The Mythology and Folklore Database
I55A - Stars – lakes.




8 Myths, Legends and Folktales
8 Unique Narratives for Motif I55A
5 Cultures & Traditions where I55A is told
0 Mythemes Indexed
2 Sub-Motifs of Motif I55A


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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

Stars – lakes on one of the heavenly tiers.

Berezkin category: Supernatural objects, objects and creatures

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


I55 has 2 other sub-motifs


I55.  Stars – holes in the sky; or holes in the canopy, in the roof of a dwelling, appear to be stars.
I55a.  Stars – lakes on one of the heavenly tiers.
I55b.  The hero chases a deer or elk carrying the sun.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
F8199.68%The character does not recognise his reflection in the water, thinks that a person (usually a woman, with whom he immediately falls in love) is looking at him, and jumps into the water. (Cf. J1793, "Diving for a woman's reflection"; among the Kwinolts, diving for a real reflection of a woman; among the Menominee, diving for a woman in the water).
M10199.66%The bear tells the fox (rarely the sable or the wolf) that he is not afraid of people (usually saying that he is afraid of flying partridges). After trying to attack people, he is killed or wounded. Cf. motif M101A.
A32J98.64%A shaman with a tambourine ascends to the moon and remains there, visible in the silhouette of the lunar spots.
B42M198.64%The three main stars of the Big Dipper's handle are associated with people of three different nationalities.
B64A98.64%Fish and birds fight (usually by shooting arrows at each other). Since then, fish have had many small bones in their bodies and/or birds' legs have taken on their current form.
B72D98.64%A woman makes herself wings (beak, tail) from clothing accessories and turns into a bird or a flying creature.
B74A98.64%Red cloths are sewn over the character's eyes (threads, eyelids are painted red) or he does it himself. He sees everything in red or his eyes have turned red forever.
D1A198.64%Because a woman offended the fire, its mistress takes her child away.
E1398.64%The shamanic tambourine is compared or associated with a lake.
E1E98.64%The son of the first human couple initially takes the form of a small plant that has grown from the ground, a stalk.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 5 traditions: Nenets, Nganasans, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat


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