batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l1755-l1830
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l1755-l1830
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 1755-1830
start: '1755'
end: '1830'
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 describes a proposed development from trees conceived as animate
bodies of spirits to trees conceived as dwellings of separable spirits, then as
anthropomorphic forest gods. He gives comparative examples in which sacred trees,
groves, branches, harvest boughs, and preserved plant roots are connected with
rain, sunshine, crop growth, and agricultural fertility through sacrifice, petition,
procession, preservation, and water rites.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that when a tree is viewed as a spirit's dwelling rather
than as the spirit's body, the spirit can leave the tree and move from tree to
tree.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage states that the tree-spirit becomes disengaged from a particular
tree, assumes human form, and is represented in classical art as a sylvan deity
with woodland symbols such as a branch.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that trees and tree-spirits are credited with powers including
rain, sunshine, multiplication of flocks and herds, and easy childbirth.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Lithuanian women are described as opposing the felling of sacred groves because
the woods were regarded as the house of a god from which rain and sunshine were
obtained.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage reports that the Mundaris associate felling a tree in a sacred
grove with sylvan gods withholding rain, while Cambodians sacrifice to a sacred
tree when rains are late.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: A branch may be dipped in water to obtain rain from the tree-spirit; the passage
explains this as water applied to a spirit immanent in the branch.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage reports agricultural rites in which sacred groves, tall trees,
and leafy branches are linked to crop growth and the preservation of earthly fruits.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The Harvest-May and the ancient Greek eiresione are described as branches
or trees decorated with crops or fruits, kept at or over a house for a year, and
replaced after their virtue is exhausted.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Some Dyaks of Sarawak preserve roots of a flowering bulbous plant with harvested
rice and replant them with seed-rice because rice is said not to grow without
such a plant in the field.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: tree-spirit or forest god
description: A supernatural being first associated with individual trees, later
treated as able to move among trees and as capable of anthropomorphic form while
retaining powers over trees and fertility.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: sylvan deities
description: Classical woodland deities represented in human shape, with woodland
character indicated by a branch or similar symbol.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Jerome of Prague
description: A missionary described as persuading heathen Lithuanians to fell their
sacred groves.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lithuanian women
description: A multitude of women who asked the Prince of Lithuania to stop the
felling of sacred groves.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Prince of Lithuania
description: The ruler petitioned by the women to stop Jerome of Prague from destroying
sacred woods.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Mundaris in Assam
description: A community said to believe that sacred grove trees and grove deities
affect rain and crops.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Cambodian villagers or provincial communities
description: Communities described as having a sacred tree as the abode of a spirit
and sacrificing to it if rains are late.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Gold Coast sacrificers
description: People described as sacrificing at the foot of certain tall trees and
believing that felling one would cause the fruits of the earth to perish.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Swedish peasants
description: Peasants described as placing leafy branches in furrows to ensure an
abundant crop.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Harvest-May practitioners in Germany and France
description: Agricultural communities described as bringing home a decorated harvest
branch or tree and preserving it for a year.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Dyaks of Sarawak
description: People described as preserving roots of a flowering plant with rice
and replanting them with the next seed-rice.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: tree or woodland supernatural agent
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage describes tree-spirits, forest gods, and sylvan deities as supernatural
beings connected with trees and fertility powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: missionary opponent of sacred groves
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Jerome of Prague is described as persuading Lithuanians to fell sacred groves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: petitioners defending sacred woods
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The women ask the Prince to stop the felling of woods associated with rain
and sunshine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: ruler addressed by petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Prince of Lithuania is asked to intervene against the destruction of
sacred groves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: ritual or agricultural community
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
basis: These groups are described as conducting or believing in rites involving
sacred trees, branches, plant roots, rain, or crop fertility.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacred tree or grove
literal_form: tree, sacred tree, sacred grove, or tall tree regarded as spirit abode
or linked to rain and crops
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: branch as embodied tree-spirit or fertility bough
literal_form: branch, leafy branch, Harvest-May, or eiresione used in water rites,
fields, processions, and annual preservation
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: water applied to branch
literal_form: water used to dip or drench a branch or festival tree in a rain charm
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: preserved flowering plant roots
literal_form: roots of a bulbous plant with white fragrant flowers preserved with
rice and replanted with seed-rice
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: annual harvest bough
literal_form: decorated branch or whole tree kept for a year and then replaced
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Tree-spirit becomes forest god
summary: The passage describes a conceptual shift from the tree as the body of a
spirit to the tree as the dwelling of a separable spirit, which may become an
anthropomorphic forest god while retaining tree-related powers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Sacred groves and trees regulate rain
summary: Examples from Lithuania, Assam, and Cambodia present sacred groves or trees
as sources of rain, sunshine, or divine displeasure when harmed, with sacrifice
offered when rains are late.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Water rite for rain from a tree-spirit
summary: A branch is dipped or drenched with water in order to obtain rain, explained
in the passage as sympathetic magic directed at a spirit present in the branch.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Tree and branch rites for crop growth
summary: Agricultural examples associate grove deities, tall trees, leafy branches,
the Harvest-May, the eiresione, and preserved plant roots with crop abundance
and yearly fertility.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Sacred tree or grove as spirit abode and fertility source
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: The passage repeatedly treats trees and groves as dwellings or embodiments
of spirits that provide rain, sunshine, crop growth, and other fertility powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy label is broader than the passage; the text emphasizes
sacred trees and groves as spirit abodes rather than explicitly as a cosmic axis.
- id: motif:2
label: Rain obtained by watering or drenching a sacred branch or tree
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage describes dipping a branch in water to compel rain from a tree-spirit
and connects festival tree drenching with rain-charms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: No specific available motif-family taxonomy exactly matches this rain-charm
pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: Annual harvest bough preserving crop fertility
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The Harvest-May and eiresione are kept for a year to foster crop growth,
then replaced when their virtue is considered exhausted.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The seasonal-cycle taxonomy is appropriate for the annual replacement
pattern, though the passage frames it specifically as agricultural fertility.
- id: motif:4
label: Sacrifice to tree or tree-spirit for rain and fruits of the earth
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Cambodian communities sacrifice to a sacred tree when rains are late, and
Gold Coast sacrificers offer at tall trees associated with the continued fertility
of the earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports these as comparative ethnographic examples through
Frazer’s terminology and should be reviewed for source context.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The German Harvest-May is presented as having a counterpart in the ancient
Greek eiresione, with both functioning as decorated harvest branches preserved
for a year to foster crops.
claim_level: same_function
target: German Harvest-May and ancient Greek eiresione
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim follows Frazer’s explicit comparison in this passage; independent
historical relationship is not established here.
- id: claim:2
claim: The branch-water rain charm is compared with a New Caledonian practice in
which rain-makers pour water on a skeleton so that a deceased soul converts it
into rain.
claim_level: same_function
target: Tree-branch rain charm and New Caledonian skeleton water rite
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supports functional analogy only; it does not demonstrate
historical contact or common origin.
- id: claim:3
claim: European festival customs of drenching cut trees are interpreted as rain-charms
related to tree-spirit rain beliefs.
claim_level: same_function
target: European drenching of festival trees and tree-spirit rain rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage attributes this explanation to Mannhardt and presents it
as an interpretation rather than direct proof from the customs themselves.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1755-1771
quote_or_summary: Frazer describes a shift from trees as bodies of tree-spirits
to trees as dwellings of separable spirits; the spirit can move among trees, becomes
a forest god, and may be represented in human shape with a branch or similar woodland
symbol.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1771-1783
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that tree-souls and anthropomorphic tree-gods retain
powers connected with rain, sunshine, multiplication of flocks and herds, and
easy childbirth, and announces examples of these powers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1784-1794
quote_or_summary: Examples are given of Lithuanian women defending sacred groves
as a god’s house for rain and sunshine, Mundaris believing sylvan gods withhold
rain if grove trees are felled, and Cambodian communities sacrificing to a sacred
tree when rains are late.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1794-1803
quote_or_summary: A branch is dipped in water to obtain rain from a tree-spirit;
Frazer explains this as sympathetic magic and compares it with a New Caledonian
skeleton-water rain rite and with European customs of drenching festival trees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1805-1814
quote_or_summary: Tree-spirits are said to make crops grow; examples include Mundari
grove deities responsible for crops, sacrifices at tall trees on the Gold Coast,
and Swedish peasants placing leafy branches in corn-field furrows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1814-1825
quote_or_summary: The German and French Harvest-May is a decorated branch or tree
brought from the harvest field and kept for a year; Frazer compares it with the
ancient Greek eiresione and says both preserve life-giving virtue for crops until
replaced.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1825-1830
quote_or_summary: Some Dyaks of Sarawak preserve roots of a flowering bulbous plant
with harvested rice and replant them with seed-rice, saying rice will not grow
unless such a plant is in the field.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is an explicit comparative scholarly discussion with clear examples.
Motif taxonomy assignment is partly approximate because the available motif list
has no exact category for tree-spirit rain and crop charms.
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. Comparison claims are limited to comparisons made or directly supported within the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l1755-l1830
passage_sha256=bb3137c7f8d464a04384cd30bdc079933ab856d3b5353a12a7683e5a89ba3fe2