batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l1607-l1683
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l1607-l1683
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.;
lines 1607-1683
start: '1607'
end: '1683'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'Frazer surveys examples of tree-worship and plant animism: trees are treated
as having souls, receiving care, offerings, apologies, marriages, and fertility
precautions; some are said to feel pain, bleed, or embody the dead.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that tree-worship is based on the notion that the world
is animate and that trees have souls.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Wanika are said to regard every tree, especially the cocoa-nut tree, as
having a spirit, and to treat the destruction of a cocoa-nut tree as equivalent
to matricide because it gives life and nourishment.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Siamese monks are described as unwilling to break a tree branch because they
believe destroying anything forcibly dispossesses a soul.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The Dyaks are said to ascribe souls to trees, avoid cutting down old trees,
and in some places set up a fallen old tree, smear it with blood, and decorate
it with flags to appease its soul.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: People in Congo are said to place calabashes of palm-wine at the foot of certain
trees for the trees to drink when thirsty.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: In India shrubs and trees are described as being formally married to one another
or to idols; in the North West Provinces an orchard receives a marriage ceremony;
German peasants are said to have tied fruit-trees together on Christmas Eve to
make them bear fruit, saying they were married.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: In the Moluccas, clove-trees in blossom are treated like pregnant women, with
prohibitions on noise, light, fire, and covered heads near them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The Javanese and people in Orissa are described as treating blooming or growing
rice as pregnant and avoiding disturbances or observing ceremonies accordingly.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: 'The passage gives examples in which trees are believed to feel injury: an
oak shrieks or groans when felled, Ojebways avoid cutting living trees because
it causes pain, and Austrian peasants and a Jarkino woodman seek pardon from trees
before cutting.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The passage gives examples in which cut trees or plants are thought to bleed,
including a plant with red juice, a Samoan grove, and a sacred larch-tree in the
Tyrol.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: The Tyrolean larch example includes a belief that the woodman’s body is pierced
to the same depth as the cut in the tree and that the two wounds heal together.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:12
text: The passage states that some trees are believed to be animated by souls of
the dead, including trees regarded by the Dieyerie as transformed fathers and
trees in the Philippines believed to contain forefathers’ souls.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: An Annamite story described in the passage tells of a drifted tree that bleeds
when cut and is found to embody an empress and her three daughters cast into the
sea.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:14
text: The passage ends by noting that the story of Polydorus in Virgil will occur
to readers.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Wanika in Eastern Africa
description: A people described as believing that every tree, especially the cocoa-nut
tree, has its spirit.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Siamese monks
description: Monks described as believing souls are everywhere and avoiding the
breaking of a tree branch.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dyaks
description: A people described as ascribing souls to trees, avoiding old-tree cutting,
and ritually appeasing a fallen old tree.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: People in Congo
description: People described as setting calabashes of palm-wine at the foot of
certain trees for the trees to drink.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Indian and German plant-marriage participants
description: People described as marrying shrubs, trees, orchards, fruit-trees,
or plant representatives to each other or to idols for fertility-related purposes.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Clove-trees and rice crops
description: Plants and crops described as pregnant or treated like pregnant women
while in blossom or growth.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Tree-cutters, woodmen, and observers of wounded trees
description: Persons described as hearing tree cries, avoiding cutting living trees,
begging pardon of trees, or being reciprocally wounded when cutting a tree.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Sacred, bleeding, or ancestral trees
description: Trees described as animate, sacred, bleeding when cut, or inhabited
by souls of the dead or ancestors.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Annamite empress and three daughters
description: Story figures said to be embodied in a tree that has drifted ashore
and bleeds when cut.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Attributors of souls to trees
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: These groups or monks are explicitly described as believing trees, branches,
or things have souls or spirits.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: Ritual caretakers or appeasers of trees
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
basis: The passage describes smearing and decorating trees, offering palm-wine,
conducting plant marriages, or begging pardon before cutting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: Fertility ritual participants
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage links plant marriage or tying of fruit-trees to fruit-bearing
or orchard ceremony.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: Animate plant beings
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:8
basis: Trees and crops are described as pregnant, souled, sacred, bleeding, thirsty,
or capable of pain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: Human injurers of trees subject to apology or reciprocal harm
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage describes woodmen begging pardon of trees and a belief that a
woodman’s body is wounded to the same depth as the tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: Human souls embodied in tree
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The Annamite story says the empress and her three daughters are embodied
in the bleeding tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Tree
literal_form: Trees, cocoa-nut tree, old tree, fruit-trees, clove-trees, oak, sacred
larch-tree, ancestral trees
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: Blood of the tree
literal_form: Blood, red juice, or bleeding from a cut tree or plant
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: Palm-wine offering
literal_form: Calabashes of palm-wine placed at the foot of trees
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: Plant marriage
literal_form: Formal marriage of shrubs, trees, orchards, or fruit-trees; straw
ropes tying fruit-trees together
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: Pregnant plant or crop
literal_form: Clove-trees in blossom and rice in bloom or growth treated as pregnant
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Prohibited fire near pregnant trees
literal_form: Light or fire not carried past clove-trees at night
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: Ancestral tree
literal_form: Trees supposed to be transformed fathers or to contain forefathers’
souls
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Trees treated as ensouled beings
summary: The passage introduces tree-worship as grounded in animism and gives examples
of people treating trees or branches as having souls.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Appeasing and feeding trees
summary: Trees receive appeasement or nourishment through acts such as setting up
a fallen tree, smearing it with blood, decorating it with flags, and placing palm-wine
at its foot.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Marriage and fertility of plants
summary: Shrubs, trees, orchards, and fruit-trees are married or tied together in
ceremonies connected with plant fruitfulness.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:4
label: Pregnant trees and crops protected from disturbance
summary: Clove-trees and rice are treated as pregnant; noise, fire, light, or other
disturbances are avoided to prevent crop failure or premature fruit drop.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:5
label: Wounded and bleeding trees
summary: Trees are described as crying, groaning, feeling pain, requiring pardon,
bleeding when cut, or causing a corresponding wound in the woodman.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:6
label: Dead or ancestral persons embodied in trees
summary: Some trees are described as inhabited by souls of fathers or forefathers,
and an Annamite story presents an empress and her daughters as embodied in a bleeding
tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Souled or animate trees
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Multiple examples describe trees as having spirits, souls, feelings, thirst,
or bodily vulnerability.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a comparative scholarly synthesis rather than a single
mythic narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: Tree as mother and nourisher
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The cocoa-nut tree is described as life-giving and nourishing like a mother,
and its destruction is compared to matricide.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The maternal framing is explicit for the Wanika cocoa-nut tree example
only.
- id: motif:3
label: Offerings and appeasement to tree spirits
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage describes blood-smearing and flags to appease a tree soul and
palm-wine set out for thirsty trees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange pattern is inferred from ritual gifts and appeasement; the
passage does not formulate a full exchange doctrine.
- id: motif:4
label: Marriage of plants for fertility
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: Trees and shrubs are formally married, and German fruit-trees are tied together
as married to make them bear fruit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is applied to plant marriage rather than a named
divine couple.
- id: motif:5
label: Pregnant plant or crop protected to ensure harvest
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Clove-trees and rice are described as pregnant, with prohibitions or ceremonies
meant to prevent fruit drop or crop failure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage concerns agricultural ritual and analogy to pregnancy; it
does not narrate a full seasonal myth.
- id: motif:6
label: Wounded or bleeding tree
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Several examples state that trees cry, groan, bleed, or cause sympathetic
injury when cut.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: Examples come from different traditions and are grouped by Frazer for
comparison.
- id: motif:7
label: Ancestors or dead persons embodied in trees
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage reports beliefs that fathers, forefathers, or an empress and
her daughters are embodied in trees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The Annamite example is identified as a story, while the Dieyerie and
Philippine examples are presented as beliefs.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage groups geographically diverse examples as instances of a shared
pattern in which trees are treated as animate beings with souls or spirits.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Tree animism across Wanika, Siamese, Dyak, Congo, Indian, German, Moluccan,
Javanese, Orissan, Ojebway, Austrian, Samoan, Tyrolean, Dieyerie, Philippine,
and Annamite examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The evidence is mediated through Frazer’s comparative summary and uses
broad nineteenth-century terminology; the passage does not provide full local
contexts.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage supports a cautious comparison between plant marriage and plant
pregnancy rites as fertility-oriented treatments of plants through human social
and reproductive categories.
claim_level: same_function
target: Indian and German plant marriage examples compared with Moluccan, Javanese,
and Orissan pregnant-plant or pregnant-crop examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Marriage and pregnancy are distinct ritual analogies; the passage connects
them through plant fertility but does not claim a single origin.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage compares multiple traditions in which a tree or plant bleeds,
cries, or feels pain when cut, suggesting a recurring wounded-tree motif.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Wounded or bleeding tree motif in European, Ojebway, Indian, Samoan, Tyrolean,
and Annamite examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The examples vary between reported belief, anecdote, and story; similarity
of motif does not establish historical contact.
- id: claim:4
claim: The passage explicitly points readers from the Annamite bleeding-tree story
to the story of Polydorus in Virgil, supporting a limited literary-motif comparison.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Annamite bleeding tree story and Virgil’s Polydorus story
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The passage only notes the resemblance and gives no details of the
Polydorus story in this excerpt.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1607-1621
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that tree-worship rests on the idea that the world
is animate and trees have souls; he cites Wanika beliefs about cocoa-nut trees
and Siamese monks’ avoidance of breaking branches.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1621-1636
quote_or_summary: The Dyaks ascribe souls to trees and appease a fallen old tree;
people in Congo give palm-wine to trees; Indian and German examples describe trees,
shrubs, orchards, or fruit-trees as married.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1637-1650
quote_or_summary: Clove-trees in blossom in the Moluccas are treated like pregnant
women, with prohibitions on noise, fire, light, and covered heads; Javanese and
Orissan rice is also treated as pregnant.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1651-1670
quote_or_summary: The passage describes beliefs that trees feel injury, cry, groan,
require pardon, bleed when cut, and in the Tyrolean larch example wound the woodman’s
body in correspondence with the tree’s wound.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1671-1683
quote_or_summary: The passage says some trees are believed to contain souls of the
dead, including transformed fathers or forefathers; an Annamite story has a bleeding
tree embodying an empress and three daughters, and the passage notes a comparison
with Polydorus in Virgil.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about recurring tree-animism patterns, but it is
a comparative scholarly synthesis, so taxonomy mapping and cross-cultural claims
remain cautious.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to available entries and omitted where unsupported by the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l1607-l1683
passage_sha256=42ab8a5784dad5b6dfdb5e0ac03d95f31f0aade0e8f7958af67be7f4dd110729