batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l1685-l1753
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l1685-l1753
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 1685-1753
start: '1685'
end: '1753'
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 beliefs and rites in which trees are treated as animated
by or inhabited by spirits or gods. The passage describes tree-spirits being asked
or induced to leave a tree before felling, offerings or replacement plants placed
on stumps, sacred trees and groves left uncut because spirits dwell in them, and
sacrifices or expiations made when trees are cut or damaged.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: 'The passage distinguishes two views: a spirit may be incorporated in a tree
as its body, or a tree may be the spirit''s abode from which it can depart.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Pelew Islanders are described as conjuring a tree-spirit to leave a tree and
settle elsewhere when the tree is being felled.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Pádams of Assam are described as cutting down trees to compel wood spirits
to return a lost child, who is then found in a fork of a tree.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Several groups are described as worshipping, petitioning, or avoiding trees
before felling or clearing woods, so that spirits will not be offended or left
without lodging.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: In Sumatra, after a tree is felled, a young tree is planted on the stump and
betel and small coins are placed there.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: In Chedooba and among German woodmen, a sprig or a cross is placed or made
on a stump when a tree falls, with the stated purpose of sustaining or rehousing
the tree-spirit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Sacred trees and groves are described as not being felled because gods, divinities,
mighty spirits, or other spirits inhabit them.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: In some examples, injury to sacred groves, trees, branches, birds, or beasts
is said to bring bodily harm, sickness, or death.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Goat's blood, a pig sacrifice, and expiatory rites are described in connection
with cutting, damaging, or accidental fall of trees in sacred groves.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Tree-spirit
description: A spirit associated with a tree, sometimes treated as incorporated
in the tree and sometimes as lodging in it.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Wood spirits or sylvan deities
description: Spirits or gods of the woods who may lodge in trees, steal a child,
be offended by felling, or abandon a place when trees are cut.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Human tree-cutters and woodmen
description: People who fell trees, clear woods, plant replacement trees, place
offerings, or make marks and sacrifices connected with tree-felling.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Gods or divinities inhabiting high trees
description: Gods described as inhabiting high trees, including oaks, and giving
audible answers to inquirers.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Lost child
description: A child believed by the Pádams of Assam to have been stolen by spirits
of the wood and later found in a fork of a tree.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Tree or grove inhabitant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
basis: Spirits, sylvan gods, and divinities are repeatedly described as inhabiting,
animating, or lodging in trees and groves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: Ritual appeaser or relocator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Tree-cutters petition spirits, provide replacement homes, place offerings,
or perform rites before or during tree-felling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: Punishing or retaliatory spirit
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
basis: Spirits are said to resent injury, take vengeance, cause bodily deformity,
sickness, or death after sacred trees or groves are harmed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: Transgressor or potential offender
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Humans who cut, injure, or clear trees risk offending spirits or violating
sacred groves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: Stolen child
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The child is described as stolen by spirits of the wood and recovered after
trees are cut.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Tree
literal_form: Tree, forest-tree, high tree, oak, sacred tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: Sacred grove
literal_form: Sacred grove or inviolable grove
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: Stump as spirit support or new dwelling site
literal_form: Stump of the felled tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: Replacement plant
literal_form: Young tree or green sprig placed on the stump
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: Offerings to tree-spirit
literal_form: Cocoa-nut, incense, red pigment, betel, small coins, goat's blood,
pig sacrifice
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: sym:6
label: Cross on stump
literal_form: Cross made on the stump while the tree is falling
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: Fork of a tree
literal_form: Fork of a tree where the lost child is found
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Tree-spirit asked to relocate before felling
summary: A tree-spirit is treated as able to leave an injured or felled tree and
settle in another place.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Lost child recovered through pressure on wood spirits
summary: The Pádams cut down trees because they believe wood spirits have stolen
a child; fearing loss of tree-lodgings, the spirits return the child, who is found
in a tree fork.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Felling rites and spirit relocation
summary: Before or during felling, trees may be worshipped, replacement trees or
sprigs placed on stumps, offerings made, or a cross marked so that the tree-spirit
may be placated or continue to live.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Sacred trees and groves protected by indwelling spirits
summary: Trees and groves are left standing or not injured because spirits, gods,
or divinities are believed to inhabit them and may punish injury.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Sacrifice or expiation for cutting or damaging trees
summary: Blood, animal sacrifice, or expiatory rites are offered before cutting
trees or after damage occurs in a sacred grove.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Sacred tree inhabited or animated by spirit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: The passage repeatedly describes trees as bodies or dwellings of spirits,
gods, or divinities and treats some trees as sacred because of that presence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage supports sacred-tree belief, but it does not explicitly present
the tree as a cosmic axis or world center.
- id: motif:2
label: Ritual relocation of a tree-spirit before or after felling
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Tree-felling is accompanied by conjuration, worship, planting a young tree,
placing a sprig, or marking a stump to induce or enable the spirit to depart or
continue living.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is an extracted passage-level motif without a specific supplied taxonomy
family.
- id: motif:3
label: Appeasement or compensation offering to a disturbed spirit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Betel and coins are placed on the stump as compensation for the tree-spirit's
disturbance; other rites include presenting a cocoa-nut, incense, pigment, blood,
or animal sacrifice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is ritual and compensatory, but the passage does not frame
it as a formal covenant or reciprocal contract.
- id: motif:4
label: Punishment for injuring sacred trees or groves
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Spirits are said to resent injury, make hands or feet crooked, and cause
sickness or death when sacred groves or trees are harmed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The punitive agents are local spirits or deities; the passage does not
present a formal judgment scene.
- id: motif:5
label: Sacrifice before cutting or after accidental damage to sacred trees
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage describes sprinkling goat's blood before cutting a tree, sacrificing
a pig before thinning a grove, and making expiation after damage in a sacred grove.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage interprets these rites as appeasing wood-spirits, but individual
local ritual meanings may vary.
- id: motif:6
label: Child taken by wood spirits and recovered in a tree
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Pádams believe a lost child has been stolen by wood spirits; after trees
are cut to pressure the spirits, the child is found in a fork of a tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives this as a brief ethnographic example and does not develop
a broader narrative pattern.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself compares multiple cultures as sharing a pattern in which
trees are treated as spirit-bodies or spirit-dwellings and tree-felling requires
negotiation, relocation, appeasement, or avoidance.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Cross-cultural tree-spirit dwelling and felling-rite pattern within Frazer's
comparative examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is Frazer's synthesis across cited examples; the passage
does not provide the original-language sources or full local contexts.
- id: claim:2
claim: The examples of planting a young tree, placing a sprig, or marking a stump
function similarly as ways to provide continued habitation or support for the
tree-spirit after felling.
claim_level: same_function
target: Replacement-home or stump-support rites for displaced tree-spirits
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The described actions are similar in function as presented by Frazer,
but the passage does not establish historical connection among the practices.
- id: claim:3
claim: The examples of taboos and punishments around sacred groves recur as a pattern
of inviolable wooded places protected by indwelling spirits.
claim_level: same_function
target: Sacred grove inviolability and supernatural punishment pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supports functional similarity only; it does not demonstrate
shared origin or direct influence among the traditions.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1685-1691
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that spirits may be viewed as incorporated in trees,
or, in another view, as dwelling in trees and able to leave them; Pelew Islanders
conjure the tree-spirit to leave a tree being felled and settle on another.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1691-1697
quote_or_summary: The Pádams of Assam believe a lost child has been stolen by wood
spirits; they cut down trees until the spirits, fearing loss of lodging, return
the child, who is found in a tree fork.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1697-1711
quote_or_summary: The Katodis worship a same-kind tree with offerings before felling
another; a Galeleze must not cut the last tree until its spirit leaves; Mundaris
preserve sacred groves; Miris avoid unnecessary tree cutting to avoid offending
wood spirits.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1712-1718
quote_or_summary: In Sumatra, a young tree is planted on a felled tree's stump,
with betel and small coins, to offer the tree-spirit a new home and compensate
it for disturbance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1718-1724
quote_or_summary: In Chedooba, a green sprig is placed on the stump as soon as a
large tree falls; German woodmen make a cross on the stump while the tree is falling
so that the tree-spirit may live on the stump.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1725-1736
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that sacred trees may be conceived as bodies or
dwellings of spirits; old Prussians believed gods inhabited high trees such as
oaks, and the great oak at Romove was the god's special dwelling-place.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1736-1743
quote_or_summary: Battas refused to cut certain trees because mighty spirits dwelled
there; Curka Coles believed spirits in treetops would be disturbed and take vengeance;
Samogitians believed injury to certain groves or their animals would cause crooked
hands or feet.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1744-1749
quote_or_summary: Frazer says sacred inviolable groves are generally assumed to
be inhabited or animated by sylvan deities; in Livonia a tree-feller or branch-breaker
in a sacred grove would die within the year, and a Russian who hewed a Wotjak
sacred-grove tree fell sick and died next day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1749-1753
quote_or_summary: Frazer interprets sacrifices at tree-cutting as appeasement of
wood-spirits; examples include sprinkling goat's blood in Gilgit, a Roman farmer
sacrificing a pig before thinning a grove, and Arval Brothers making expiation
after damage in a sacred grove.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about tree-spirit dwelling, relocation, taboo, punishment,
and sacrifice patterns. Taxonomy mapping is more cautious where supplied families
are broader than the passage's literal content.
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: |-
Used only supplied passage and metadata; comparison claims are limited to Frazer's own cross-cultural comparative framing in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l1685-l1753
passage_sha256=dd32ebe85c98932cf5ad47c286aea3e1e7f5969e7f6285d0a07e99d79608d9c3