Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
A27 — Crowns of the sun and moon.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewThe light and/or heat of the sun and/or moon is contained in their crowns, necklaces or clothing (made of feathers or animal teeth).
Berezkin category: The Sun and Moon
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 1, Sun and Moon.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| K13A | 98.93% | The character's leg (rarely: both legs) is cut off, bitten off, torn off, or damaged. The character ascends to the sky: to the moon; becomes the moon; turns into a star or constellation; becomes the sun; blood flowing from the leg colours the sky. |
| L24 | 98.86% | Demons (or one of them) attack people and then hide. People destroy the demons' lair and kill all or most of them by spreading a smoky fire around the demons' refuge. |
| F12 | 98.47% | A husband kills his wife by inserting her lover's severed penis into her body. |
| F40A | 98.46% | A male character, androgynous, with a monstrous penis, single-handedly possesses all women, rules over them or leads away the first women. |
| G13 | 98.41% | Before the advent of cultivated plants, people ate rotten or soft wood (ceiba – Ceiba L., balsa – Ochroma (Bombax) Sw.); some people eat rotten wood. |
| F13 | 98.40% | The genitals of humans or monkeys acquire their current shape and colour as a result of copulation with a girl who had a toothy womb or no vagina. |
| J43 | 98.35% | To destroy his antagonists, the hero creates edible bait for them, usually a fruit tree on the other side of the river. |
| M107 | 98.35% | A small character kills or maims a large four-legged animal by clinging to its genitals. |
| D7 | 98.29% | The frog or toad possesses the first fire, steals it from its original owner, and tries to extinguish it or save it from dying out. See motif D4. |
| I83 | 97.89% | Birds (especially vultures and eagles) lived or live in the sky, usually on one of several tiers of the upper world. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Cite this map
Distribution of the traditions attesting motif A27, ‘Crowns of the sun and moon.’, as recorded in the Berezkin–Duvakin Analytical Catalogue of Folklore Motifs (47 traditions mapped). Geolocation and cartography by Jonathan Fielder-White, Folklore Database, release 1.26206.1 (25 July 2026), https://www.folkloredatabase.com/motif/A27 (accessed 8 August 2026). Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Traditions
47 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 47 traditions: Bari (incl Fajulu), Kakwa, Hehe, Pangwa (Upper Rufudji area), Bena, Matumbi, Ngoni, Pogolo, (Ma)konde, Mawiha, Trans-New Guinea and unclassified Papuan groups of Irian Jaya: Mejprat, Arandai-Bintuni, Inanwatan-Berau, Papua of Gelvink (Cenderawasih) Bay, Kamoró, Marind Anim, Sawi, Mafore; Korowai; Kwerba; Momina, Eipo, Yale, Awyu, Mandan, Thompson (Nlaka'pamux), Lillooet, Wintu, Patwin, Nomlaki, Yana, Owens Valley Paiute, Northern Paiute (=Paviotso), Southern Paiute, Hopi, Western Keres (Acoma, Laguna), Eastern Keres (Cochiti, Sia, San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Paguate, Seama), Mam, Ixil, Aguatec, Avakatec, Gulf Nahuatl, Kekchi; Mopan, Bari, Tunebo, Guajiro, Waiwai, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan), Locono, Colorado (Tsachila), Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Chayahuita , Karijona, Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Desana, Siriano; Tatuyo, Bara, Tuyuca, Witoto, Ocaina, Ticuna (Tucuna), Juruna, Xipaya, Urubu (Urubu-Kaapor), Machiguenga, Culina, Paumarí, Arauá, Apurina, Cuniba, Kamayura, Rikbaktsa, Paresi, Bororo, Caraja, Tapirape, Cayapo (incl. Kubenkranken, Pau d’Arco, Shikrin or Xikrin), Canela: Ramkokamekra, Apaniekra, Craho, Apinaye (Apinage, Apinaje), Botocudo
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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