batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l12820-l12959
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l12820-l12959
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12820-12959
start: '12820'
end: '12959'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A sequence of footnotes cites sources and adds brief comparative-religion
notes on customs and beliefs including eating a god, wine as divine blood, a Kamchatkan
grass wolf figure kept through the year and believed to mate with maidens to prevent
twins, annual renewal of a Prussian god image, an implied annual serpent killing,
Zuni belief in transmigration into turtles, Moqui totem clans, Old Prussian and
Japanese customs, Aino bear cult and bear festivals, and a cautioned legend that
the Ainos' hairiness came from an ancestor suckled by a bear.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage cites scholarship on the custom of eating a god and on wine understood
as the blood of a god.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Italmens of Kamchatka are described as making a wolf figure out of grass
at the close of the fishing season.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The grass wolf figure is said to be kept carefully for the whole year.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Italmens are said to believe that the grass wolf figure wedded their maidens
and prevented them from giving birth to twins.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Twins are described in the note as being esteemed a great misfortune among
the Italmens.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The image of the old Prussian god Curcho is reported as annually renewed,
with a cautionary reference to Mannhardt.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: A source statement is said to imply that a serpent is killed annually, although
it does not expressly state this.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The passage reports that transmigration into turtles is treated as a living
article of Zuni faith, despite a quoted qualification about spiritualistic views
of the future life.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage cites material on the totem clans of the Moquis.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The passage states that Old Prussian and Japanese customs are typical examples
of such customs, while deferring a general account to another work.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Several cited works concern Aino bear cult and bear festivals.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: A legend is mentioned in which the hairiness of the Ainos is attributed to
their first ancestor having been suckled by a bear.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: The author cautions that the Aino ancestor-suckled-by-bear legend is not,
by itself, proof of totemism.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: god eaten in custom
description: A god referred to in cited scholarship on the custom of eating a god.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: grass wolf figure
description: A wolf figure made out of grass by the Italmens at the close of the
fishing season and kept for a year.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Italmen maidens
description: Maidens whom the grass wolf figure is believed to wed.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: twins
description: Children whose birth the grass wolf figure is believed to prevent;
twins are described as a great misfortune.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Curcho
description: An old Prussian god whose image is reported as annually renewed.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: serpent
description: A serpent whose annual killing is said to be implied by a cited writer's
statement.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: turtles
description: Animals into which transmigration is described as a living article
of Zuni faith.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Moquis
description: A people whose totem clans are cited in the passage.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Ainos
description: A people associated in the cited notes with bear cult and bear festivals,
and with a legend about an ancestor suckled by a bear.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: bear
description: An animal central to cited Aino bear-cult materials and to a legend
in which the Ainos' first ancestor was suckled by a bear.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: first ancestor of the Ainos
description: A legendary ancestor said to have been suckled by a bear.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: consumed deity
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The note refers to scholarship on the custom of eating a god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: ritual image
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The wolf is made as a grass figure and kept through the year.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: marrying protective figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The figure is believed to wed maidens and prevent twin births.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: human brides of ritual figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The note says the figure wedded their maidens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: averted birth category
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The wolf figure is believed to prevent twin births, and twins are called
a misfortune.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: deity represented by renewed image
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The note reports annual renewal of the image of Curcho.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: annually killed animal
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The writer's statement is said to imply annual killing of a serpent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: transmigration destination
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The note treats transmigration into turtles as a living article of Zuni faith.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: people with totem clans
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The passage cites material on totem clans of the Moquis.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: people associated with bear cult and bear legend
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Cited notes concern Aino bear cult and a legend about a bear-suckled ancestor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:11
label: cult animal and nurse in origin legend
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The bear appears in titles of cited bear-cult material and in the ancestor-suckling
legend.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: legendary bear-suckled ancestor
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: A legend attributes Aino hairiness to their first ancestor being suckled
by a bear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: wine as divine blood
literal_form: wine described as the blood of a god
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: grass wolf figure
literal_form: wolf figure made of grass
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: renewed divine image
literal_form: annually renewed image of the god Curcho
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: serpent
literal_form: serpent killed annually by implication
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: turtle transmigration
literal_form: turtles as destination of transmigration
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: bear cult animal
literal_form: bear in Aino bear cult and bear festivals
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: bear-nursed ancestor
literal_form: first ancestor suckled by a bear
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Eating a god and divine blood reference
summary: The note directs readers to scholarship on eating a god and on wine as
the blood of a god.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Italmen grass wolf custom
summary: At the close of the fishing season, the Italmens make a grass wolf figure,
keep it for a year, and believe it weds maidens and prevents twin births.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Annual renewal of Curcho image
summary: The image of the old Prussian god Curcho is reported as annually renewed.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Implied annual serpent killing
summary: A writer's statement is described as implying, though not explicitly stating,
that a serpent is killed annually.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Zuni transmigration into turtles
summary: The note argues that transmigration into turtles remains a living article
of Zuni faith despite a qualification about spiritualistic future-life belief.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Aino bear materials and bear-suckled ancestor legend
summary: The passage cites Aino bear-cult and bear-festival materials and separately
mentions a legend in which the Ainos' first ancestor was suckled by a bear, while
cautioning that this alone does not prove totemism.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Eating a god
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- sacred_exchange
basis: The note explicitly refers to the custom of eating a god and to wine as the
blood of a god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is a bibliographic footnote and does not describe a full ritual
scene.
- id: motif:2
label: Ritual animal image weds maidens to avert twins
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
- sacred_twins
basis: The Italmen grass wolf figure is believed to wed maidens and prevent twin
births, which are described as a misfortune.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The note reports a belief about a ritual figure; details of the ritual
and the nature of the marriage are not expanded.
- id: motif:3
label: Annual renewal of a divine image
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage reports the annual renewal of the image of Curcho.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: low
cautions: Only a brief note is given, and the author adds a cautionary reference.
- id: motif:4
label: Annual serpent killing
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
- sacrifice
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage says the cited writer's statement implies that a serpent is killed
annually.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: low
cautions: The author explicitly notes that the annual killing is implied rather
than expressly stated.
- id: motif:5
label: Transmigration into animal form
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The note treats transmigration into turtles as a living article of Zuni faith.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly matches animal transmigration;
the note gives limited context.
- id: motif:6
label: Bear-nursed first ancestor
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A legend attributes Aino hairiness to their first ancestor having been suckled
by a bear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The author cautions that this legend alone is not proof of totemism.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage groups Old Prussian and Japanese customs as typical examples
of an unspecified class of customs discussed nearby in the work.
claim_level: same_function
target: Old Prussian and Japanese customs
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The excerpt does not describe the Japanese custom and gives only a
cross-reference for the Old Prussian example, so the shared function cannot be
specified from this passage alone.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage places the Aino bear-suckled ancestor legend near discussions
of bear cult and totemism but explicitly warns that the legend alone does not
prove totemism.
claim_level: same_function
target: Aino bear cult, bear festivals, and totemic interpretation
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: low
limitations: The passage provides citations and a caution rather than a developed
comparison or ritual description.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 12834-12838; footnote 300
quote_or_summary: The note cites work on the custom of eating a god and on wine
as the blood of a god.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 12859-12866; footnote 308
quote_or_summary: The Italmens of Kamchatka made a grass wolf figure at the close
of the fishing season, kept it all year, and believed it wedded maidens and prevented
twin births; twins were considered a great misfortune.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 12866-12869; footnote 308
quote_or_summary: The note reports that the image of the old Prussian god Curcho
was annually renewed, with a reference caution.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 12873-12876; footnote 310
quote_or_summary: The writer does not expressly state that a serpent is killed annually,
but the author says the statement implies it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 12883-12888; footnote 314
quote_or_summary: Cushing is quoted as qualifying Zuni future-life belief as spiritualistic,
but the note says the expressions in the text show transmigration into turtles
as a living article of Zuni faith.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 12890-12892; footnote 315
quote_or_summary: The note cites Schoolcraft and Bourke on the totem clans of the
Moquis.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 12896-12900; footnote 317
quote_or_summary: The note says Old Prussian and Japanese customs are typical and
provides references, while reserving a general account of such customs for another
work.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 12902-12944; footnotes 318-338
quote_or_summary: A series of notes cites sources on Aino bear cult, bear festivals,
and related ethnographic discussions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 12931-12934; footnote 332
quote_or_summary: A legend is mentioned that attributes Aino hairiness to their
first ancestor being suckled by a bear; the author cautions that this is no proof
of totemism without other evidence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: The passage consists mainly of footnotes and bibliographic references. Several
ritual or belief motifs are explicit, but most lack full narrative or ritual context.
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 motifs and symbols directly supported by the supplied passage were extracted; no external details from the cited works were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l12820-l12959
passage_sha256=f56dca7df987a4dd9123258e690104464b30e2b403ed577a6445a9a1412b8f7d