μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Raising of the sky. Originally the sky is near the earth (usually because of the conjunction of the sky-father and earth-mother). It is raised to its present place.

Mythological motifs. · Cosmogony and cosmology. · The universe. · Creation of the universe. · Spontaneous creation of universe. · view the constellation · filed as A625.2

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Scholars’ trail — 14references

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

  • EgyptianMüller 30
  • BabylonianSpence 81, 114
  • India*Thompson-Balys
  • ChineseEberhard FFC CXX 97. – Indonesian: Dixon 36, 178 nn. 124–133, (Rotti) Jonker Rottineesche Texten No. 58
  • Maoriibid. 31
  • MaoriClark 13, 15, 171
  • PhilippineGifford 23
  • TongaGifford 18, 23. – N. Am. Indian (Mohave): Alexander N. Am. 179
  • general Gaster Oldest Stories 133
  • general Mongolian: Holmberg Siberian 330
  • general Pleasant Island (Micronesia): Dixon 250
  • general Central and Western Polynesia, Hawaii, Samoa: ibid. 50f.
  • general Chatham Is., Cook Group, Society Is., Samoa, Union Group, Hawaii: ibid. 35
  • general S. Am. Indian (Aztec): Alexander Lat. Am. 93, (Bakairi): ibid. 313, Lévi-Strauss BBAE CXLIII (3) 348, (Botocudo): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (1) 540, (Cashinawa): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (3) 684, (Yuracare): Métraux ibid. 504. – African: Frobenius Atlantis VII 304.
Within the index

Filed under World parents: sky-father and earth-mother as parents of the universe. The sky-father descends upon the earth-mother and begets the world.

5 finer motifs beneath it
Heaven and earth originally connected by navel string. Navel string cutWhy the sky receded upward: it was struck by a woman's pestleRaising the sky: striking with broom. Old woman's hump strikes clouds as she sweeps. She strikes at sky with broom and thus raises itDeity clothes his father the sky after he has separated him from earthAfter sky is lifted, plants and shrubs begin to grow
Filed beside it
Heaven-mother – earth-father

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