The Mythology and Folklore Database
B42I - Cassiopeia – deer.




33 Myths, Legends and Folktales
33 Unique Narratives for Motif B42I
15 Cultures & Traditions where B42I is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
27 Sub-Motifs of Motif B42I


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 Motif Summary  -   Motifs with Simlar Dispersals  -    Map of Myth Distribution   -   List of Traditions  -   Myths



Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.



Summary of Motif

Cassiopeia is associated with a deer or elk.

Berezkin category: The Origins of the Characteristics of the environment

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 2, Moon spots, stars, constellations


B42 has 27 other sub-motifs


B42.  Hunters, their dogs, fleeing or killed animals are visible in the sky in the form of stars and constellations.
B42a.  Hunters chase a bear across the sky and kill it in August-October. The bear's blood or fat falls to the ground in the form of dew or colours the foliage red. See motif B42.
B42b.  In the cosmic hunting plot, the objects of pursuit are hoofed animals (elk, deer, mountain sheep). See motif B42.
B42c.  In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is a bear. See motifs B42 and B42P.
B42d.  In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is a bear. See motif B42.
B42e.  In the cosmic hunting plot, the object of pursuit is the rhea (Rhea americana, a large flightless bird). See motif B42.
B42f.  The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with a large hoofed animal (elk, deer, mountain sheep). Unless otherwise specified, see motif B42 in the description of cosmic hunting.
B42g.  The Big Dipper (as a whole or only the dipper) is identified with an animal (animals) pursued by hunters / attacked by other characters.
B42h.  Orion's Belt – game, another star or group of stars within or outside Orion – hunter.
B42h1.  In the plot of cosmic hunting, one of the astral objects is identified with an arrow or bullet, and it is emphasised that it struck an animal or three animals, which are identified with Orion's Belt. {In the Khoisan variants, it is emphasised that the arrow did not reach its target}.
B42h2.  A large reddish star (Betelgeuse or Aldebaran) is identified with an arrow.
B42hh.  Orion is associated with the theme of cosmic hunting. (Including motifs b42h, b42h1, b42m, b42r).
B42i.  Cassiopeia is associated with a deer or elk.
B42k.  In stories about cosmic hunting, the object of pursuit or the hunters are identified with the Pleiades. See motif B42.
B42l.  The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters, the dipper itself is a bear, an elk or a meat storehouse where the bear climbs.
B42m.  The three stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three men (hunters, thieves). The stars of the dipper are the object they seek to obtain (the hunted animal; the bed). Alcor (a faint star near Mizar) is a container, a vessel carried by the second of the three characters.
B42m1.  The three main stars of the Big Dipper's handle are associated with people of three different nationalities.
B42m2.  The stars of the Big Dipper's handle are three hunters chasing a beast. Each has a distinct character (one is boastful, another is hasty, etc.). In Siberia, the hunters are identified with people of different nationalities, and in the North American Northeast, with birds of different species.
B42mn.  Only one character (rather than several) chases an animal (elk or bear) across the sky, associated with one of the circumpolar constellations, but not with the Pleiades or Orion. (In the Kalevala tradition, there is no identification with stars).
B42n.  The constellation Orion is identified with a man, usually a giant, warrior, or hunter.
B42o.  A certain constellation is represented by a person who has been struck or wounded in the back.
B42o1.  The Big Dipper is identified with the fisher (Mustela pennati).
B42p.  The Big Dipper is identified with a bear.
B42q.  Ursa Major – chariot, cart.
B42r.  The three stars of Orion's Belt are three characters chasing each other.
B42s.  The Big Dipper or Polar Star – a small animal (ermine, marten, forest marmot) or anthropomorphic character with animal features, struck by a spear or arrow.
B42t.  All seven stars of the Big Dipper (and not just the stars of the dipper) are considered to be the figure of an animal - a bear, moose, deer, ram, camel, or dog.
B42U.  The stars of the handle of the Big Dipper – three people, and the four stars of the dipper – animals or objects (one or more).

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
D1A298.20%The house of the person who insulted the fire burns down, but the property inside it or the child of another person (or that person himself) who treated the fire with respect is not harmed.
B3C97.46%When the creator, having created the land, lies down to rest, the antagonist tries to drown him, dragging him to the edge of the earth. As a result, the earth expands, and the antagonist is unable to reach its edge.
K89D96.99%Left alone in the house or finding herself in a stranger's house, a girl (less often a male character) hides by turning into a needle (a pin) or another tool for sewing or spinning.
K56A95.89%Two or three sisters successively go to a powerful character. The first or the first two act incorrectly, perish or fail to achieve their goal. The last one acts correctly, is saved or rewarded.
D4H94.49%The swallow obtains fire for people. See motif D4A.
L41C94.49%A cannibal grabs children as they slide down a hill.
K12594.41%The pursuer asks various objects where the hero is hiding or where he has run. Everyone remains silent, but one of the objects betrays the hero.
I13193.89%Every person's life corresponds to a thread; when the thread breaks, the person dies.
B11093.72%A character who is dragged along the ground or who runs, falls apart or hits the ground with different parts of his body. This determines the characteristics of the landscape and flora.
K47B93.57%A woman marries a man who originally had the appearance of a dog. The birth of children from a dog is not essential to the plot.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 15 traditions: Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Chukchi, Polar Inuit, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Japan, Russian Federation


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