating with an artificial penis |
| f33 | Water creature paramour | Certain woman or a group of women take for paramour a big water animal (caiman, otter, sea-lion, whale, anaconda; rare: water bird, crab), water spirit or monster. Husbands, brothers or (adoptive) children kill or maim paramour and/or (sometimes) the woman |
| f34b | The paramour is not a human being | 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 |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| h20 | Fish disperse in the world | All the fish or (rare) shellfish) was concentrated in one place. Certain person lets it lose or puts it into the rivers or sea |
| h20a | Mistress of fish loses it | A woman (a girl, several women) keeps all the fish for herself. Man comes and lets fish escape into rivers or sea. |
| h24 | Container opened too early | Container with valuables or with dangerous creatures is opened (before time). Its content goes out of control or disappear |
| h24b | Souls disappear from the opened container | Person receives a container with the soul of a dead person and has to open it not before he gets to particular place or after particular time interval. He opens it too early, the soul fly away |
| i1 | The thunderbirds | 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 |
| i117 | Spider ferries from one world to another | 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 |
| i13a | The horned serpent | Giant water-chthonic or sky serpent or dragon has horns or antlers on its head |
| i40 | Rainbow bow | Rainbow is a bow |
| i72 | Stars are people | Stars are people, ghosts, anthropomorphic beings (interpretations of unique star objects like Venus or Polaris as persons not considered) |
| j12 | Travelling girl walks across suitors | 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 |
| j12k | A valuable partner and an imposter live in one house | A valuable partner whom a girl (two sisters) should marry and an imposter live together in one and the same house |
| j13 | Two sisters | Two sisters (if more, only two play a significant role in the plot) travel and meet an unpleasant suitor or get to an ogre |
| j46 | Enemy drowns | Antagonist perishes falling into the water or trying to cross a water body |
| j58 | The arrow ladder | Persons shoot arrows (darts) which hit each other’s end forming a chain (rope, ladder). Persons climb by this chain to the sky or (rare) across an obstacle |
| 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 |
| k12 | Woman is lost and returned | By trick or by force, a rival or adversary kidnaps hero's wife or bride. The man gets her back |
| k176 | A man in search of the woman | A (young) man sets off to find or to return his bride or his wife |
| k177 | The travelling heroine | 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 |
| 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 |
| k1h | Imprisoned in the tree-hollow | Person is imprisoned in a tree-hollow or inside a rock and is released by somebody who makes a hole from outside |
| k27 (motif is not in the correlation table) | Competitions and difficult tasks | 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 |
| k27a | Ordeal: survive cold | An ordeal: to survive cold (frosty night outdoors, chamber with ice, cold water and snow) |
| k27k | Diving contest | A contest: to dive deep or for a long time |
| k27o3 | Competition between two teams | Two groups of participants compete in fulfilling difficult tasks or are engaged into the game in which one team plays against another (at least two episodes with different participants from both sides). The participants are either anthropomorphic who possess different extraordinary qualities or they are different animals (natural phenomena, elements, etc.). {Texts in which the main participants are anthropomorphic and competitions are win by animals who accompany the hero are not included} |
| k27xy | (Animal-)persons with different qualities in the camp of their adversaries | Each of several men (male animals of different species) surpasses all others in some kind of activity. They get to the place of their adversaries and thanks to their special qualities win different competitions and survive in dangerous situations. The tale is not related to the quest of a marriage partner |
| k27z | Game of chance for life and death | Person becomes a master of another after winning a game (game of chance or Intellectual game but not a sport tournament) |
| k28 | Father or uncle is rival and enemy | 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 |
| k3 | Tree or rock grows taller | Hero climbs up a tree or rock to get eggs, nestlings, fruits, honey, etc. Another person makes the tree (rock) grow higher or thicker and the hero is unable to descend back |
| k30 | Flying enemy abducts woman | Flying person or creature abducts a woman but is ultimately killed or the woman escapes from him |
| 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 |
| k43b | Bird brings some meat | People abandon a boy, a girl, brother and sister, a group of children, or a young family without fire and food. The outlaws demonstrate supernatural powers or protectors providing food and lodging. While the abandoned persons have plenty of food other people starve. A person (often a bird like crow, magpie, sea-gull, etc.) visits the abandoned ones and brings from them some food home. This way people get to know that the abandoned ones prosper |
| k44 | False mother rejected | A demonic or animal person steals a boy and pretends to be his real mother or father. The boy gets to know the truth, leaves the false parent |
| k47a | A woman and a dog | After having sexual contact with a dog, a woman gives birth to his children. The puppies turn into humans and usually become ancestors of particular groups of people |
| k5 | The fake nestlings | To lure the hero into a trap or to send him far away, the antagonist makes a bird or nestlings of excrements or guts |
| k75 | The youngest daughter is willing (The loathsome bridegroom) | A girl (usually the youngest of several sisters) does not reject but marries a poor, sick, dirty, old, too young, non-human, etc. man who later demonstrates his supernatural qualities |
| k8a | Jonah: swallowed by monster | 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) |
| k8c | Jonah: swallowed by terrestrial animal | 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) |
| k8c3 | Not from your mouth but through your side | One (animal) person refuses to use different body parts of another besides the only one the use of which causes another’s death |
| k8c4 | Elk dies after swallowing mouse | A mouse, a small bird, a porcupine or other animal (rare: person) of a small size gets inside a big ungulate (elk, deer, buffalo, tapir) to kill (and then usually to eat) him |
| k8c5 | Bear dies after swallowing mouse | 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) |
| l103 | Obstacle flight (Atalanta type) | Treasure, or the like, is thrown back to tempt pursuer to delay |
| 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 |
| l1f | Sister avenges her lover | A young woman turns into monster and kills her brothers avenging the death of her husband or lover |
| l33 | Rolling stone | Stone chases people to crash them |
| l33a | Rock pursues stealer | 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 |
| l33e | Presented blanket | 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) |
| l33f | Goatsucker breaks Rock | Rolling rock pursues person. The person cries for help, and goatsucker breaks Rock to pieces |
| l40 | Reflection and shadow | Person discovers (rare:still fails to discover) another getting to see his or her shadow or reflection in water |
| 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 |
| l57 | Person gets his body part back | Person loses his organ or body part, it is carried away. He finds its new owner, gets his property back |
| l66 | Tunnel under the monster | 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 |
| l9 | Sharp body members | Body members of a person has the form of cutting or piercing weapon |
| l93a | Helpful fox | Cunning fox, jackal or coyote saves particular person or many people, helps them |
| l9a | Sharp leg | 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 |
| m11 | The unclean food | Person feeds others a food that is extracted from his, hers or somebody else’ body or is polluted by body extractions not informing about the source of the food |
| m11c | Person gets lard from his body | A male person cuts or roasts his own body to extract meat, lard or blood, cooks it and serves to his guest without injuring himself. Such a food is not considered to be unclean |
| m122 | Advisers inside | In a difficult situation animal person asks for advice his tail, anus or some beings that are inside him (excrements, parasites, his "sisters", etc.) |
| m123 | Raven marries goose | A bird of prey or a carrion-eater (raven, owl, hawk; coyote) marries or tries to marry goose-person or other water bird. This marriage is not realized or is a short one |
| m17 | Woman lies that man missed | 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 |
| m17b | Wife deceives her blind husband | Wife of a blind man helps him to shoot a game but lies that he missed and secretly eats meat alone |
| m18 | Stolen arrows and hooks | Person transforms himself into an object of hunting or fishing, provokes hunters of fishermen to catch or shoot him and carries way the tools that they use (arrows, darts, harpoons, hooks, baits). Or he fishes by turning himself into a hook. Or he is caught but escapes turning back into a person |
| m18b | Getting fishing hook or harpoon | Person turns into a fish to steal fishing hook or harpoon or he turns into fishing hook to catch a fish |
| m21 | A protector hides fugitives | The protagonist pursued by an enemy comes across a person, an animal or an object to help him and receives help |
| m23 | Mock plea | Person or creature pretends to be afraid of a particular sort of treatment that really cannot do him any harm |
| m24 | Turtle’s war party | Turtle goes to war and/or is captured by enemies |
| m27 | Coming back from the sky | A tree or a chain of reeds by which people have ascended to the sky is destroyed. On their way back they fall to the ground. Some of them remain in the sky for ever or longer than others |
| m29b | Trickster-fox, jackal or coyote | In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is fox, jackal or coyote |
| m29b2 | The bear is a failure/enemy | Because of its stupidity or unsocial behavior, the bear suffers a reverse, is injured or dies |
| m29e | Trickster-skunk | In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is skunk |
| m29k | The turtle (tortoise, toad, frog) wins thanks to his smartness | Being smart and persistent, the turtle (toad, frog) overcomes strong adversaries |
| m30 | Trickster falls down | 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 |
| m38 | Stupid imitation (all versions) | 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 |
| m38a | The bungling host | 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 |
| m41 | The eye-juggler | 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 |
| m42c | Animal person eats his own marrow | Breaking or cutting his leg, animal person becomes to eat his own bone marrow |
| m46 | The false baby | 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)
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| m46a | A stratagem: the picked up baby | Person turns into baby, is picked up by the owner of valuables, steals the valuables or makes love to a woman. The baby is not a demonic creature and does not plan to kill those who picked him up (cf. motif L60) |
| m49 | Man in a skin of another | 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 |
| m49a | The substituted medicine-woman | 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 |
| m51 | Meat in a tree | One of two animal-persons kills game. In the absence of the stronger one, the weaker one hides the meat to eat it alone later |
| m52 | Butchered carcass | A small animal (not a predator) or a weak person kills a big game. He asks another (animal-)person to skin or butcher the carcass. The latter is willing but takes or tries to take all the meat for himself |
| m60b | False doctor: a finished off victim | The deceiver who promised to cure a sick or wounded person or animal devours him or suggests a remedy that makes the sick one to feel ever worse |
| m65 | Trickster jammed, meat stolen | Trickster cooks meat that he got by deception but is unexpectedly jammed between trees or stuck to a stone. An animal (usually fox, wolf or coyote) steals all the meat |
| m73 | Exchanged excrements or vomits: who is stronger | Two (animal) persons compare their feces or vomits to know about the diet and habits of each other (who is the strongest). The weaker one gets to exchange the feces (vomits) |
| m80 | Quail scares trickster | Person insults a partridge-like bird, kills or injures her chickens. The partridge scares him, he falls, usually into a river or lake |
| m81 | Blind persons | A man travels and comes to two or several blind (usually old) persons |
| m81d | Blind persons cured | A man comes across (often in the sky) one or two blind persons and cures their eyes |
| m86 | Rock punishes trickster | Rock chases or otherwise punishes person who has offended it (usually deceived it or has taken objects that belong to Rock) |
| m89 | Melted wax | Person dies or is humiliated after some object that he or she made of wax, resin, excrements and/or took for something worthy are melted down |