batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3961-l4037
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l3961-l4037
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 3961-4037
start: '3961'
end: '4037'
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 beliefs and customs in which eating, drinking, speaking,
and exposed mouths or faces are treated as dangerous because the soul may escape,
be magically harmed, or because harmful influences may enter the body. He gives
examples involving household privacy, concealed eating and drinking, royal taboos,
face veiling, mouth covering, and special restrictions after initiation.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that eating and drinking are considered dangerous because
the soul may escape through the mouth or be extracted by an enemy's magic.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Battas of Sumatra are described as shutting up the house at feasts so
that the soul remains inside and enjoys the food.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Persons in Fiji who suspected plots avoided eating in the presence of others
or avoided leaving food fragments behind.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The Zafimanelo lock their doors when they eat, and the Warua avoid being seen
eating or drinking, sometimes using a cloth as a screen.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Among the Warua, each man and woman must cook for themselves and have their
own fire.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The King of Loango may not be seen eating or drinking by humans or animals
under penalty of death.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: In the Loango example, a dog and the king's son are said to have been killed
after seeing the king dining or drinking.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: When the King of Loango drinks, a bell is rung and those present fall face-down
until he has finished.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The kings or rulers of Kakongo, Dahomey, the Congo Basin, Tonga, and Persia
are described with rules that prevent subjects, people, or guests from seeing
them eat or drink.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Frazer notes that in some cases the intent may be to stop evil influences
from entering the body rather than to stop the soul from escaping.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The Sultan of Darfur covers his face with white muslin so that only his eyes
are visible, and the Sultan of Wadai speaks from behind a curtain.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Touareg men veil the lower part of the face, especially the mouth, constantly,
including while eating or sleeping.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: In Samoa, a man whose family god was the turtle wears a bandage over his mouth
when helping cut up and cook a turtle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: In West Timor a speaker holds his right hand before his mouth while speaking
to prevent a demon entering and to protect the soul from magic.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: In New South Wales, after initiation into tribal mysteries, a young man must
cover his mouth with a rug when a woman is present.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Battas of Sumatra
description: A group said to shut the house at feasts so that the soul remains inside.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Fijian persons suspecting plots
description: Persons who avoid eating before suspected enemies or leaving food fragments
behind.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Zafimanelo
description: A group in Madagascar who lock doors while eating and are rarely seen
eating.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Warua
description: A group who avoid being seen eating or drinking and use individual
fires for cooking.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: King of Loango
description: A king who may not be seen eating or drinking and whose meals and drinks
are concealed.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Loango king's dog and son
description: A dog and a twelve-year-old son described as killed after seeing the
king dining or drinking.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Kings and rulers of Kakongo, Dahomey, Congo Basin, Tonga, and Persia
description: Rulers described with comparable rules restricting visibility during
eating or drinking.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Sultan of Darfur
description: A ruler who wraps his face in white muslin, leaving only his eyes visible.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Sultan of Wadai
description: A ruler who speaks from behind a curtain and whose face is seen only
by intimates and favored persons.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Touareg men of the Sahara
description: Men who keep the lower face, especially the mouth, veiled constantly.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Samoan man whose family god was the turtle
description: A man who must not eat turtle and wears a mouth bandage when helping
prepare one.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: West Timor speaker
description: A speaker who holds his right hand before his mouth while speaking.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Young initiated man in New South Wales
description: A young man after initiation who covers his mouth with a rug when a
woman is present.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: vulnerable eater or drinker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: These groups or persons take precautions while eating or drinking to prevent
soul loss, magic, or exposure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: concealed royal eater or drinker
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:7
basis: The rulers are described as eating or drinking behind screens, curtains,
closed doors, or other restrictions preventing observation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: punished forbidden witness
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The dog and son are killed after seeing the King of Loango dining or drinking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: mouth or face veiler
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
basis: These figures cover the face or mouth, speak from behind a curtain, or use
the hand, bandage, veil, or rug as a barrier.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: post-initiation vulnerable person
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The passage says the young man's soul is in a critical state after initiation
into tribal mysteries.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mouth as vulnerable opening
literal_form: mouth
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: closed house or locked door
literal_form: shut house, locked doors, closed dining house
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: curtain, cloth, veil, bandage, rug, or hand as screen
literal_form: cloth, curtain, handkerchiefs, muslin veil, bandage, hand, rug
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: individual fire
literal_form: each person's own fire
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: bell signal
literal_form: bell rung when the king drinks
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: turtle family god and tabooed animal
literal_form: turtle
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: soul at risk
literal_form: soul
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ordinary precautions during eating and drinking
summary: Frazer introduces the belief that eating and drinking endanger the soul
and gives examples of household closure, avoidance of witnesses, locked doors,
cloth screens, and individual fires.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Royal concealment at meals
summary: Several rulers are described as eating or drinking in ways that prevent
others from seeing them, with death or capital punishment associated with forbidden
sight in some cases.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Face and mouth covering against spiritual danger
summary: Frazer shifts to customs of veiling or covering the face and mouth, explaining
that these may prevent harmful influences from entering the body or magic from
harming the soul.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: soul vulnerable during eating and drinking
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage explicitly says eating and drinking are dangerous because the
soul may escape from the mouth or be extracted by magic.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: This is Frazer's comparative framing of reported customs rather than a
single mythic narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: privacy or concealment to protect the soul during meals
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Multiple examples describe closing houses, locking doors, avoiding witnesses,
using cloth screens, or requiring private eating and drinking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The stated reasons vary by example and are partly generalized by Frazer.
- id: motif:3
label: king must not be seen eating or drinking
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage gives several royal examples in which seeing the ruler eat or
drink is prohibited, fatal, or punishable.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports different local rules and does not reduce all royal
cases to a single explicitly stated cause.
- id: motif:4
label: covered mouth or face blocks spiritual danger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Frazer describes veils, curtains, hand coverings, bandages, and rugs as preventing
evil influences, demons, embryo animals, or magical harm to the soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: Some examples concern entry of danger, while others concern escape or
magical injury to the soul.
- id: motif:5
label: post-initiation soul vulnerability
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The New South Wales example states that after initiation into tribal mysteries
the young man's soul is in a critical state and he must cover his mouth when a
woman is present.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a brief example within a larger discussion of mouth covering,
not a full initiation narrative.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage compares household and common-person meal precautions as serving
a similar protective function around eating, drinking, and the soul.
claim_level: same_function
target: Battas, Fijian, Zafimanelo, and Warua meal precautions
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The examples are reported through Frazer's secondary comparative synthesis,
and not every case includes the same explicit explanation.
- id: claim:2
claim: The royal cases are presented as analogous taboos restricting sight of a
ruler while eating or drinking.
claim_level: same_function
target: Royal eating and drinking taboos in Loango, Kakongo, Dahomey, Congo Basin,
Tonga, and Persia
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The consequences and ritual details differ across the examples.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage groups face veiling and mouth covering as related precautions
against spiritual danger entering through the mouth or against magical harm to
the soul.
claim_level: same_function
target: Face and mouth covering customs in Darfur, Wadai, Touareg society, Samoa,
West Timor, and New South Wales
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Frazer himself distinguishes possible motives, including preventing
evil influences from entering rather than preventing the soul from escaping.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3961-3966
quote_or_summary: Eating and drinking are described as dangerous because the soul
may escape from the mouth or be extracted by an enemy's magic; precautions are
therefore taken.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3966-3973
quote_or_summary: The Battas of Sumatra are said to shut up the house at feasts
so that the soul remains and enjoys the food.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3973-3985
quote_or_summary: Examples from Fiji, Madagascar, and the Warua describe avoiding
being seen eating or drinking, locking doors, using a cloth screen, not leaving
fragments, and having individual fires.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3985-4010
quote_or_summary: The King of Loango may not be seen eating or drinking; a dog and
the king's son are killed after seeing him, and drinking involves a bell and prostration
by those present.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 4010-4023
quote_or_summary: The passage lists similar restrictions for rulers of Kakongo,
Dahomey, the Congo Basin, Tonga, and Persia, including curtains, turning away,
and eating alone or unseen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 4024-4032
quote_or_summary: Frazer suggests some customs may aim to prevent evil influences
entering the body, then describes face veiling by the Sultan of Darfur and speaking
behind a curtain by the Sultan of Wadai.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4032-4038
quote_or_summary: Touareg men veil the lower face constantly; in Samoa, a man connected
to a turtle family god wears a bandage over his mouth when helping prepare a turtle
lest an embryo turtle enter and kill him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 4038-4047
quote_or_summary: In West Timor a speaker covers his mouth with his hand to prevent
demon entry and magical harm to the soul; in New South Wales, a recently initiated
young man covers his mouth with a rug when a woman is present.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is itself a comparative synthesis, so extraction of repeated
customs is strong; broader motif labeling remains cautious because the cited customs
vary in stated motivation.
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 provided passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy refs were applied only where directly supported by available terms.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l3961-l4037
passage_sha256=a534e47f9bf16d30d11f34931fea220ff8c28df33d0e9f4dbb326ee46c622a2b