A23A. Who will be the first to see the sun? ATU 120,
.13.15.16.21.23. (.26.) .27.29.31.-.36.38.50.
Arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide who will be the first to see the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely. (In Uther 2004 (1), No. 120:87, the motive definition includes detail: the winner does not look east but west and sees the treetops illuminated by the rays. In Europe, in most cases (except for the Scots) who have been verified, this detail does exist. However, American and some Asian traditions do not have it).
Malgashi, Rawang, (Tunisian Arabs), Spaniards, Catalans, Portuguese, Sicilians, Irish, Scots, Rawang, Tibetans, Nepalis, Croats, Slovenes, Kalmyks, Crimean Tatars, Balkarians, Nogais, Georgians, Swedes, Norwegians, Faroese, Icelanders, Danes, Lithuanians, Estonians, Finns, Karelians, Bashkirs, Kazan Tatars, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Baikal and Trans-Baikal Buryats, Khalkha Mongols, Mongols of Ordos, Oirats (?) , Altaians, Telengits, Chelkans, Tofalars, Mansi, Eastern Khanty, Western and Northeastern Yakuts, Ainu, Japanese, Laguna, Akoma, Kochiti.
Sudan - East Africa. The Malgashi [Guinea fowl and the Rooster lived in heaven; when they were drinking tuaku, they decided that the youngest of them would go for more; to decide which one was older, the Sun told them to go down to earth; who would be the first to see as the sun rises, he is older; Guinea fowl flew up the tree, but the Rooster was the first to sing; the annoyed Guinea fowl ran into the field and became wild]: Rodman 1965:45.
(Wed. North Africa. The Arabs of Tunisia [the lion and the king boasted of strength, quarreled; the lion gathered animals, the kings gathered flying creatures; midges and mosquitoes attacked the lion, slutches and gadflies on cattle; the animals fled; during Battles, the kings carried hot coals on his tail to drop at enemies, since then Ittfou has been shouting ("put out the fire"); he is small but considered the king of birds]: Bushnaq 1987:228).
Southern Europe. Spaniards: Camarena, Chevalier 1997, No. 120 (Castilla y Leon) [the fox invites the frog to compete to see the sun first in the morning; the fox looks east and the frog west is the first to see sun rays on the mountains]: 194-195; Hernández Fernández 2013, No. 120 (Murcia) [the fox and the wolf agree to give their prey to whoever sees the sun first in the morning; the wolf looks east and the fox looks west , sees the sun's rays on the mountain]: 63; the Catalans [the wolf finds cheese, the fox says she lost it; they decide to give the cheese to the first to see the sun in the morning; the wolf looks east and the fox to the west and first sees the sun's rays on the mountains]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 120:38; Portuguese (Oliveira 1900): Uther 2004 (1), No. 120:87; Sicilians [damn arguing with a peasant]: Liungman 1961: 17 (apparently the same text is referred to in Cerise, Serafini 1975, No. 120:23).
Western Europe. The Irish [The Fox and the Raven argue who will see the sun first; the Fox wins by resorting to a ruse {most likely looking west and seeing the first rays of sunshine on the hill}]: Jackson 1936:285; Scots [fox and crow argue who will be the first to see the morning; the fox stood all night waiting for dawn, and the crow flew up a tree, slept, and in the morning screamed that it saw the dawn; the argument won]: Campbell 1862 (3), No. 72:131.
Tibet is the Northeast of India. Rawang [all animals that collected bribes for the Sun to shine brightly looked east, waiting for sunrise; barking deer looked west, saw sunny ones rays on the mountain; he jumped with joy, hitting his hoof in a basket of fermented beans (they have the consistency of cottage cheese); everyone condemned him for this, since then the deer's hooves smell like fermented beans and it's easy to find him on the trail, and the deer's face wrinkled with shame]: LaPolla, Poa 2001:32; Tibetans: Lin Lin, Ustin 1959 [the cuckoo and the dove are arguing who to be the king of birds; other birds suggest doing the king of the one who sees the sun first in the morning; the cuckoo looks east, the dove on the mountain in the west; when the dove saw the sun's rays on the mountain, the cuckoo threw red pepper into his eyes, said that I saw the sun; since then, the pigeon's eyes are red, they can't see at night, and the cuckoo sits only on the tops of trees and the birds give way to it]: 167-168; Cassis 1962 [birds choose a leader, Magpie suggests a leader whoever flies higher; The Bat hid under the Eagle's wing was taller, but the birds refused to make her chief; Magpie: then the first to notice the dawn; everyone looks east, Bat - to the west, sees how the mountain crests have lit up; the birds are dissatisfied again; Magpie: the one who sings the best; Bubu's Cuckoo's songs ("I am the first") liked the most; Bubu has been training for so long, that she was hoarse, the championship went to Kukushka]: 75-77.
South Asia. Nepalis [a crow and a drongo bird (Dicrurus) agreed that whoever sees the sun first in the morning can eat another's chicks; a drongo nests on the river bank, a crow at the top of a tree , saw the sun first; the drongo tells the crow to wash its beak first; the river did not allow the crow to wash its dirty key in it - let it scoop up water with a clay pot; potter: bring a deer horn to dig up clay; deer: let the dog tear my horn out; dog: give me cow's milk; cow: feed me grass; man: bring a sickle; the blacksmith made a sickle, the crow snatched it out of the hot horn and its beak was so burned, that she was unable to eat the chicks]: Sakya, Griffith 1980:222-224.
(Wed. China - Korea. Chinese: Tishkov 1957 [Yudi invites animals to the Jade Palace to identify those to count by years; the mouse promised to wake the cat up and go together, but left alone; the dragon begged the rooster to lend him horns for a week; the centipede persuaded the rooster to agree; they chose 12: ox, horse, ram, dog, pig, hare, tiger, dragon, snake, monkey, rooster, mouse; let them be the first will be the biggest; the mouse sits on the ox's back, people say, What a huge mouse (no one says What a huge ox), the mouse begins the cycle, the ox is behind it; the dragon did not return the rooster horns, the rooster is now biting centipedes; in his cry you can hear a request to the dragon to return its horns; the cat, offended by the mouse for not waking it up, hunts mice]: 77-79 (=Riftin 1972:27-32; =1987:27-31).
The Balkans. Croats [old people lived for a long time, so they were killed; the young man hid his father under a tub; the elders decided to choose the first to see the sun as a judge; the father advised to look towards the mountains; on the crest of the mountains, and not in the east, the young man was the first to see the sun; then his father helps to solve problems; come barefoot or shod (put on the bootlegs), nor on foot or on horseback (sit on a goat); when rye died, the father advised to bury the sheaf from the roof; they decided not to kill the elderly]: Golenishchev-Kutuzov 1991:198-200; Slovenes: Uther 2004 (1), No. 120:87.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Kalmyks: Basangova 2002:204-205 [when they prioritized animals to name the years of the 12-year cycle, Mouse and Camel argued over the last one not yet named - who used to be will see the sun in the morning; The mouse climbed the camel's hump, saw it first; The camel has held its head high ever since and looks around, its appearance has signs of all the animals in the cycle], 205-207 [Mouse and Camel argued , who gets a year - who will be the first to see the sun; The mouse climbed Camel's hump, saw it first; hid in a pile of ash, so the camel hits the ash with its hoof; its appearance has signs of all animals cycle], 216 [=Basangova 2017, No. 18:59 (option in #19:61); Mouse and Maral argue who will see the sun first; The mouse does not look east but up, sees sunlight on treetops; Maral is in vain tried to crush it with a hoof]; Crimean Tatars [" a legend about the origin of a 12-year-old animal cycle is also included in the Crimean steppes, which explains why the camel did not get into the cycle, and the first the mouse took the most honorable place "]: Samoilovich 1918:74; Balkarians [animals came to Allah and began to ask that they should not have to get food in pain in winter, but to lie in holes in nothing in need; Allah promised to give this opportunity to whoever sees the sun first in the morning; everyone looks east, and the bear looks to the top of Mingi Tau in the west; therefore, the bear sleeps in winter and sucks its paw]: Malkonduev 2017:729; Nogais [the wind blew from the camel's cry, the water became cloudy; the owl stopped the wind; said that the counting of years should start with the first to see the rising sun; the mouse climbed on camel's ear, I saw it first; hid in a hole in ash; since then, the camel has been rolling in ash, wanting to crush the mouse]: Ganiyeva 2011a, No. 1:63-64 (about the same as Tahir Akmanbetov's recording in Kapayev 2012:276); Georgians: Virsaladze 1961, No. 120.1 (in Georgian) in Uther 2004 (1), No. 120:87
Baltoscandia. Karelians: Evseev 1981 [Fox and Pig argue who is smarter; Pig: Who will see the sunrise sooner; The fox ran to the mountain, the Pig lay in the hole, was the first to see the sun's rays on the treetops, won the dispute]: 228-229; Concca 1959, No. 28 (Arkhangelsk Karelia, 1885) [the bear is going to eat the pig; the pig: eat it if you see the sunrise before me; the bear looks at the sunrise, the pig looks to the west, sees the first rays on the tops of the trees; the bear pulled the fox's legs so much that it now has small bones in its legs]: 126-127; Lithuanians [the hedgehog was the first to see the sunrise because it looked at its shadow (or lay down) on the mountain)]: Kerbelite 2001:68; Estonians (Pärnumaa, Harjumaa) [a fox and a pig are arguing about who will be the first to see the sunrise; a pig looks east and a fox looks west {isn't it a mistake - vice versa?} and sees how the treetops lit up]: Kippar 1986, No. 120:96; the Swedes [fox and pig argue who will be the first to see the sunrise; the fox climbs the mountain and looks east; the pig sits in the valley and looks west; first sees the mountain peaks illuminated]: Liungman 1961, No. 120:17-18; Danes [the Danes have the same option as the Swedes, but two people argue]: Liungman 196:17; Faroese [ the cormorant and the loon argued which of them should own the dunes; decided that the one who would see the sun first in the morning; the cormorant decided not to sleep all night and dozed off in the morning, and the loon slept well and said that the sun gets up; the cormorant also lost its language as a result]: Jiriczek 1882, No. 23:160; Norwegians (?) , Icelanders, Finns [the Norwegian story in Hodne 1984 is so streamlined that even the approximate content of the text cannot be determined]: Uther 2004 (1), No. 120:87.
Volga - Perm. The Bashkirs [the ground stands on a bull, a bull on a fish (or three fish); while the Ox and the Fish were arguing about which of them would be the first to see the Year coming to them, the Mouse climbed onto the bull's horn, was the first to see the rising sun, year; therefore, musal (12-year cycle) begins with the year of the mouse]: Barag 1987, No. 12:37 (=Nadrshina 2001, No. 14:185); Tatars [animals argue who should take first place in the calendar; Mouse: let him whoever sees the New Year first looked at the Camel; Camel agreed, he was the tallest; but the Mouse climbed on his hump and saw the New Year first]: Gilyazutdinov 2015, No. 286:281-283.
Turkestan. Kazakhs: Daurenbekov 1979 [animals argue who should own the first year; The mouse suggested to the first to see the sunrise; The camel hoped to see the sun first, but the Mouse quietly climbed onto his hump, saw him first; Camel threw off the Mouse, covered his feet, but the Mouse dived into a pile of ash; The mice gave the first year, the Camel was not given at all, the camel rides in ash, hoping to crush mouse]: 230-231 (=Bosingen 1985:47); Kaskabasov et al. 1979, No. 17 [animals argue whose year will be older; horse, camel, cow, sheep, dog, hen - everyone praises themselves; the mouse offers to give the first year the first to see the sun; quietly climbed on the camel's hump, saw the first; the camel was left without a year], 18 [the animals are about to celebrate the Year; the mouse climbed into Camel's ear, saw the Year Earlier everyone, the first year of the cycle was named after her; the camel begins to lie on the ground if it sees a mouse hole], 19 [13 animals argued whose names would be the years; the mouse suggested giving years according to that who will see the sun first, second, etc. in the morning; climbed on Camel's head, got the first year, and Camel is left without a year]: 47-48, 48-49, 49; Kyrgyz [mouse and camel decide who will see first the rising sun, that name will be a year in a 12-year cycle; a mouse climbed on a camel's head, saw the sun illuminate the mountain tops]: Ledenev 1987:326.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Baikal and Trans-Baikal Buryats: Gomboev 1890, No. 17 (Alar) [Burkhan gathered 13 animals to divide the year; Camel wanted to enter the year first; says Mice that he would trample on it if will poke around; The mouse suggests starting the year with the first to see the sun; the camel looked east, and the Mouse climbed onto his head and looked southwest; the first to see the sun glow on the mountains; The year began with it, and Camel was completely expelled for pride]: 77; Kungurov 1946 (Baikal?) [the camel and the mouse are arguing about who will see the sun first; the mouse sat on the camel's back and looked west, where the sun illuminated the mountain tops; the mouse was the first in the cycle, and the camel went to the steppe]: 8; Tugutov, Tugutov 1992, No. 23 (Olkhon) [whoever sees the sunrise first will be the first in chronology; The camel was lying, raising his head; in the morning, the Mouse jumped on his back, the first to announce the sunrise to people and animals {pro no glare or reflection is said}; The pig looked into the ground, was the last; "The compiler of this collection heard versions of the fairy tale from many informants, in particular from H. Badanova {Osinsky District, Irkutsk Region}, L.I. Baldayeva {Mukhorshibirsky District of Buryatia}, etc."]: 80-81, 329; Khalkha Mongols [Buddha gave animal names for 12 months; Mouse and Camel agreed give a place on the calendar to the first to see the sun; the camel looked east, and the mouse, climbing on Camel's back, the mountains in the west, the sun lit them first; the mouse got a year, hid in a hole ; seeing a pile of ash, the Camel shovels it up as if it wants to find a mouse; The camel did not enter the 12-year cycle, but received parts of the body from other animals: a mane from a horse, a hump from a monkey, legs from a dog, ears from mice, etc.]: Skorodumova 2003:55; the Mongols (Ordos) [the camel and the rat argued: "Whoever sees the sun first will be the first year in a cycle of twelve animals; the camel, turning east, waited for the sun to rise in the morning; when the sun was about to appear, the rat ran on the camel's head and saw the sun faster than the camel, became the first year on the calendar; the camel did not fall into calendar of twelve animals]: Mostaert 1937, No. 29 in Solovyova 2014; Altaians: Garf, Kuchiyak 1978 [mouse and camel argue who will get the 12th month; camel: who will see the sun first; mouse sitting at the bear's hump, but looks west, sees rays on the mountains; there's a year of the mouse since then]: 46-48; Oirats (Xinjiang) [motif A23A {and A23B?} corresponds to the fairy tale "Why does the camel lie in the ash?" from the collection "Betege caγān boqširγ", published in 1981 in Urumqi as part of the Xinjiang Oirat Folklore series; {no details; original verification required; list of fairy tale titles from this collection; indicates correspondences from our database or SUS (sometimes also parallels from Kalmyk folklore); "26th fairy tale - "Why does the camel lie in ash?" ('Tem ω n yuundu ü nes ü n d ω re k ö lb ç dedeq bui ') corresponds to the A23A theme. Who will be the first to see the sun? - "When arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide who will be the first to see the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely" [Berezkin, Duvakin]. In Kalmyk folklore, there are two versions of the fairy tale on this story "Fallen in the Name of the Year" ('Ilin Nernd Orsn') and "The Mouse and the Camel" ('Huln Boln Temən') [Myths, Legends Kalmyks 2017:60-63]"}]: Ubushiyeva, Damrinjav 2020:17; telengits: Sadalova 2002, No. 8 [The mouse asked Dylchy to accept her a year; he sent her to Leo; she asked her not to kill, it will come in handy; when The lion fell into an iron trap, the Mouse gnawed through his belt; the lion sent her to the Camel; the camel offered to compete who would be the first to see the sun tomorrow; the mouse climbed into his ear and saw it first; Dylchy introduced A mouse a year, but Camel brought out]: 93-95; Yadanova 2013, No. 21 [mouse and camel argue who will see the sun first; the mouse climbed the camel's hump, looked west, saw the sunlit mountains; the camel wanted crush the mouse, but it ran away; (so the mouse entered the year)]: 171; Chelkans [musk deer and elk argued who would see the sunrise sooner; lay down facing west and elk east, saw the sunrise earlier ]: Kandarakova 1978:165-166; Tofalars [The camel replies to Pishchukha that it is watching the sunrise; looking east, and Pishchukha looks west, is the first to see the sun's rays on the mountain tops; the camel hit Pishchukha with his foot, he touched his neck, so it is turned up at the pika]: Sherkhunaev 1975:234-236.
Western Siberia. Mansi [The Chipmunk and the Bear argue which of them will be the first to see the sunrise; the Bear looks east, the Chipmunk looks west, the first to notice the sun's ray on the mountain; the Bear slashed it with its paw, five the stripes have remained on the skin; since then, the Chipmunk has been immediately hiding in the hole]: Rombandeeva 2005, No. 38:283-285; Eastern Khanty (b. Trom-Agan) [the frog and the crane were arguing about who would see the sunrise sooner; the crane did not sleep, stretched its neck and "looked at both sides" waiting for the sun to appear; the frog sat by the swamp puddle and I watched the reflection of clouds in the water; as soon as I saw that the reflection turned pink, she announced the appearance of the sun and thus won the dispute]: Isaeva 2015:242.
Eastern Siberia. Western (Vilyui) Yakuts: Ergis 1964, No. 17 (2nd Bordeaux Nasleg of Suntar Ulus, 1941) [The elk and the mouse argue about who will see the sun first; the elk looks east; the mouse looks west, is the first to see the sunlit treetops, and triumphs; the elk tries to trample it unsuccessfully]: 71 (~ Sivtsev-Omolloon 1976:18-19; Sivtsev, Efremov 1990:13); Illarionov et al. 2008, No. 5 (p. Suntar, Suntar district, 1986) [The mouse offers Moose a dispute: who will be the first to see the sun; the elk looks east, where the high bank obscures the sky; the mouse looks west and is the first to notice the rays on the treetops; says to Elk that the sun has already risen]; [from the commentary to text No. 5: one of the options was recorded in 1965 in Verkhnekolymsky District (Archive of the YSC SB RAS)]: 131-133, 376; (cf. Verkhoyansky Yakuts [mouse and elk ( the ancestors of today's mice and elks) argued among themselves; elk: "Our sun will rise from the east!" ; mouse: "No, our sun will rise from the west!" ; the elk lay with its face to the east and the mouse to the west; before the sun shows, its rays illuminate the peaks of the mountains to the west; at the first rays, the mouse cried out: "Broad! Your colorful sun has turned its ass!" ; the elk became angry with this trick and has been an enemy of the mouse ever since]: Khudyakov 1890:1 (note).
Japan. Ainu (Hokkaido): Brauns 1883 [the good and evil gods were arguing which of them would rule the world; decided that there would be the one who would see the sun first in the morning; the Fox imagined the good; began to look at West, was the first to see the sun's rays on the mountains, the gods gathered to confirm this; therefore, those deities associated with light (not darkness) began to rule]: 250; Hitchcock 1892 [from the Batchelor collection; the good and evil gods were first mixed; they decided that the world would be ruled by those who first saw the sun; all the gods looked east, and the fox to the west was the first to see the sun's rays on the mountain peaks; therefore The world is ruled by bright gods]: 483-484; the Japanese (North Tohoku, Kanto, Southwest Honshu) [the tiger is expelled from Japan to China; animals or birds must choose a new king; it will be the one who sees it first the rising sun; wren wins (by getting into the boar's ear)]: Ikeda 1971, No. 120:29
The Great Southwest. Western Keres (Laguna, Akoma) [Uretsete (Indian ancestor) competes shamanic abilities with her sister Naotsete (European ancestor); W. manages to name turkey traces , N. cannot name the traces of a wild cockerel; W. calls the snake's trail, she goes to her voice, W. lubricates her head with prayer meal; N. calls W. a witch; sisters fast for four days and they argue which of them will be the first to fall on the ray of the rising sun; the Spider sends Magpie to cover the sun with its wings so that the first rays fall on the eagle feathers on W.'s head; military leaders bind defeated N., she rips open her chest, takes out her heart; a squirrel jumps out of one half of it, a dove flies out of the other; in the Akom version, there is no episode with her chest ripped open, but there is a magpie and by the sun]: Parsons 1939:244; oriental ceres (Cochiti) [Uretsiti's older sister is pueblo's mother, shorter; Naotsiti's youngest is Navajo mother, taller; N. said the eldest will be the one to whom the first rays of the sun will fall; they fell on W.'s hair, N. got angry; W. threw her rabbit hunting stick at N.; N. turned into a rat, disappeared among the rocks; so the pueblo people defeat the Navajo; var .: W. won N., who turned into a rat]: Benedict 1931:1-2.