batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3265-l3343
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3265-l3343
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 3265-3343
start: '3265'
end: '3343'
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 a living person's soul may leave,
be lured away, detained by the dead or ancestors, or recovered by ritual actions.
Examples include Karen funeral precautions, Burmese soul recovery for infants
and bereaved persons, grave-related soul danger in Keisar and the Key Islands,
Bolang Mongondo priestesses restoring a sick boy's soul, an Australian medicine-man
using a puppet, Uea soul-doctors leading a soul home from a graveyard, and Madagascar
friends obtaining or returning a soul through a family tomb and bonnet.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that the soul's departure may be involuntary and may be
caused by ghosts, demons, or sorcerers.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Karens of Burma tie children to part of a house while a funeral passes,
to keep the children's souls from going into the passing corpse.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: At a Karen grave, mourners use split bamboo and sticks to show their souls
how to climb out of the grave before burial is completed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Karen mourners keep bamboos away from the earth being filled into the grave,
and later carry them away while asking their souls to come with them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Returning from the grave, a Karen person uses three small branch-hooks and
calls to his spirit, making hooking motions to prevent the soul from staying with
the dead.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: In the Burmese rite for a baby whose mother has died, a wise woman uses a
mirror, cotton down, and cloth while asking the dead mother not to take the child's
soul.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Burmese rite is also said to be performed when a dead child is thought
to lure away a playmate's soul, and sometimes for a bereaved husband or wife.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: In Keisar it is considered imprudent to go near a grave at night, because
ghosts might catch and keep the passer-by's soul.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The Key Islanders lay food on graves and ask ancestors to let a sick person's
soul return or drive it home.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: In Bolang Mongondo, sickness is ascribed to ancestral spirits carrying off
the patient's soul, and priestesses attempt to bring the soul back.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: In the Bolang Mongondo cure, a cloth doll is fastened to a spear, priestesses
dance and chant around it, and the boy's soul is supposed to enter the doll.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: The Bolang Mongondo priestesses catch the supposed soul in colored cloths,
place it on the boy's head, pursue it after it escapes, and restore it again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: An Australian medicine-man is said sometimes to bring a sick man's lost soul
into a puppet and restore it by pressing the puppet to the patient's breast.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: In Uea, a soul-doctor and a group go to the graveyard, use flutes and soft
whistling to lure a sick man's soul home, lead it back, and command it to enter
his body.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:15
text: In Madagascar, friends go to the family tomb, ask the patient's father's soul
to give a soul for his son, fold the soul into a bonnet, and bring it to the patient,
who puts it on his head.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Karens of Burma
description: People described as tying children during passing funerals and performing
grave-return precautions for souls.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Karen children
description: Children whose souls are thought liable to leave their bodies and go
into a passing corpse.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Karen mourners and friends
description: Participants around the grave who use split bamboo and sticks and later
carry the bamboos away while calling their souls.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Souls of the living
description: Souls of children, mourners, passers-by, sick persons, and bereaved
persons that may leave, be detained, or be restored.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Souls or ghosts of the dead
description: Dead persons, ghosts, or ancestral spirits described as able to attract,
catch, keep, or carry off souls of the living.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Burmese wise woman
description: Ritual specialist called to recover a baby's soul after the mother's
death.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Dead mother
description: A deceased mother whose soul is thought to draw away the soul of her
baby.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Baby of the dead mother
description: A young baby whose 'butterfly' or soul is thought to follow the dead
mother and must be recovered.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Key Islander ancestors
description: Forefathers believed to make people sick by detaining their souls when
they have not received food.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Sick boy or patient
description: The patient whose soul is carried off, lost, restored, or replaced
in several described rites.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Bolang Mongondo priestesses
description: Priestesses acting as physicians who dance, charm, catch, pursue, and
restore the sick boy's soul.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Old woman with spear
description: An old woman who holds upright the spear with the cloth doll in the
Bolang Mongondo cure.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Australian medicine-man
description: Ritual specialist who brings a lost soul into a puppet and presses
it to the patient's breast.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Uea soul-doctor and accompanying group
description: A soul-doctor with men and women who go to the graveyard and lead a
wandering soul back with music, whistling, and gestures.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Madagascar friends of the sick man
description: Friends who go to the family tomb, ask the father's soul for a soul,
carry it in a bonnet, and bring it to the patient.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Patient's father in Madagascar rite
description: The father's soul at the family tomb is asked to provide a soul for
his son.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: vulnerable soul-bearer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:8
- fig:10
basis: These figures are described as having souls that may leave, be lost, follow
the dead, be detained, or require restoration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: dead or ancestral soul-detainer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:9
- fig:16
basis: The passage describes dead persons, ghosts, and ancestors as drawing, catching,
keeping, carrying off, or being asked to provide souls.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: ritual soul-retriever
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:11
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
basis: These figures perform rites intended to recover, lead back, restore, or obtain
a soul for the afflicted person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: protective funeral participant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
basis: The Karen funeral practices are described as precautions to prevent souls
of living participants or children from joining the dead.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: ritual assistant
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The old woman holds the spear and doll used in the Bolang Mongondo cure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: protective string
literal_form: special kind of string tying children to a particular part of the
house
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: corpse and grave
literal_form: passing corpse and open grave
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: split bamboo path
literal_form: bamboo split lengthwise with a stick drawn along its groove
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: branch hooks
literal_form: three little hooks made of branches of trees
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: mirror and cotton down
literal_form: mirror with feathery cotton down used to catch and return the baby's
soul
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: soul-catching cloth
literal_form: cloth held by the wise woman or waved by priestesses to catch the
soul
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: food offering on grave
literal_form: offerings of food laid on the grave
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: cloth doll on spear
literal_form: doll of cloth fastened to the point of a spear
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:9
label: puppet containing lost soul
literal_form: puppet into which a sick man's lost soul is brought
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:10
label: flutes and whistling
literal_form: men playing flutes and women whistling softly to lure the soul home
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:11
label: family tomb and bonnet
literal_form: hole in family tomb and bonnet used to fold up and carry the soul
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:15
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: General statement of involuntary soul departure
summary: The passage introduces the idea that a soul may be extracted from the body
against its will by ghosts, demons, or sorcerers.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Karen precautions during and after a funeral
summary: Karens tie children during a passing funeral, guide souls out of the grave
with split bamboo, avoid burying the souls in the bamboos, carry the bamboos away,
and use branch-hooks while calling their spirits home.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Burmese recovery of a baby's soul
summary: A wise woman uses a mirror, cotton down, and cloth while begging the dead
mother not to take the baby's soul, then places the caught down on the baby's
breast.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Grave danger and ancestral food offerings
summary: Keisar belief warns that ghosts near graves may catch a passer-by's soul;
Key Islanders offer food at graves and ask ancestors to release or drive home
a sick person's soul.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Bolang Mongondo cure of the sick boy
summary: Priestesses use a doll on a spear, charms, dancing, colored cloths, pursuit,
and placement on the head to recover and restore a sick boy's soul.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Australian puppet restoration
summary: An Australian medicine-man brings a sick man's lost soul into a puppet
and presses the puppet to the patient's breast to restore it.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Uea graveyard procession for soul return
summary: A soul-doctor and companions go to the graveyard, use flutes and whistling
to lure the soul, lead it home with open palms, and command it to enter the patient's
body.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: Madagascar tomb and bonnet rite
summary: Friends ask the soul of the patient's father at the family tomb to give
a soul, fold the soul into a bonnet, bring it to the patient, and have him put
it on his head.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:15
- fig:16
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: involuntary departure or extraction of the soul
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The passage explicitly states that the soul's departure is not always voluntary
and may be extracted by ghosts, demons, or sorcerers, then gives examples of living
souls leaving or being carried off.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy ref 'departure' is broader than the specific soul-loss
pattern in this passage.
- id: motif:2
label: ritual return or restoration of a lost soul
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Multiple rites aim to call, lure, catch, carry, or command the soul back
into or onto the patient or vulnerable person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage treats these as analogous rites, but each example differs
in objects and sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: dead or ancestors detain the souls of the living
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ghosts, a corpse, a dead mother, dead playmate, ancestral spirits, and souls
of the dead are described as catching, keeping, luring, carrying off, or detaining
souls of living persons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage groups distinct traditions under a broad comparative explanation.
- id: motif:4
label: soul captured or transported in ritual objects
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The soul is represented as moving through or being held in bamboo, hooks,
cotton down, cloth, doll, puppet, flutes-led procession, bonnet, and similar ritual
media.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: Some objects function as containers, while others function as lures, guides,
or gestures; they should not be treated as identical.
- id: motif:5
label: food offering to ancestors in exchange for soul release
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The Key Islanders are described as laying food on the grave and asking ancestors
to allow a sick person's soul to return or to drive it home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the offering an exchange; the taxonomy
ref is a cautious fit.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage presents a cross-cultural pattern in which sickness, danger after
funerals, or bereavement is explained by the departure, detention, or theft of
a living person's soul and addressed through rites of retrieval or return.
claim_level: same_function
target: soul-loss and soul-retrieval pattern across Karen, Burmese, Keisar, Key
Islander, Bolang Mongondo, Australian, Uea, and Madagascar examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage is a comparative scholarly compilation and does not provide
independent ethnographic context beyond the summarized examples.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The Bolang Mongondo doll rite and the Australian puppet rite are presented
as similar in function: each uses a human-made figure as a medium for bringing
back a sick person''s lost soul.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Bolang Mongondo cloth doll on spear and Australian medicine-man's puppet
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage only states functional similarity and gives limited detail
for the Australian example.
- id: claim:3
claim: Several examples connect graves, corpses, or tombs with danger to the living
soul or with recovery of a missing soul.
claim_level: same_motif
target: grave as site of soul detention, attraction, or retrieval in Karen, Keisar,
Key Islander, Uea, and Madagascar examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: 'The grave-related actions vary: some prevent loss, some negotiate
return, some lure the soul home, and one seeks or receives a soul through the
tomb.'
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 3265-3267
quote_or_summary: '"The departure of the soul is not always voluntary. It may be
extracted from the body against its will by ghosts, demons, or sorcerers."'
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 3267-3287
quote_or_summary: Karen funeral practices include tying children during a passing
funeral, using split bamboo and sticks at the grave to show souls how to climb
out, avoiding burying souls with bamboos, carrying the bamboos away, and using
three branch-hooks while calling the spirit to prevent it from remaining with
the dead.
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 3287-3298
quote_or_summary: Burmese belief says a baby's 'butterfly' or soul may follow its
dead mother; a wise woman uses a mirror, cotton down, cloth, and entreaties to
recover it. Similar rites may be used for a dead playmate's surviving companion
or for a bereaved spouse.
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 3298-3305
quote_or_summary: In Keisar people avoid graves at night lest ghosts catch the passer-by's
soul. Key Islanders believe unfed forefathers can make people sick by detaining
their souls, so food is laid on graves while ancestors are asked to let the sick
person's soul return or drive it home.
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 3306-3327
quote_or_summary: In Bolang Mongondo sickness is ascribed to ancestral spirits carrying
off the patient's soul. Priestesses acting as physicians use a cloth doll on a
spear, dance and charms, colored cloths, head-wrapping, pursuit around the house,
and restoration of the recaptured soul to a sick boy.
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: quote
locator: lines 3327-3329
quote_or_summary: '"Much in the same way an Australian medicine-man will sometimes
bring the lost soul of a sick man into a puppet and restore it to the patient
by pressing the puppet to his breast."'
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 3329-3338
quote_or_summary: In Uea, the dead are credited with stealing souls of the living;
a soul-doctor and a troop go to the graveyard, use flutes and whistling to lure
the soul home, lead it back with open palms, and command it to enter the patient's
body.
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 3338-3343
quote_or_summary: In Madagascar, friends of a sick man go to the family tomb, make
a hole, ask the patient's father's soul to give a soul for his son, fold the soul
into a bonnet, bring it to the patient, and the patient puts the bonnet on his
head.
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 extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy
links are cautious because the available taxonomy lacks a specific 'soul loss'
or 'soul retrieval' family.
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 patterns explicitly juxtaposed or summarized within the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l3265-l3343
passage_sha256=49798638815ba4c5898ef19f89a2eff0a10e0fb07f17f9791677358ada849640