batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l13973-l14055
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l13973-l14055
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 13973-14055
start: '13973'
end: '14055'
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: Frazer discusses the Roman Salii as dancing, armed priests who may have
expelled evils or demons and transferred them to the scapegoat Mamurius Veturius.
He compares this with Iroquois sin-transfer to scapegoat dogs, armed demon-expulsion
customs, agricultural leaping or sword-dancing, field dances during sowing in
Africa and India, and Morris Dancers connected with Plough Monday and a preceding
period of festive licence.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Salii are described as dancing priests who in March went through the city
dancing, singing, and clashing swords against shields.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Frazer proposes that one possible function of the Salii was to drive out evils
or demons from the city before transferring them to Mamurius Veturius as scapegoat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage compares this proposed Salii function with Iroquois men in fantastic
costume who collected the sins of the people before transferring them to scapegoat
dogs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says blows showered on Mamurius Veturius seem to have been administered
by the Salii.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The Salii are described as priests of Mars, connected by Frazer with possible
agricultural functions.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Salii were named from their notable leaps, and the passage states that
dancing and high leaping are common sympathetic charms to make crops grow high.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage notes that Salii dancing processions occurred in October as well
as March, and that Romans sowed in both spring and autumn.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The Salii song mentioned Saturnus or Saeturnus, described in the passage as
the god of sowing.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Frazer suggests that the weapons carried by the Salii may have been aimed
at demons who steal seed corn or ripe grain.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The passage says that in parts of Western Africa tilling and sowing are sometimes
accompanied by dances of armed men on the field.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The passage describes a Calicut rice-sowing custom with city instruments sounding,
rejoicing, and ten or twelve men clothed like devils, intended to make the rice
productive.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The passage reports that English Morris Dancers accompanying the Plough Monday
plough procession sometimes wore swords and sometimes wore small bunches of corn
in their hats, with wheat shaken out by jumping called dancing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: The passage treats the Lord of Misrule period from Christmas to Twelfth Night
as a trace of licence and suspended ordinary government at the old-year or new-year
boundary, connected with expulsion of evils.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Salii
description: Roman dancing priests who moved through the city dancing, singing,
clashing swords and shields, and who are discussed as priests of Mars with possible
agricultural and demon-expelling functions.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mamurius Veturius
description: A Roman scapegoat figure to whom evils or demons may have been transferred
and on whom blows were showered.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Iroquois costumed men
description: Men in fantastic costume who went about collecting the sins of the
people before transferring them to scapegoat dogs.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Scapegoat dogs
description: Dogs to whom the collected sins of the Iroquois people were transferred.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Evils or demons
description: Harmful beings or forces that are described as being driven out, routed,
or transferred; some are described as stealing seed corn or ripe grain.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Mars
description: A god identified in the passage as the god of agriculture, whose priests
the Salii were.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Saturnus or Saeturnus
description: A deity mentioned in the Salii song and identified in the passage as
the god of sowing.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Western African armed field dancers
description: Armed men whose dances on the field are said to accompany tilling and
sowing in parts of Western Africa.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Calicut devil-clothed sowing performers
description: Ten or twelve men clothed like devils who joined musical rejoicing
during rice sowing in Calicut.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Morris Dancers
description: English dancers accompanying the Plough Monday plough procession, sometimes
with swords and corn in their hats, performing jumping called dancing.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Lord of Misrule
description: A figure or festive office said to have reigned from Christmas to Twelfth
Night during a period of licence before the Plough Monday procession.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: dancing priest
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Salii are called dancing priests who moved through the city dancing,
singing, and clashing weapons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: possible expeller of evils
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Frazer says one possible function of the Salii was to rout evils or demons
from the city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: agricultural ritual performer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
basis: The passage connects dancing, leaping, or armed performance with sowing,
crop growth, rice productivity, or plough procession contexts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: possible scapegoat beater
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage says the blows on Mamurius Veturius seem to have been administered
by the Salii.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: scapegoat or recipient of transferred evils
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
basis: Mamurius Veturius is described as a scapegoat to whom evils may be transferred;
Iroquois scapegoat dogs receive collected sins.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: collector of communal sins
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Iroquois men are described as collecting the sins of the people before
transfer to dogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: harmful force to be expelled or warded off
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Evils or demons are described as routed from the city, driven out by armed
men, or as seed and grain thieves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: agricultural deity
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Mars is called the god of agriculture, and Saturnus or Saeturnus is called
the god of sowing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: possible analogue to Salii
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The passage states that the resemblance of the Salii to northern European
sword-dancers had been noted and discusses Morris Dancers immediately afterward.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: festive ruler during licence period
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The Lord of Misrule is said to have reigned from Christmas to Twelfth Night
during a period of general licence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: clashing swords and shields
literal_form: swords and shields used by the Salii while dancing through the city
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: scapegoat vehicle of transferred evils
literal_form: Mamurius Veturius and scapegoat dogs as recipients of evils or sins
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: high leaps for crop growth
literal_form: remarkable leaps and dancing high
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: seed corn and ripe grain
literal_form: seed corn and ripe grain threatened by demons
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: armed field dance
literal_form: dances of armed men on fields during tilling and sowing
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: devil costume at sowing
literal_form: men clothed like devils during rice sowing
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: corn in dancers' hats
literal_form: small bunches of corn worn in Morris Dancers' hats, with wheat shaken
out by jumping
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: old-year or new-year licence
literal_form: period of general licence and suspension of ordinary government around
Christmas to Twelfth Night
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Salii urban procession and possible scapegoat preparation
summary: The Salii move through the city in March with dance, song, and clashing
weapons; Frazer proposes this may have prepared evils or demons for transfer to
Mamurius Veturius.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Iroquois collection and transfer of sins
summary: Costumed Iroquois men collect the people's sins before transferring them
to scapegoat dogs.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Agricultural leaping and seasonal processions
summary: The passage connects the leaps of the Salii with sympathetic crop-growth
charms and notes their March and October processions in relation to Roman spring
and autumn sowing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Field and rice-sowing performances
summary: Examples from Western Africa and Calicut present armed field dances, music,
rejoicing, and devil-clothed performers during tilling or sowing.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Plough Monday dancers and preceding licence
summary: Morris Dancers accompany a Plough Monday plough procession with swords
or corn in hats and jumping; the preceding Lord of Misrule period is linked by
Frazer to general licence and expulsion of evils.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: communal expulsion and transfer of evils to a scapegoat
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage links Salii demon-expulsion with transferring evils to Mamurius
Veturius and compares this to Iroquois transfer of sins to scapegoat dogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The Salii function is explicitly framed as a possibility by Frazer; the
passage does not itself give a full ritual narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: armed ritual performance against demons
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Salii clash swords and shields and may use weapons against demons; Frazer
also mentions many examples of armed men driving out demons and later compares
armed field dances.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The text presents the demon-expelling interpretation as comparative and
partly speculative.
- id: motif:3
label: leaping or dancing as sympathetic crop-growth charm
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage states that dancing and leaping high are common sympathetic charms
to make crops grow high and relates this to Salii leaps and sowing seasons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The application to the Salii is phrased as a question rather than a settled
claim.
- id: motif:4
label: sowing-time performance for crop productivity
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Western African field dances and Calicut rice-sowing music and devil-costumed
performers are presented as acts accompanying sowing and intended, in the Calicut
example, to make rice productive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage supplies brief comparative examples rather than detailed local
ritual contexts.
- id: motif:5
label: year-boundary licence followed by expulsion or plough procession
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The Lord of Misrule period is described as licence and suspended government
at the old-year or new-year boundary, immediately preceding the Plough Monday
Morris procession, which Frazer connects with expulsion of evils.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: Frazer says the parallel cannot be drawn out here; the functional link
is suggested rather than demonstrated.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Frazer compares the proposed Salii expulsion-and-transfer function with Iroquois
costumed men collecting sins and transferring them to scapegoat dogs.
claim_level: same_function
target: Iroquois sin collection and scapegoat dogs
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Salii side is stated as a hypothesis, and the passage provides
no direct historical connection.
- id: claim:2
claim: Frazer compares Salii weapons against demons with other customs of armed
men driving out demons and with possible protection of seed corn or ripe grain.
claim_level: same_function
target: armed demon-expulsion customs, including Khond and Hindoo Koosh customs
mentioned by Frazer
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Khond and Hindoo Koosh material is only cross-referenced, not described
in this passage.
- id: claim:3
claim: Frazer presents Western African armed field dances during tilling and sowing
as a functional parallel to the agricultural interpretation of the Salii.
claim_level: same_function
target: Western African armed field dances at tilling and sowing
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison rests on shared agricultural timing and armed dancing,
not on demonstrated contact or shared origin.
- id: claim:4
claim: Frazer presents the Calicut rice-sowing performance with music and devil-clothed
men as a parallel to sowing-time ritual performance for crop productivity.
claim_level: same_function
target: Calicut rice-sowing performance with devil-clothed men
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage reports the custom briefly and through a travel source;
it does not establish equivalence beyond crop-productivity function.
- id: claim:5
claim: The passage notes a resemblance between the Salii and northern European sword-dancers,
including English Morris Dancers associated with Plough Monday.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: northern European sword-dancers and English Morris Dancers
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage cites resemblance and functional suggestion but does not
argue historical contact.
- id: claim:6
claim: Frazer suggests that the Lord of Misrule period followed by Plough Monday
Morris Dancers may resemble the Salii pattern of licence or expulsion of evils
followed by ritual procession.
claim_level: same_function
target: Lord of Misrule and Plough Monday Morris procession
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: Frazer explicitly says the parallel cannot be drawn out here, so the
claim remains tentative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 13973-13982
quote_or_summary: The Salii are described as dancing priests who in March went through
the city dancing, singing, and clashing swords against shields; Frazer suggests
they may have routed evils or demons as preparation for transfer to Mamurius Veturius.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 13982-13987
quote_or_summary: Frazer compares the Salii hypothesis to Iroquois men in fantastic
costume collecting the sins of the people before transferring them to scapegoat
dogs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 13988-13995
quote_or_summary: The passage says the blows on Mamurius Veturius seem to have been
administered by the Salii, and identifies the Salii as priests of Mars, the god
of agriculture.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 13995-14003
quote_or_summary: "“dancing and leaping high are common sympathetic charms to make
the crops grow high.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 14013-14021
quote_or_summary: Frazer asks whether the Salii danced and leaped in fields at spring
or autumn sowing, notes Salii processions in October as well as March, notes Roman
spring and autumn sowing, and says their song mentioned Saturnus or Saeturnus,
the god of sowing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 14021-14026
quote_or_summary: The weapons borne by the Salii may have been directed especially
against demons who steal seed corn or ripe grain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 14026-14032
quote_or_summary: The passage states that in Western Africa tilling and sowing are
sometimes accompanied by dances of armed men on the field.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 14032-14041
quote_or_summary: In Calicut, rice sowing is accompanied by instruments, rejoicing,
and ten or twelve men clothed like devils, in order that the devil may make the
rice productive.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 14041-14050
quote_or_summary: The passage notes resemblance of the Salii to northern European
sword-dancers; English Morris Dancers in the Plough Monday plough procession sometimes
wore swords or corn in their hats, and wheat was shaken out by their jumping dance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 14050-14055
quote_or_summary: Frazer describes the Lord of Misrule from Christmas to Twelfth
Night as a trace of licence and suspended government at the old-year or new-year
boundary, connected with expulsion of evils, and says its position before Plough
Monday suggests Morris Dancers had functions like those attributed to the Salii.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is a comparative footnote with several speculative formulations
by Frazer, especially concerning the Salii. Literal extraction is strong, but
motif assignments and functional parallels require review.
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. No historical-contact claims are made.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l13973-l14055
passage_sha256=41d94bef7c96c4b8cf8d95bbb05c8db411ac38c07ff96027b1b446cf9bfb1411