batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3187-l3263
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3187-l3263
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF
THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 3187-3263
start: '3187'
end: '3263'
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: The passage surveys beliefs that the soul may leave the body during sleep
or waking, become detained, fight other souls, be trapped in animal or insect
form, fail to recognize or re-enter the body, or be ritually recalled. It gives
examples from Guinea, the Aru Islands, Santal tradition, Transylvania, Bombay,
Servian belief, Mongol healing practice, and Indian stories of soul transfer between
bodies.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that a sleeper's soul is supposed to wander away from the
body and visit places seen in dreams; if permanently detained away, the person
dies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The soul of a sleeper may meet and fight another sleeper's soul, or meet the
soul of a recently deceased person and be carried off by it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: In the Santal account, a sleeping man's soul leaves in the form of a lizard,
enters a pitcher of water, is trapped when the pitcher is covered, and the man
dies until the lizard is released and returns.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: In the Transylvanian witch-trial account, a motionless woman cannot be awakened;
a fly is caught and later released, flies into her mouth, and she wakes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that some people avoid waking sleepers suddenly because
the soul may not have time to return, and that gradual waking allows time for
return.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: In the Bombay example, changing the appearance of a sleeper is said to risk
death because the returning soul may not recognize its body.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: In the Servian belief described, a sleeping witch's soul may leave in the
form of a butterfly; if the body is turned around, the butterfly soul may fail
to re-enter through the mouth and the witch may die.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The passage states that the soul can also leave during waking hours, producing
sickness or death if the absence is prolonged.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: In the Mongol healing practice, the sick person's body is made attractive,
friends call the patient's name, a colored cord is stretched from the head to
the hut door, a priest recites dangers to absent souls, and seed is thrown over
the sick person when the soul is said to return.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: In one Indian story, a king transfers his soul into a dead Brahman's body,
a hunchback transfers his soul into the king's deserted body, and the king later
recovers his own body after the hunchback transfers into a parrot.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: In another Indian story, a Brahman reanimates a dead king's body by transferring
his own soul into it, but his original body is burned and his soul remains in
the king's body.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: sleeper
description: A person whose soul is supposed to leave the body during sleep and
dreams.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: sleeper's soul
description: The soul that wanders from the body, may meet other souls, and may
fail to return.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: soul of a deceased person
description: A soul still present after death and feared as capable of carrying
off a sleeper's soul.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Santal sleeping man
description: A man whose soul leaves as a lizard to drink water and whose body dies
until the lizard returns.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: lizard soul
description: The sleeping man's soul in the form of a lizard, trapped in and then
released from a covered water pitcher.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Transylvanian woman identified as a witch
description: A woman lying motionless with her mouth open, who wakes when a released
fly enters her mouth.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: fly
description: A fly caught in a pouch and later released, after which it enters the
woman's mouth and she wakes.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Servian sleeping witch
description: A witch whose soul is said to leave the sleeping body in butterfly
form.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: butterfly soul
description: The soul of a sleeping witch in butterfly form, which may fail to find
the mouth if the body is turned around.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Mongol sick person
description: A patient whose sickness is explained by absence of the soul and for
whom a return ritual is performed.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: friends of the sick person
description: People who march three times around the hut, call the sick person's
name, answer the priest, and throw seed over the patient.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: priest
description: A ritual specialist who reads a list of dangers to absent souls and
asks whether the soul has come.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Indian king
description: A king who transfers his soul into a dead Brahman's body and later
regains his own body.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: hunchback
description: A figure who transfers his soul into the deserted body of the king
and later into a dead parrot.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Brahman
description: In one story, a dead body occupied by the king's soul; in another,
a Brahman transfers his own soul into a dead king's body.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: dead parrot
description: A dead bird body into which the hunchback transfers his soul.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: sleeping body
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The sleeper's body remains while the soul is away and may suffer if the soul
does not return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: wandering or returning soul
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:9
basis: These souls leave the body and must return to avoid sickness or death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: dangerous dead soul
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The soul of the deceased is feared as capable of carrying off the soul of
a sleeper.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: imperiled body or patient
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:10
basis: These bodies are dead, corpse-like, or sick while the soul is absent or obstructed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: animal or insect form of soul
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:9
basis: The passage presents lizard, fly, and butterfly forms as connected with absent
or returning souls.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: witch figure
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:8
basis: The Transylvanian men conclude the woman is a witch, and the Servian example
describes a sleeping witch.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: ritual helpers
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The friends call, coax, answer, bow, and throw seed during the soul-return
procedure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: ritual specialist
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The priest recites dangers and directs the recognition of the soul's return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: soul-transfer practitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:13
- fig:15
basis: The king and the Brahman are described as transferring souls into other bodies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: body usurper
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The hunchback occupies the king's deserted body and becomes king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: temporary vessel body
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: The dead parrot is used as a body into which the hunchback transfers his
soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: water vessel
literal_form: covered pitcher of water
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: well
literal_form: well from which the revived man says he had been getting water
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: lizard
literal_form: lizard form of the sleeping man's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: fly
literal_form: big fly entering the woman's mouth
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: butterfly
literal_form: butterfly form of the sleeping witch's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: mouth as entry point
literal_form: open mouth or mouth through which an animal-form soul re-enters
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: colored cord
literal_form: colored cord stretched from the patient's head to the hut door and
later worn around the neck
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: seed thrown over patient
literal_form: seed thrown over the sick man after the returning soul is acknowledged
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: exchangeable body
literal_form: dead or deserted body occupied by another soul
associated_figures:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Dangers of the sleeper's wandering soul
summary: The passage introduces the belief that a sleeping person's soul travels
away and may die with the body if detained; examples include soul combat and danger
from a recent dead person's soul.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Santal lizard-soul trapped in a water pitcher
summary: A sleeping man's lizard-form soul enters a pitcher of water, is trapped
by a cover, and returns only after the pitcher is opened, reviving the body.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Transylvanian fly entering the mouth of the motionless woman
summary: A fly is caught and later released; when it flies into the mouth of a corpse-like
woman, she wakes and is identified by the men as a witch.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Precautions around sleeping bodies
summary: The passage describes rules against waking sleepers abruptly, changing
a sleeper's appearance, or turning a witch's body so that the returning soul cannot
recognize or enter it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Mongol ritual to recall an absent soul
summary: A patient's body is made attractive, friends call the soul, a colored cord
guides it back, the priest warns of dangers, seed is thrown, and the cord is worn
for seven days.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Indian stories of soul transfer into other bodies
summary: The passage recounts stories in which souls move into dead or deserted
bodies, producing exchanges of identity and permanent residence when the former
body is destroyed.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
- fig:16
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Wandering soul absent from sleeping body
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The passage repeatedly describes the soul leaving the body during sleep,
with danger if it is detained and cannot return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy term 'departure' is broader than the specific soul-absence
motif in the passage.
- id: motif:2
label: Animal or insect soul-form trapped outside the body
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The passage gives examples of a soul appearing as a lizard, fly, or butterfly,
and emphasizes danger when that form cannot return to the body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes soul embodiment in animal or insect form rather
than a full transformation of the human person; 'shapeshifter' is an approximate
taxonomy match.
- id: motif:3
label: Revival when the absent soul returns
taxonomy_refs:
- return
- death_rebirth
basis: The Santal man revives when the lizard returns to his body, and the Transylvanian
woman wakes when the fly enters her mouth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The Transylvanian example concerns waking from a corpse-like state, while
the Santal example explicitly states the man died and revived.
- id: motif:4
label: Ritual recall and guidance of an absent soul
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: The Mongol practice calls the patient's name, makes the body attractive,
uses a cord to show the way home, and performs actions when the soul is said to
return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: No specific taxonomy term for soul-retrieval ritual is available, so 'return'
is used broadly.
- id: motif:5
label: Soul transfer into another body
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Indian stories describe a king, hunchback, and Brahman transferring souls
into dead or deserted bodies, causing changes in bodily identity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly corresponds to voluntary soul
transfer or body exchange.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly presents the Transylvanian fly account as similar
to the Santal lizard-soul account, with both involving a soul-like animal or insect
form outside the body and revival or waking after return.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Santal lizard-soul story and Transylvanian fly-mouth story
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage states similarity but the Transylvanian account is framed
through a witch-trial narrative, while the Santal account explicitly identifies
the lizard as the man's soul.
- id: claim:2
claim: The two Indian stories in the passage share the pattern of a soul entering
a dead or deserted body and the original body becoming unavailable or contested.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Indian soul-transfer stories involving king, Brahman, hunchback, and parrot
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage gives only brief summaries, and no historical or textual
relationship between the two Indian stories is established here.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3187-3192
quote_or_summary: A sleeper's soul is said to wander from the body and visit dream
places; if the soul is permanently detained, the person dies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3192-3201
quote_or_summary: 'The passage gives dangers to the sleeper''s soul: fighting another
sleeper''s soul, or being carried off by the soul of a recently deceased person,
as feared in the Aru Islands.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3201-3218
quote_or_summary: A Santal story says a sleeping man's soul, in lizard form, enters
a water pitcher, is trapped when the pitcher is covered, and the man dies; when
the lizard is released and returns, the body revives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3218-3230
quote_or_summary: A Transylvanian witch-trial account describes a motionless woman
with open mouth; a captured fly is later released, flies into her mouth, and she
wakes, leading the men to regard her as a witch.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3232-3237
quote_or_summary: The passage states that many people avoid waking a sleeper because
the absent soul may not return in time; if waking is necessary, it should be gradual.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3237-3242
quote_or_summary: In Bombay, changing a sleeper's appearance is considered like
murder because the returning soul may fail to recognize the body and the person
may die.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 3242-3248
quote_or_summary: The Servian belief described says a sleeping witch's soul often
leaves as a butterfly; if the body is turned around, the butterfly soul cannot
find the mouth and the witch dies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 3250-3255
quote_or_summary: The soul may leave during waking hours as well as sleep, and sickness
or death may result if the absence is prolonged; Mongol explanations of sickness
include the soul's absence or inability to find its way back.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 3255-3263
quote_or_summary: The Mongol procedure places valued things near the patient, washes
and incenses him, has friends circle the hut and call his name, stretches a colored
cord from head to door, has a priest recite dangers, and then throws seed over
the patient; the cord is worn seven days.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 3263-3263
quote_or_summary: An Indian story describes a king sending his soul into a dead
Brahman's body, a hunchback entering the king's deserted body, and the king recovering
his body after the hunchback transfers into a dead parrot.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 3263-3263
quote_or_summary: Another Indian story describes a Brahman reanimating a dead king
by putting his own soul into the king's body; when the Brahman's original body
is burned, his soul must remain in the king's body.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The literal examples are explicit in the passage. Motif taxonomy assignments
are sometimes approximate because the available taxonomy lacks exact labels for
wandering soul, soul loss, soul retrieval, and body exchange.
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 similarities explicitly indicated or closely juxtaposed within the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l3187-l3263
passage_sha256=b3659ead0176918c63f409383b0d190b10032d87cfa090384a93908398dccc0b