batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l5085-l5132
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l5085-l5132
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 5085-5132
start: '5085'
end: '5132'
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: '"whoever catches his last breath is chief equally with the appointed successor"'
summary: Frazer argues that customs of killing divine persons can be combined with
the idea that the soul of the slain divinity passes to a successor. He notes that
direct proof for succession to the soul of a slain god is lacking, then cites
comparative customs in which the last breath or departing soul of a dying person
is caught, transferred, or received by successors, women seeking conception, infants,
friends, or images.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The author states that the explanation of killing divine persons assumes,
or can be combined with, the idea that the slain divinity's soul is transmitted
to his successor.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The author states that he has no direct proof for the transmission of the
soul of a slain god to a successor.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The author argues that because the soul of an incarnate deity is often supposed
to transmigrate at natural death, a similar transmission may be supposed after
violent death.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: In the Nias example, succession to chieftainship may require the chosen son
to catch the dying chief's last breath, and with it the soul, in his mouth or
in a bag.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: In the Nias example, brothers and sometimes strangers crowd around the dying
man to catch his soul as it passes.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: In the Nias example, a candidate is reported to have bored a hole in the floor
and sucked in the chief's last breath through a bamboo tube.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: In the Nias example, when the chief has no son, his soul is caught in a bag
fastened to an image representing the deceased, and the soul is believed to pass
into the image.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: Among the Takilis or Carrier Indians, a priest pretends to catch the soul
of the deceased in his hands during corpse-burning.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: In the Carrier example, the priest communicates the captured soul to the dead
man's successor by throwing his hands toward him and blowing upon him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:10
text: In the Carrier example, the recipient of the communicated soul takes the name
and rank of the deceased.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:11
text: Algonkin women who wished to become mothers went to the side of a dying person
hoping to receive and be impregnated by the passing soul.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:12
text: Among the Seminoles of Florida, when a woman died in childbed, the infant
was held over her face to receive her parting spirit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:13
text: The Romans are described as catching the breath of dying friends in their
mouths and receiving the soul of the departed into themselves.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:14
text: The author concludes that when the divine king or priest is put to death,
his spirit may be believed to pass into his successor.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: slain divinity
description: A divine person whose soul is proposed to be transmitted after being
killed.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: successor of the slain divinity
description: The successor to whom the slain divinity's soul is proposed to pass.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: dying Nias chief
description: A chief whose last breath and soul are sought by possible successors.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: chosen son in Nias
description: The son selected by the father to succeed him, required to catch the
father's last breath and soul.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: other Nias candidates
description: Other brothers and sometimes strangers who crowd around the dying chief
to catch his passing soul.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: image of the deceased chief
description: An image made to represent a chief with no son, to which a bag containing
the caught soul is fastened.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Carrier priest
description: A priest who pretends to catch the soul of the deceased and transmit
it to a successor.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Carrier successor
description: The person who receives the communicated soul and takes the deceased
person's name and rank.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Algonkin women wishing to become mothers
description: Women who gather near a dying person hoping to receive and be impregnated
by the passing soul.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Seminole infant
description: An infant held over the face of a woman who died in childbed to receive
her parting spirit.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Romans and dying friends
description: Romans are described as catching the breath of dying friends in their
mouths.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: divine king or priest
description: A divine king or priest who is put to death, with his spirit believed
to pass into his successor.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: sacral victim
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:12
basis: The passage concerns divine persons, including a divine king or priest, being
killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: successor-recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:8
basis: These figures receive, or are proposed to receive, a predecessor's soul,
name, rank, or office.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: dying predecessor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Nias chief's last breath and soul are sought at death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: soul-catcher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The chosen son and other candidates attempt to catch the chief's last breath
or soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: receptacle-representation
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The image represents the deceased and receives the soul through a bag fastened
to it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: ritual transmitter
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Carrier priest catches and communicates the soul to another person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: fertility seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The Algonkin women seek to receive and be impregnated by a passing soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: infant spirit-recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The infant is held over the dying woman's face to receive her parting spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: mourning breath-recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Romans are described as receiving the soul of dying friends by catching their
breath.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: last breath as soul-carrier
literal_form: last breath of a dying person
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: mouth as receptacle
literal_form: mouth used to catch breath or soul
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: bag as soul container
literal_form: bag used to catch or hold the soul
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: bamboo tube for breath capture
literal_form: bamboo tube used to suck in the chief's last breath
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: image of the deceased as soul-holder
literal_form: image made to represent the deceased chief
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: hands and blowing as transfer gestures
literal_form: closed hands, thrown hands, and blowing upon the successor
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: parting spirit at the face
literal_form: infant held over the dead mother's face to receive her spirit
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Argument for succession to the soul of a killed divine person
summary: The author frames the killing of divine persons as compatible with belief
that the slain divinity's soul passes into a successor, while acknowledging lack
of direct proof for the slain-god case.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Nias succession by catching the chief's last breath
summary: In Nias, a chosen successor must catch the dying chief's last breath and
soul, while others may also try to capture it; if there is no son, the soul is
caught in a bag and attached to an image representing the deceased.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Carrier priest transfers a captured soul
summary: During a cremation, a Carrier priest pretends to catch the deceased person's
soul in his hands and transfers it to a successor by gesture and breath; the recipient
takes the deceased's name and rank.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Receiving the departing soul for fertility, infancy, or friendship
summary: The passage lists examples of Algonkin women seeking impregnation by a
passing soul, a Seminole infant receiving a dead mother's parting spirit, and
Romans catching the breath of dying friends.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Conclusion applied to divine king or priest
summary: The author concludes that a divine king or priest put to death may be believed
to pass his spirit into his successor.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: soul transmitted to successor at death
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Multiple examples describe a dying or dead person's soul, breath, rank, or
identity being received by a successor, with the conclusion applied to a divine
king or priest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: 'The taxonomy reference is approximate: the passage concerns succession
and rank, not a full royal legitimation myth.'
- id: motif:2
label: breath caught as departing soul
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Nias and Roman examples explicitly connect catching the last breath with
receiving the soul of the dying person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy symbol directly corresponds to breath.
- id: motif:3
label: ritual transfer of identity, name, or rank through soul capture
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The Carrier successor receives the soul through priestly action and takes
the deceased person's name and rank.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes succession rather than a formal initiation rite;
taxonomy fit is limited.
- id: motif:4
label: death of divine ruler with spirit passing to successor
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- dying_and_returning
basis: The author connects the killing of divine persons or a divine king/priest
with belief that the spirit passes to a successor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is an interpretive comparative argument and explicitly notes
the lack of direct proof for the slain-god soul-succession link; the 'dying_and_returning'
reference is only partial because the same figure does not literally return.
- id: motif:5
label: departing soul received for conception or kin continuity
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
basis: Algonkin women seek to receive and be impregnated by a passing soul, and
a Seminole infant is held to receive the mother's parting spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives brief ethnographic examples without a narrative of birth
following the reception.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself compares customs from Nias, Carrier, Algonkin, Seminole,
Roman, and Lancashire contexts as examples of a broader pattern in which a departing
soul or breath may be received by another person.
claim_level: same_function
target: cross-cultural soul or breath transfer at death
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The examples are presented by Frazer as comparative evidence; the passage
does not establish historical contact among the traditions.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Nias and Carrier examples share the function of linking succession or
rank to the capture and transfer of a predecessor's soul.
claim_level: same_function
target: succession through captured soul
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: 'The ritual mechanisms differ: Nias emphasizes catching the last breath
directly or in a bag, while the Carrier example uses a priest''s hands and blowing
gesture.'
- id: claim:3
claim: The author cautiously extends the pattern of ordinary deathbed soul transfer
to the killing of a divine king or priest.
claim_level: same_motif
target: spirit of killed divine ruler passing to successor
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
limitations: The author states that direct proof for soul transmission from a slain
god is lacking, so the extension remains inferential within the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 5085-5097
quote_or_summary: Frazer says the explanation of killing divine persons assumes,
or can combine with, the idea that the slain divinity's soul is transmitted to
a successor; he notes lack of direct proof but argues from supposed transmigration
at natural death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 5098-5116
quote_or_summary: In Nias, succession to a chief can require catching the dying
chief's last breath and soul in the mouth or a bag; rivals may crowd around, one
candidate used a bamboo tube, and when there is no son the soul is caught in a
bag fastened to an image of the deceased.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 5116-5125
quote_or_summary: Among the Takilis or Carrier Indians, a priest catches the deceased's
soul in his hands during cremation and transmits it to a successor by throwing
his hands toward him and blowing; the recipient takes the deceased's name and
rank.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 5125-5130
quote_or_summary: The passage lists Algonkin women seeking impregnation by a passing
soul, Seminoles holding an infant over a mother who died in childbed to receive
her spirit, and Romans catching the breath of dying friends in their mouths.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 5130-5132
quote_or_summary: '"when the divine king or priest is put to death his spirit is
believed to pass into his successor"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about deathbed soul transfer examples and Frazer's
comparative argument. Motif assignments are partly interpretive because the supplied
taxonomy does not include a direct 'soul transfer by breath' category, and the
author acknowledges a missing evidentiary link for slain divine persons.
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. The heading '§ 2.—Killing the tree-spirit' appears at the end of the supplied range but is not developed in the passage, so no tree-spirit motif was extracted.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l5085-l5132
passage_sha256=a6cc0e95fcda956eb56a787309d264b63a5ed386a06a11d2c493a691ed6a1ef2