The Mythology and Folklore Database
I82I - Venus – Zahra/Zura.




39 Myths, Legends and Folktales
38 Unique Narratives for Motif I82I
19 Cultures & Traditions where I82I is told
43 Mythemes Indexed
10 Sub-Motifs of Motif I82I


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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

The name of the object in the night sky (usually Venus) sounds like Zukhra, Zahra, Zura, etc.

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 12, Proper names


I82 has 10 other sub-motifs


I82a.  The Morning and/or Evening Star – a male character.
I82b.  The Morning and/or Evening Star – a female character.
I82c.  Venus or an unidentified star in the eastern and/or western sky – the wife of the Moon. See motif I82b.
I82c1.  The Moon has two wives (usually the Morning Star and the Evening Star). With the caring one, he grows fat, with the other, he starves and grows thin.
I82d.  The Morning and Evening Stars are contrasted as man and woman. See motifs I82a, I82b.
I82e.  It is said that Venus or another star sold her mother or father in order to adorn herself luxuriously and dress up.
I82f.  (Evening) Venus is associated with a predatory beast, usually a she-wolf.
I82g.  Venus or another star (Arcturus, Sirius, etc.) is called the Shepherd's Star (the star of the Shepherd, Sheepherder, Cowherd, Swineherd, etc.).
I82h.  The name of Venus sounds like Cholpan, Cholbon, Tsolmon, etc. (čol- 'to sparkle, to shine' [Vámbéri 1879: 155]).
I82i.  The name of the object in the night sky (usually Venus) sounds like Zukhra, Zahra, Zura, etc.
I82j.  Venus-man or another star is the husband of the Moon-woman. See motif I82a.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
L37A198.51%A man sets out to discover the reason for his misfortunes. Others also convey their questions to him. God (fate) replies that a predator (wolf, lion, bear) must eat the fool, and in order to help the others, one must dig up treasure, marry the queen, etc. The man refuses to marry, take the gold, etc., because he has not received direct instructions to do so. The predator decides that he will not find anyone more foolish.
M39A6C98.18%The poor girl agrees to marry the prince only if he learns a craft. The prince fulfills the condition, then falls into the hands of enemies. He promises to make them an expensive item, let them sell it. His wife or (father, vizier) learns the job, the prisoner is released, the attackers are executed.
E31A198.02%Three (rarely four or two) men participate in the creation of the girl: one carves the figure out of wood, another dresses her, and the third brings her to life. To whom should the animated girl belong?
I35A97.13%Thunder is produced by an old woman in the sky.
L15F96.50%A young woman or man dies as soon as her or his jewellery (rarely: organ) is stolen, and comes back to life when the jewellery is returned or when the antagonist removes it.
K117A96.45%A girl who is constantly silent is promised to the one who can make her speak; or a husband struggles to make his magical wife speak.
K100F96.28%A man catches an unusual fish (rarely: a bird or some kind of aquatic creature). His son (a worker) releases it. For this, the father (king) drives him away, or the one who released the fish leaves on his own. The rescued fish helps him.
K35A295.48%A man kills an animal with glowing fur. Upon learning of this, an authoritative figure gives him difficult tasks.
N28E95.48%In a list of things that do not exist in the world, a bridge across the sea, ocean or lake is mentioned
H55A95.16%Finding himself in another world, a man sees a husband and wife trying to cover themselves with a single blanket, which is not big enough for them, or they do not have enough room for two on the bed. See motif H55A.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 19 traditions: Yemen, Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Algeria Arabs, Tunisia Arabs, Lampung (Lampong); South Sumatra Malays (incl. Bengkulu), Kashmiri, Uzbek, Wakhi, Ishkashimi (including Sanglich), Munji, Tajik, Persians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Uyghur, Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Bashkirs, Berbers of Algeria


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