Comparative mythology corpus

batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l14187-l14272

batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l14187-l14272

---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l14187-l14272
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 14187-14272
  start: '14187'
  end: '14272'
  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: The passage consists of scholarly footnotes. The substantive notes summarize
    cited customs involving girls or brides being secluded at puberty or during tattooing,
    with details such as wreaths, cages, separate huts, avoidance of the sun, and
    head coverings or veils.
  language: English
  quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: A cited New Ireland description says girls wear wreaths of scented herbs around
    the waist and neck.
  category: object
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The same cited description says an old woman or a little child occupies the
    lower floor of the cage.
  category: setting
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:3
  text: The cited New Ireland confinement is said to last only a month in Powell's
    account, while Brown's longer period is suggested to apply to chiefs' daughters.
  category: sequence
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:4
  text: Among the Goajiras of Colombia, rich people are said to keep daughters shut
    up in separate huts at puberty for one to four years, while poor people do so
    for only a fortnight or a month.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:5
  text: In Fiji, brides being tattooed are said to have been kept from the sun.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:6
  text: The note lists caps, hoods, and veils as items worn by girls at such seasons
    in other cited examples.
  category: object
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: girls secluded at puberty
  description: Girls described in cited customs as confined or shut up during puberty-related
    observances.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:4
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: chiefs' daughters
  description: Daughters of chiefs for whom a longer confinement period is suggested
    in the note.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: fig:3
  name_or_label: old woman or little child
  description: An old woman or little child said to occupy the lower floor of the
    cage in one cited New Ireland description.
  role_refs:
  - role:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: fig:4
  name_or_label: Goajira daughters
  description: Daughters among the Goajiras of Colombia described as shut up in separate
    huts at puberty for durations varying by wealth.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: fig:5
  name_or_label: Fiji brides being tattooed
  description: Brides in Fiji described as kept from the sun while being tattooed.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: secluded female initiate or participant
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  - fig:4
  - fig:5
  basis: The figures are described as girls or brides confined, shut up, or kept from
    the sun during puberty or tattooing contexts.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
- id: role:2
  label: high-status daughter
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  basis: The longer confinement period is suggested to have been prescribed for chiefs'
    daughters.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: role:3
  label: co-resident attendant or companion
  assigned_to:
  - fig:3
  basis: The old woman or little child is described as occupying the lower floor of
    the cage.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: wreaths of scented herbs
  literal_form: wreaths worn around the waist and neck
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: sym:2
  label: cage
  literal_form: cage with a lower floor occupied by an old woman or little child
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:3
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: sym:3
  label: separate huts
  literal_form: huts in which daughters are shut up at puberty
  associated_figures:
  - fig:4
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: sym:4
  label: sun avoidance
  literal_form: being kept from the sun
  associated_figures:
  - fig:5
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: sym:5
  label: head coverings and veils
  literal_form: caps, hoods, and veils worn by girls at such seasons
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: New Ireland confinement description
  summary: A cited description of a New Ireland custom says girls wear scented herb
    wreaths, occupy a cage arrangement involving an old woman or child on the lower
    floor, and undergo confinement for a stated period.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  - fig:3
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  - sym:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: scene:2
  label: Goajira puberty seclusion
  summary: Goajira daughters are described as shut up in separate huts at puberty,
    with duration differing according to family wealth.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:4
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: scene:3
  label: Fiji tattooing seclusion from the sun
  summary: Fiji brides undergoing tattooing are described as kept from the sun; Frazer
    notes this may have modified a Melanesian puberty-seclusion custom.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:5
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:4
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: scene:4
  label: Girls wearing coverings at such seasons
  summary: A comparative note points to cited examples of girls wearing caps, hoods,
    and veils during similar seasonal or life-stage observances.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:5
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: puberty seclusion of girls
  taxonomy_refs:
  - initiation
  basis: Several notes describe girls or daughters being confined, shut up in huts,
    or otherwise secluded at puberty or related life-stage observances.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:4
  confidence: high
  cautions: The passage is a scholarly footnote compilation rather than a mythic narrative;
    the motif is extracted as a ritual pattern.
- id: motif:2
  label: ritual protection from sun or public exposure
  taxonomy_refs:
  - initiation
  basis: The Fiji note says brides being tattooed were kept from the sun and suggests
    this may relate to the Melanesian custom of secluding girls at puberty.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  confidence: medium
  cautions: The reason for sun avoidance is explicitly questioned by Frazer, and the
    connection to puberty seclusion is presented as tentative.
- id: motif:3
  label: status-shaped duration of seclusion
  taxonomy_refs:
  - initiation
  basis: The notes distinguish longer confinement for chiefs' daughters and for rich
    Goajira families from shorter periods for poor families.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  confidence: medium
  cautions: This is a social-pattern observation from cited ethnographic notes, not
    a narrative motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
  claim: Frazer treats Powell's New Ireland description as similar to the New Britain
    custom cited from Brown and Danks.
  claim_level: same_function
  target: New Britain and New Ireland girls' confinement customs
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: medium
  limitations: The passage gives only footnote-level details and does not reproduce
    the full customs being compared.
- id: claim:2
  claim: Frazer cautiously suggests that Fiji brides being kept from the sun during
    tattooing may be a modification of the Melanesian custom of secluding girls at
    puberty.
  claim_level: same_function
  target: Melanesian puberty seclusion custom
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: medium
  limitations: The statement is explicitly tentative, and the original reason for
    the Fiji practice is said to be uncertain.
- id: claim:3
  claim: The Goajira example is presented as a parallel in which puberty seclusion
    duration varies with wealth, comparable in form to the New Ireland distinction
    between ordinary girls and chiefs' daughters.
  claim_level: same_function
  target: New Ireland and Goajira puberty seclusion duration by status or wealth
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: medium
  limitations: The passage compares social duration patterns, not shared origin or
    historical contact.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: summary
  locator: lines 14204-14218
  quote_or_summary: 'Note 615 cites New Britain/New Ireland materials: girls wear
    scented herb wreaths around waist and neck; an old woman or child occupies the
    lower floor of the cage; confinement may last a month in Powell''s account, with
    longer duration suggested for chiefs'' daughters.'
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
  type: summary
  locator: lines 14218-14223
  quote_or_summary: The same note says that among the Goajiras of Colombia, rich people
    keep daughters shut up in separate huts at puberty for one to four years, while
    poor people can do so only for a fortnight or a month.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
  type: summary
  locator: lines 14223-14228
  quote_or_summary: The note says Fiji brides being tattooed were kept from the sun
    and adds that this was perhaps a modification of the Melanesian custom of secluding
    girls at puberty; Frazer doubts that complexion improvement was the original reason.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
  type: summary
  locator: lines 14245-14256
  quote_or_summary: Note 620 gives references for caps, hoods, and veils worn by girls
    at such seasons.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
  extraction: medium
  motif_candidates: medium
  comparison_claims: medium
  notes: The extract is largely bibliographic footnotes. Motif and symbol extraction
    relies on the substantive explanatory details within notes 615 and 620, not on
    a continuous primary narrative.
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: |-
  No claims of historical contact or common inheritance are made; comparison claims are limited to similarities or tentative functional relationships explicitly signaled in the passage.
  batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
  custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l14187-l14272
  passage_sha256=7dca84d816be5be3bf0daee1f9270d1ec3c4547e622f1747c7053f51f6b0fd4c