batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l4750-l4806
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l4750-l4806
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING
THE GOD.; lines 4750-4806
start: '4750'
end: '4806'
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 contrasts cases where a divine king or priest is killed after visible
decline with cases where a fixed term is set so the ruler dies while still vigorous.
He gives Southern Indian examples: a Quilacare king who, after twelve years, performs
a public self-mutilating death as a sacrifice to an idol, and the Samorin of Calicut,
whose twelve-yearly death-rule was later modified into a jubilee where challengers
could fight through guards to kill and succeed him.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that some peoples fixed a maximum term for a divine king’s
reign so that he would die before physical degeneration was likely.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: In the Quilacare example, the king’s reign lasts no more than twelve years,
from one jubilee to the next.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: At the Quilacare feast, a large public assembly occurs, food is given to Bramans,
and the king has a wooden scaffolding prepared with silken hangings.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Quilacare king bathes at a tank with ceremonies and music, prays to the
idol, mounts the scaffolding, mutilates himself with knives, and finally cuts
his own throat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage describes the Quilacare king’s self-killing as a sacrifice to
the idol.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: A person who desires to reign another twelve years must be present watching
the Quilacare king’s death and is then raised as king.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: The Samorin or King of Calicut is said formerly to have had to cut his throat
publicly at the end of a twelve-year reign.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: In the modified Samorin custom, a jubilee is proclaimed after twelve years,
a tent is pitched, and a feast lasts ten or twelve days.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: Under the modified Samorin custom, any guests attempting to gain the crown
must fight through many guards and kill the Samorin in his tent; the killer succeeds
him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: In the 1695 account, three men attacked the guards with sword and target and
were killed after killing and wounding many.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: A youth, the nephew of one attacker, entered the tent and struck at the Samorin’s
head, but a burning brass lamp above the ruler marred the blow before the youth
was killed by guards.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: divine king or priest
description: General ruler or priestly figure whose retention of office depends
on continued bodily fitness, or whose reign may be limited by a fixed term.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: king of Quilacare
description: Ruler with a twelve-year reign who performs a public self-mutilating
death at the feast.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Quilacare idol
description: Idol in a Gentile house of prayer, honored with a twelve-year feast
and named as recipient of the king’s sacrifice.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: successor candidate in Quilacare
description: Whoever desires to reign another twelve years must be present watching
the king’s death and is then raised as king.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Samorin or King of Calicut
description: Ruler formerly required to cut his throat publicly after twelve years;
in the modified custom he is attacked in his tent by succession challengers.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Samorin’s guards
description: Large body of guards through whom challengers must fight in order to
reach and kill the Samorin.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: three challengers in 1695
description: Three men who attempted the desperate action against the Samorin’s
guards and were killed.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: youth, nephew of a challenger
description: A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old nephew who followed his uncle, entered
the tent, and struck at the Samorin before being killed.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fixed-term sacred ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
basis: The passage describes divine or royal office held only until a sign of decline
or until a fixed reign-term ends.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: self-sacrificing royal victim
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Quilacare king cuts off parts of his body and then his throat, and the
act is described as sacrifice to the idol.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: recipient of sacrifice
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The king performs his death-sacrifice to the idol.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: succession aspirant
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The passage links desire to reign with being present at the Quilacare rite
or killing the Samorin in the modified custom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: target of regicidal succession attempt
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: In the modified custom, challengers try to kill the Samorin in his tent in
order to succeed him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: royal defenders
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The guards stand between challengers and the Samorin and kill the attackers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: armed challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The challengers attack with weapons or strike at the ruler in an attempt
to gain the crown.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fixed twelve-year term
literal_form: twelve-year reign interval from jubilee to jubilee
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: idol
literal_form: idol in a house of prayer, honored at a twelve-year feast
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: wooden scaffolding
literal_form: wooden scaffolding spread with silken hangings
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: tank and bathing
literal_form: king bathing at a tank before prayer and self-killing
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: sharp knives
literal_form: very sharp knives used by the king to cut his body and throat
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: tent
literal_form: tent pitched for the Samorin during the twelve-year jubilee
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: burning brass lamp
literal_form: large brass lamp burning over the Samorin’s head that marred the youth’s
blow
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: General rule of killing the divine ruler before decline
summary: The passage explains that some communities do not wait for visible signs
of decay in a divine king or priest but impose a fixed reign-term ending in death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Quilacare twelve-year royal sacrifice
summary: At a twelve-year feast, the Quilacare king bathes, prays to the idol, mounts
a decorated scaffolding, mutilates himself with knives, cuts his throat, and is
succeeded by one willing to undergo the same future ordeal.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Former Samorin self-killing rule
summary: The Samorin of Calicut is said formerly to have been required to cut his
throat in public at the end of a twelve-year reign.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Modified Samorin jubilee challenge
summary: At a twelve-year jubilee, challengers may attempt to fight through the
Samorin’s guards and kill him in his tent; a 1695 attempt fails after attackers
and a young nephew are killed.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: fixed-term killing of the sacred ruler
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The passage presents divine or royal figures whose reign is limited by a
fixed term and whose death is required at its end.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is Frazer’s comparative framing, not a primary ritual text;
the taxonomy links are broad.
- id: motif:2
label: royal self-sacrifice to a deity or idol
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The Quilacare king publicly mutilates himself and cuts his throat, and the
passage explicitly calls this a sacrifice to the idol.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The idol’s identity and local theological meaning are not specified in
the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: succession through regicidal challenge
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: In the modified Samorin custom, a guest who kills the ruler after fighting
through the guards succeeds to the empire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The described 1695 attempt fails, so succession by this method is stated
as a rule but not enacted in the reported event.
- id: motif:4
label: jubilee as terminal royal interval
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Both Southern Indian examples are organized around a twelve-year jubilee
or feast that marks the end of the ruler’s permitted term or the occasion for
lethal challenge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explain the calendrical or seasonal basis of the
twelve-year interval; the seasonal_cycle taxonomy is therefore only a broad fit.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the Quilacare and Samorin cases as variants
of a fixed twelve-year royal death or succession pattern.
claim_level: same_function
target: Southern Indian fixed-term royal killing and succession rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: 'The two examples differ in mechanism: Quilacare describes self-sacrificial
death before succession, while the modified Samorin custom describes attempted
regicidal succession by challengers.'
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage frames the examples as instances of a broader pattern in which
a divine ruler is killed before bodily decay can impair sacred duties.
claim_level: same_motif
target: killing the divine or sacred king before decline
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The broader pattern is supplied by Frazer’s comparative interpretation
within the passage; independent local sources are not provided here.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4750-4759
quote_or_summary: Some divine kings or priests are killed only after visible signs
of decline, while other peoples fixed a term and killed the king while still vigorous
to avoid decay.
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: 4760-4786
quote_or_summary: In Quilacare, a twelve-year feast honors an idol; the king’s reign
lasts from jubilee to jubilee. At the feast he bathes, prays to the idol, mounts
a decorated scaffolding, cuts off parts of his body with knives, cuts his throat,
and the act is called sacrifice to the idol. A willing successor present at the
rite is raised as king.
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: 4787-4792
quote_or_summary: The Samorin of Calicut formerly had to cut his throat publicly
after twelve years; later, a twelve-year jubilee was proclaimed, a tent was pitched,
and a feast lasted ten or twelve days.
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: 4793-4806
quote_or_summary: Under the modified Samorin custom, guests could gain the crown
by fighting through many guards and killing the Samorin in his tent. In 1695 three
attackers were killed, and a young nephew who struck at the Samorin was stopped
when a burning brass lamp marred the blow; he too was killed.
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: The passage is explicit about the actions and Frazer’s comparative frame,
but motif taxonomy mapping is broad and should be reviewed by a human.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Long descriptions have been summarized rather than quoted.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l4750-l4806
passage_sha256=19d6d4563565968bbda69313737b4e8efb0ccf450fd348e1449347651ae2ac7a