μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Man in the moon. A man is said to be seen in the moon. Various explanations are given as to how he came to be there.

Mythological motifs. · Cosmogony and cosmology. · The heavens. · The moon. · Nature and condition of the moon. · view the constellation · filed as A751

Attested across traditions
Filed across the traditions
  • Estonian *Aarne FFC XXV 140 No. 7, Loorits Grundzüge I 427f.
  • Livonian *Loorits FFC LXVI 81 No. 8
  • Siberian Holmberg Siberian 423
  • Armenian Ananikian 52
  • Flemish *De Meyer FFC XXXVII 82 No. 8
  • Chinese Eberhard FFC CXX 37, 214 No. 163, 221, 250. – Maori: Dixon 88
  • Hottentot Bleek 72 No. 33: Am. Negro (Georgia): Harris Friends 130 No. 17.
  • general *Dh I 134
  • general *Volksmann Am Urquell V 285, VI 75, 126, 199
  • general *Cornelissen Ons Volksleven VI 168ff., 189ff.
  • general *Köhler-Bolte III 597
  • general *Robinson Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (Boston 1933) 929
  • general *Brown English Lyrics of the Thirteenth Century (Oxford 1932) 234ff.
  • general *Hench JAFL XLVIII 384
  • general *G. de Raille RTP III 129ff.
  • general Basset RTP XXIII 220 and references to earlier volumes. – Breton: *Sébillot Incidents s. v. "homme"
  • general N. Am. Indian (general): *Thompson Tales 291 n. 69, (Haida, Tlingit, Kwakiutl): Alexander N. Am. 257, (Loucheux): Barbeau JAFL XXVIII 255
Within the index

Filed under Nature and condition of the moon. Many motifs in A720 to A739 refer to the moon and are not here repeated.

11 finer motifs beneath it
Man in moon is person thrown or sent there as punishment Man in the moon a rabbit (hare, other animal) Frog in moon Man in the moon: tarring of the moon. Man sets out to tar the moon and remains with his tar-bucket in the moon Man in the moon from scratches or paint Cotton tree and nettles on moon Two children in moon with yoke and bucket Woman in the moon Miscellaneous images on moon Particular individual is man in the moon Other marks on the moon
Filed beside it
Moon as a person Moon kept in box. (Cf. A755.1) Causes of moon's phases Moon as sun's representative at night Moon-boat Theft of moon. Moon is kept by a monster. It is stolen and brought to earth Condition and nature of the moon – miscellaneous. For eclipse of the moon see A737, where both eclipses of the sun and moon are handled
Travels with (Thompson’s cf.)
Man put in moon for cursing God. He is now the man in the moon. (Cf. A751, Q221.3.) Man in moon lets himself down. (Cf. A751.)
Carried in tale types

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