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Berezkin/Duvakin Catalogue of Motifs
English translation, enhancements and additional metadata by Jonathan Fielder-White
Source: Berezkin and Duvakin's Analytical Catalogue · Original catalogue (Russian)
About the catalogue and its sources
Unless otherwise stated, narrative and tradition data comes from Berezkin and Duvakin's Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area (Analytical catalogue).
Original Berezkin/Duvakin catalogue (Russian)
The English translation uses AI assistance alongside manual verification. Errors may occur; consult the original source when in doubt.
A - The Sun and Moon
| Ref | Title | Summary | Traditions | Narratives ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4e In A4 family | Rider of the clouds | An anthropomorphic person associated with the thunder and rain rides on the clouds (uses them as a vehicle) | 0 | 0 |
| A22b In A22 family | Hot fire and cold embers. | The sun and its companion burn up. The companion burns in a less intense fire (is thrown into the ashes, etc.); therefore, the moon (or star) is cold. See motif A22. | 6 | 1 |
| A5a In A5 family | The Sun from the swaddling clothes of the infant Moon. | The younger brother (usually the Sun) is made from the urine and swaddling clothes of his older brother (usually the Moon), who was kidnapped as a baby. See motif A5. | 8 | 1 |
| A19E In A19 family | Summer and winter suns. | The summer and winter suns are two different characters. | 2 | 2 |
| A1a In A1 family | Before the sun, a parrot shone. | Before the sun appeared, the world was lit by a large bird with bright colours (a parrot or toucan). | 2 | 2 |
| A22a In A22 family | The Hot Sun and its Companion. | Two characters burn; one turns into the present sun, and the other into a less significant celestial object. See motif A22. | 14 | 2 |
| A23E In A23 family | The first to rise has the best voice. | Two birds argue about who will get up first, or agree to consider the one who gets up first to be the better singer. The bird that sings the most melodious trills wins, and the one with a shrill or hoarse voice loses. | 3 | 2 |
| A2G In A2 family | Several suns in one day. | At different times throughout the day, different suns shine in the sky. | 2 | 2 |
| A39B In A39 family | Full moon and crescent moon. | The full moon and the crescent moon are different characters. | 2 | 2 |
| A11D In A11 family | The Eye of the Moon and the Phases of the Moon. | The moon opens and closes its eyes (phases of the moon). | 4 | 3 |
| A2c3 In A2 family | Octagonal moon. | In extraordinary circumstances, the moon or sun are not round, but have corners and edges. | 4 | 3 |
| A19D In A19 family | One carries the Sun, the other the Moon. | Two characters carry the luminaries across the sky – one carries the sun, the other the moon. | 4 | 4 |
| A22d In A22 family | The burned person turns into a constellation. | The burned character turns into a constellation or a dark spot on the Milky Way. | 4 | 4 |
| A48 | The moon obtained and lost. | A character brings the moon from another world and uses it as a lamp. Another character drops the moon, and it rises into the sky and remains there. | 5 | 4 |
| A12e In A12 family | The spider – enemy of the sun and moon. | The spider attacks the sun or moon (usually causing lunar eclipses). | 5 | 5 |
| A12g In A12 family | Revenge on the moon for informing. | The character tries to eclipse the moon for telling on him. | 5 | 5 |
| A8 | The sun, moon and stars – three siblings. | The sun, moon and stars – three brothers or three sisters. | 3 | 5 |
| A19b In A19 family | In summer on a snail, in winter on a bird. | Moving across the sky, the sun changes its mounts depending on the season – in summer it rides on a slow animal, in winter – on a fast one. Or in winter the sun is carried by a young man, and in summer – by an old man. | 8 | 6 |
| A24a In A24 family | First day or night: transformation into spirits. | At the moment of the first day or the first night, people transform into supernatural characters. | 8 | 6 |
| A32de In A32 family | Headless man on the moon. | A headless man is visible on the lunar disc. | 10 | 6 |
| A9 | The Moon as protector of humans. | The moon-woman does not allow her son or husband, the Sun, to destroy people. | 5 | 6 |
| A29a In A29 family | Torn apart by two women. | Heavenly and earthly women (demons) pull a man in different directions. As a result, he (or his half) turns into a heavenly object. | 10 | 7 |
| A47A In A47 family | The lizard finds the sun. | The lizard or iguana is associated with the appearance of the sun. | 3 | 7 |
| A37c In A37 family | The arrow hits the barrier. | The character shoots an arrow into the sky, aiming to hit a celestial body or deity, but the arrow hits an obstacle blocking the target. | 5 | 8 |
| A8a In A8 family | Liberation of the sun, moon and stars, ATU 328A*. | The sun, moon and star (stars) appear as three consecutive and comparable objects/characters in narratives about the abduction and subsequent liberation of celestial bodies. | 11 | 8 |
| A13b In A13 family | Ants eclipse the sun. | During an eclipse or at the first appearance of night, ants eclipse the sun. | 5 | 9 |
| A2F In A2 family | Suns – fruits. | Suns grow on tree branches. | 5 | 9 |
| A32m In A32 family | Gypsy sun. | The moon is called the "Gypsy sun". | 8 | 9 |
| A39 | Every day a new sun. | Suns are born and die, and every day a new one rises in the sky. | 9 | 9 |
| A19a In A19 family | In the morning on an ox, in the evening on a horse. | Moving daily across the sky, the sun changes its riding animals (usually in the morning it rides on an animal that moves slowly, and in the evening on another that runs faster). | 10 | 10 |
| A21a In A21 family | The released moon. | The moon is an object that was accidentally released by its owners or stolen from them and ended up in the sky. | 6 | 10 |
| A32l In A32 family | Silhouette in the sun. | The silhouette of a certain character is visible on the solar disc. Or it is said that the character fell into the sun and remained there. | 10 | 10 |
| A2e In A2 family | The sun and moon – severed heads. | The sun and/or moon – severed heads of anthropomorphic beings. | 11 | 11 |
| A10 | The sun finds its eyes. | The sun gets its sparkling eyes (eye) from an animal. | 8 | 13 |
| A4b In A4 family | The sun is afraid of the night. | The sun decided to walk across the sky during the day because it is afraid of the night. | 9 | 13 |
| A11c In A11 family | The Sun, the Moon, and the Eyes of the Monster. | The Sun and Moon kill a monster whose eyes shine differently. At first, the Moon takes the brighter eye, but then swaps with the Sun. | 7 | 14 |
| A32b1 In A32 family | Jumps on the face of the Moon. | A woman sits (jumps) on the face (back) of the Moon Man and is now visible in the silhouette of the moon spots. | 13 | 14 |
| A35b In A35 family | Covering the moon with resin. | The character tries to cover the moon with resin (so that it shines less brightly). | 11 | 14 |
| A43a In A43 family | The moon in one moccasin. | The moon or character currently visible on the moon hastily ascends to the sky. He is missing one trouser leg or shoe on one foot. Cf. motifs A43 and K13A. | 8 | 14 |
| A13a In A13 family | The raven hides the sun. | The raven steals or hides the sun, or attempts to do so. | 12 | 15 |
| A31a In A31 family | Severed breast. | Upon learning that her husband or lover has committed an act incompatible with accepted norms, a woman cuts off her breast and shows it to him. | 11 | 15 |
| A38d In A38 family | The sun damages the cloak. | Because the Sun has harmed the character (ruined or burned his cloak, the fur on his skin, etc.), he catches it in a trap or kills it. | 17 | 15 |
| A33 | Sun Ram. | The sun has the appearance of a large, non-predatory mammal (bull, ram, pig, antelope, rhinoceros, etc.) or rides on it. | 13 | 16 |
| A38a In A38 family | Loop made of pubic hair. | The sun is caught in a loop made of a woman's pubic hair. | 11 | 16 |
| A4a In A4 family | The sun hurts the eyes. | So that people do not look at it, the Sun blinds their immodest eyes (usually with needles, which are its rays). | 10 | 16 |
| A38c In A38 family | The Sun's Cloak. | The Sun exchanges a cape made of animal or bird skins with a boy or girl, or spoils it. As a result, the boy or girl raises their status or takes revenge on the Sun. | 14 | 17 |
| A26 | The sun bird. | The bird embodies the sun, daylight; it can be caught, released, killed. | 3 | 18 |
| A32j In A32 family | Shaman on the moon. | A shaman with a tambourine ascends to the moon and remains there, visible in the silhouette of the lunar spots. | 5 | 18 |
| a35b1 In a35 family | The moon hinders the thief. | The criminal tries to make the moon dim because its light annoys him or prevents him from committing crimes. | 10 | 18 |
| A37b In A37 family | The archer's severed finger. | A small animal (marmot, rabbit, mole, frog) or a person who turns into such an animal tries to hit a target in the sky (a celestial body or a bird) with arrows and as a result loses their thumbs. | 9 | 18 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.