batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3345-l3421
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3345-l3421
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 3345-3421
start: '3345'
end: '3421'
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 presents comparative examples of beliefs and rites concerning the
abduction, loss, recovery, ransom, substitution, containment, or animal hiding-place
of a living person's soul among Annamites, Dyaks, people of the Moluccas, Mongols,
Alfoers of Celebes, Samoans, and Battas of Sumatra.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Annamites are reported to believe that a demon can inhale a person's breath
and soul when the person speaks to the demon.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A Dyak leaving a forest after walking alone asks demons to return his soul,
because a forest-devil may have carried it off.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: In the Moluccas, illness is described as possibly caused by a devil carrying
the patient's soul to the devil's dwelling in a tree, mountain, or hill.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Friends of a Moluccan patient bring food and valuables to the indicated abode,
pray for the soul's release, release a hen as ransom, and place returned offerings
near the sick man's head.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: A later Moluccan account describes a friend calling the sick person's name
three times, asking the soul to come, making a catching motion with a cloth, returning
without looking aside or speaking, and laying the cloth on the patient's throat.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Sometimes a dressed doll is offered to the demon in exchange for the patient's
soul.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Mongols are described as making a birch-bark horse and a doll, inviting the
demon to take the doll instead of the patient and ride away on the horse.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: At an Alfoer house-warming in Celebes, a priest hangs a bag at the sacrifice
place, recites a list of gods through the night, offers an egg and rice in the
morning, and applies the bag to each household member's head as a soul-restoring
act.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Among the Alfoers, one method of recovering a sick man's soul is to lower
a bowl by a belt from a window and fish until the soul is caught and hauled up.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: An Alfoer priest bringing back a sick man's soul caught in a cloth is accompanied
by a girl holding a palm leaf over him and by a man brandishing a sword.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: A Samoan story describes gods from the mountain passing a sick chief's leaf-wrapped
soul from hand to hand at night.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: In the Samoan story, a young wizard receives the chief's soul by mistake,
later opens the leaf and lets the soul back into the chief, after which the chief
recovers.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:13
text: The Battas of Sumatra are reported to believe that a living person's soul
may transmigrate into an animal body, and that a doctor may be asked to extract
a patient's soul from a fowl where an evil spirit has hidden it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: demons, devils, and evil spirits
description: Non-human beings said to abduct, inhale, carry away, hide, or receive
substitutes for human souls.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:13
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: sick or endangered soul-owner
description: A living person whose soul is believed to be lost, abducted, hidden,
or in need of restoration.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: friends of the patient
description: People who bring offerings, pray for release, carry out return rites,
or seek healing for a sick person.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: sorcerer
description: A specialist who points out the devil's abode in the Moluccan rite.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: priest
description: Alfoer ritual specialist who restores souls at house-warming and brings
back a sick man's soul in a cloth.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: household members
description: Master of the house, housewife, and family members whose souls are
restored in the Alfoer house-warming ceremony.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: young wizards
description: Two Samoan wizards, one of whom receives and retains the chief's soul,
then restores it.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: gods from the mountain
description: Samoan divine beings sitting at a doorway and passing the sick chief's
soul at night.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: dying chief
description: A Samoan chief lying very sick whose soul is wrapped in a leaf and
later returned to him.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: doctor
description: Batta healing specialist asked to extract a patient's soul from a fowl.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: soul-seizer or soul-holder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:8
basis: Demons, devils, evil spirits, and mountain gods are described as inhaling,
carrying away, hiding, or handling human souls.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:11
- ev:13
- id: role:2
label: soul-owner needing restoration
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:9
basis: Patients, household members, and the sick chief are described as having souls
lost, gathered, or returned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:3
label: supplicant or ritual helper
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Friends of the patient bring offerings, pray, call the patient's name, and
carry the soul-capturing cloth back to the patient.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: ritual or healing specialist
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:10
basis: These figures identify the spirit's abode, perform ceremonies, restore the
soul, or extract it from an animal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: role:5
label: accidental soul-recipient and restorer
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: A god mistakes one wizard for a god and hands him the chief's soul, which
he later returns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: role:6
label: recipient of substitute or ransom
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Demons are offered a hen, a doll, or a doll with a horse instead of the patient's
soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: breath and soul
literal_form: breath and soul inhaled by a demon
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: forest as soul-loss setting
literal_form: forest where a forest-devil may carry off a soul
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: tree, mountain, or hill as devil's dwelling
literal_form: tree, mountain, or hill where the devil dwells with the patient's
soul
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: offerings for soul release
literal_form: cooked rice, fruit, fish, raw eggs, hen, chicken, silken robe, gold,
armlets, and other goods
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: hen as ransom
literal_form: hen released as ransom for the patient's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: cloth for catching and returning soul
literal_form: cloth used as if to catch the soul and then laid on the patient's
throat
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: doll substitute
literal_form: doll dressed in gay clothing and tinsel, offered in exchange for the
patient's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: birch-bark horse and doll
literal_form: horse of birch-bark and a doll offered for the demon to take away
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:9
label: soul-gathering bag
literal_form: bag hung at the place of sacrifice and later held on household members'
heads
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:10
label: egg and rice offering
literal_form: egg and rice offered to the gods in the Alfoer house-warming ceremony
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:11
label: bowl and belt soul-fishing device
literal_form: bowl lowered by a belt from a window to catch and haul up a soul
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:12
label: palm leaf umbrella
literal_form: large palm leaf held over the priest and captured soul to keep them
dry
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:13
label: sword guarding captured soul
literal_form: sword brandished to deter other souls from rescuing the captured soul
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:14
label: leaf-wrapped soul
literal_form: chief's soul wrapped in a leaf and passed among gods
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: sym:15
label: animal body as soul hiding-place
literal_form: fowl body in which a patient's soul has been hidden by an evil spirit
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Soul abduction by demons
summary: The passage opens with examples in which demons or devils inhale, carry
off, or abduct a living person's soul, sometimes without the person knowing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Moluccan offering and ransom rite
summary: Friends of a sick man bring offerings to the devil's abode, pray for the
soul's return, release a hen as ransom, and announce the patient's soul has been
released.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Moluccan cloth capture and substitute doll
summary: A friend calls the sick person's name, catches the soul in a cloth, returns
it to the patient, and in some cases a dressed doll is offered to the demon in
exchange.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Mongol substitute doll and horse
summary: Mongols make a birch-bark horse and a doll and invite the demon to take
the doll instead of the patient and ride away.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Alfoer house-warming soul restoration
summary: At a new house, the priest gathers the household's souls into a bag through
an all-night ceremony and applies the bag to each person in the family.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Alfoer soul fishing and guarded soul transport
summary: Alfoer rites include fishing for a sick man's soul with a bowl lowered
from a window and transporting a cloth-caught soul under a palm leaf and guard
of a sword.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:11
- sym:12
- sym:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:7
label: Samoan wizards restore a chief's leaf-wrapped soul
summary: Gods from the mountain pass a dying chief's leaf-wrapped soul at night;
a wizard receives it by mistake and later lets it back into the chief, who recovers.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: scene:8
label: Batta soul hidden in a fowl
summary: A patient's soul may be thought to have moved into or been hidden in a
fowl, from which a doctor is asked to extract it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Soul abduction or loss caused by spirits
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Multiple examples describe demons, devils, gods, or evil spirits taking,
holding, inhaling, or hiding a living person's soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:11
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The examples are reported through Frazer's comparative summary rather
than from a single primary ritual text.
- id: motif:2
label: Ritual retrieval and return of the missing soul
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Rites include praying for release, calling the sick person's name, catching
the soul in cloth, gathering souls in a bag, fishing for a soul in a bowl, and
restoring a leaf-wrapped soul to the body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The precise ritual meanings vary by culture and example.
- id: motif:3
label: Ransom or substitute exchanged for a patient's soul
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage describes releasing a hen as ransom, offering a decorated doll
to a demon in exchange, and providing a doll and birch-bark horse for a demon
to take instead of the patient.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy term 'sacred_exchange' is broad; the passage frames
these acts specifically as ransom or substitution for a soul.
- id: motif:4
label: Soul contained in portable wrapping or vessel
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Souls are represented as caught in a cloth, gathered in a bag, caught in
a bowl, and wrapped in a leaf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not present a single unified tradition; it juxtaposes
several examples.
- id: motif:5
label: Animal body as temporary location of a living person's soul
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Battas are reported to believe that a living person's soul may transmigrate
into an animal and that a patient's soul may be extracted from a fowl.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: Only one example in the passage supports this motif.
- id: motif:6
label: Danger to souls at thresholds or transitions
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The passage says demons are especially feared by persons who have just entered
a new house and describes a house-warming soul-restoration rite.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: low
cautions: The available taxonomy term 'initiation' is only approximate; the passage
concerns house entry and house-warming rather than an explicit initiation rite.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Moluccan decorated doll and the Mongol doll with birch-bark horse serve
a similar function as substitutes offered to a demon in place of the patient's
soul.
claim_level: same_function
target: Moluccan and Mongol substitute-offering rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage states functional similarity but does not provide evidence
of historical contact or common origin.
- id: claim:2
claim: Several examples share the functional pattern of a ritual specialist or helper
locating, capturing, or transporting a missing soul back to the patient.
claim_level: same_function
target: Moluccan, Alfoer, Samoan, and Batta soul-retrieval examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The procedures, agents, and cosmological settings differ across the
examples; the passage is comparative but does not establish derivation.
- id: claim:3
claim: The Moluccan cloth, Alfoer bag or bowl, and Samoan leaf all present souls
as capable of being held in or moved by portable objects.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Portable containment of the soul across examples in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The objects and ritual contexts are not identical, and the claim is
limited to the passage's juxtaposed examples.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3345-3348
quote_or_summary: Annamites are said to believe that a demon inhales a person's
breath and soul when the person meets and speaks with the demon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3348-3353
quote_or_summary: A Dyak leaving a forest asks demons to give back his soul, since
a forest-devil may have carried it off without his awareness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3353-3356
quote_or_summary: In the Moluccas, a sick man's soul may be thought to have been
carried by a devil to the tree, mountain, or hill where the devil dwells.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3356-3368
quote_or_summary: A sorcerer identifies the devil's abode; the patient's friends
bring offerings, pray for the soul's release, release a hen as ransom, return
with some items, and announce that the soul is released.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3368-3380
quote_or_summary: A friend deposits offerings, calls the sick person's name three
times, asks the soul to come, catches it with a cloth, returns without turning
or speaking, and lays the cloth on the patient's throat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3380-3384
quote_or_summary: A dressed doll may be offered to the demon in exchange for the
patient's soul, with words asking for the taken one back and offering the pretty
one instead.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 3384-3387
quote_or_summary: Mongols make a horse of birch-bark and a doll, inviting the demon
to take the doll instead of the patient and ride away on the horse.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 3388-3401
quote_or_summary: At an Alfoer house-warming in Celebes, a priest hangs a bag, recites
gods through the night, offers egg and rice, and holds the soul-filled bag on
each household member's head.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 3401-3404
quote_or_summary: Among the Alfoers, a sick man's soul may be recovered by lowering
a bowl by a belt out of a window and fishing for the soul until it is caught and
hauled up.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 3404-3410
quote_or_summary: An Alfoer priest bringing back a sick man's soul caught in a cloth
is preceded by a girl holding a palm leaf over him and followed by a man brandishing
a sword to deter other souls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 3411-3418
quote_or_summary: In a Samoan story, two young wizards see gods from the mountain
passing the sick chief's leaf-wrapped soul at night, and one god hands the soul
to a wizard by mistake.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 3418-3426
quote_or_summary: The wizards ask women for mats and promise to heal the chief;
they open the leaf, let the soul into him again, and he recovers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 3427-3431
quote_or_summary: The Battas of Sumatra are said to believe that a living person's
soul may enter an animal body; a doctor may be asked to extract a patient's soul
from a fowl where an evil spirit hid it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif and comparison
labels are descriptive and require human review, especially where broad taxonomy
terms are only approximate.
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: |-
Line locators follow the supplied passage range, though some evidence subranges are approximate within the provided excerpt.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l3345-l3421
passage_sha256=996a014546bbca8fa90a914b20c9206671d5d38a4453a263cc5e0139e73c66f7