batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l14274-l14368
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l14274-l14368
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 14274-14368
start: '14274'
end: '14368'
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 cites notes on Costa Rican ideas of ceremonial uncleanness called
bu-ku-rú, including its attachment to pregnant women, disused objects, houses,
and unvisited places, and its removal by beating objects with a stick. He then
cites parallels involving boys secluded after ritual transitions and folk-tale
incidents in which confined princes or princesses escape by using a bone, connecting
this with restrictions on bones during female seclusion or puberty rites.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage reports that Costa Rican Indians distinguish two kinds of ceremonial
uncleanness, nya and bu-ku-rú; nya is connected with death, while bu-ku-rú is
described as more dangerous and capable of causing sickness or death.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage states that the bu-ku-rú of a young woman in her first pregnancy
is considered especially severe and is said to infect the surrounding neighbourhood.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Arms, utensils, houses, and other objects may become affected by bu-ku-rú
after long disuse and require purification before being used again.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Portable objects left undisturbed for a long time are beaten with a stick
before being touched, in order to drive off bu-ku-rú.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: A long-unused house is swept and then beaten with a stick on movable objects,
beds, posts, and accessible parts of the interior before being considered fit
for occupation the next day.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:6
text: A place not visited for a long time or reached for the first time is described
as bu-ku-rú; Pico Blanco is said by the Indians to be especially bu-ku-rú because
no one had been on it before.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:7
text: After Mr. Gabb took down dusty blow-guns amid cries of bu-ku-rú, the Indians
later believed that the bu-ku-rú of the blow-guns had killed a boy.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:8
text: Gabb reports that bu-ku-rú might seem like an evil spirit possessing an object,
but says he could not learn that the Indians considered it so; they seemed to
treat it as a property acquired by objects.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:9
text: After a Brahman boy is invested with the sacred thread, he is forbidden for
three days to see the sun, may not eat salt, and must sleep on a carpet or deer
skin without a mattress or mosquito curtain.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:10
text: In Bali, boys who have had their teeth filed as a preliminary to marriage
are kept shut in a dark room for three days.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:11
text: The passage notes folk-tales in which a prince or princess is shut in a tower
for safety and escapes by scraping a hole in the wall with a bone accidentally
brought into the tower.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:12
text: The passage states that in some versions care was taken to give the princess
no bones with her meat.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:13
text: The passage cites the Hare-skin Indians as forbidding a girl at puberty to
break the bones of hares, while also reporting that she drinks from a tube made
of swan bone.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:14
text: The passage states that a Thlinkeet girl in similar circumstances used to
drink from the wing-bone of a white-headed eagle.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Indians of Costa Rica
description: Community reported as holding beliefs about nya and bu-ku-rú and about
purification of affected objects and places.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Young woman in first pregnancy
description: Person whose bu-ku-rú is described as the worst and as infecting the
neighbourhood.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Woman beating a basket
description: A woman observed beating a basket with a long walking stick to drive
off bu-ku-rú before she expected to use its contents.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: House purifier
description: Person who sweeps a long-unused house and beats its objects and interior
parts with a stick.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mr. Gabb
description: Observer who took down dusty blow-guns and reported Costa Rican explanations
of bu-ku-rú.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Brahman boy
description: Boy invested with the sacred thread and subjected to three days of
restrictions.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Bali boys after tooth filing
description: Boys kept in a dark room for three days after having their teeth filed
before marriage.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Confined prince or princess
description: Folk-tale figure shut in a tower for safety who escapes by scraping
through the wall with a bone.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Girl at puberty among the Hare-skin Indians
description: Girl forbidden to break hare bones and reported to drink from a swan-bone
tube.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Thlinkeet girl
description: Girl in similar circumstances reported to drink from the wing-bone
of a white-headed eagle.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: ritual-belief community
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage attributes the categories of nya and bu-ku-rú, and the associated
purification practices, to the Indians of Costa Rica.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: dangerous ritual-pollution source
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The young pregnant woman is said to possess the worst bu-ku-rú and to infect
the neighbourhood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: purifier of affected objects or house
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The figures beat a basket or house interior with a stick to drive off or
purify bu-ku-rú.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: outside observer and participant
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Gabb records the practices and is described taking down blow-guns amid cries
of bu-ku-rú.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: secluded or restricted initiand
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:9
- fig:10
basis: These youths or girls undergo post-rite, puberty, or similar restrictions
involving seclusion, darkness, sun avoidance, or regulated bone use.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: confined escapee
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The folk-tale figure is shut in a tower and escapes by scraping a wall with
a bone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: bu-ku-rú
literal_form: Ceremonial uncleanness or harmful property attached to persons, objects,
houses, and places.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: stick used for purification by beating
literal_form: Long walking stick or stick used to beat baskets, beds, posts, and
other accessible parts of a house.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: long-disused objects and house
literal_form: Arms, utensils, baskets, beds, posts, and houses affected by bu-ku-rú
after disuse.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: unvisited peak
literal_form: Pico Blanco, described as especially bu-ku-rú because no one had been
on it before.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: dusty blow-guns
literal_form: Blow-guns taken down by Gabb and later believed to have caused a boy's
death through bu-ku-rú.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:6
label: dark room and sun avoidance
literal_form: Dark-room confinement in Bali and prohibition on seeing the sun for
a Brahman boy.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:7
label: bone as tool and restricted material
literal_form: Bone used to scrape through a tower wall, bones withheld from a princess's
meat, hare bones not to be broken, and swan or eagle bones used as drinking tubes.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:8
label: tower confinement
literal_form: Tower in which a prince or princess is shut for safety in folk-tales.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Beating objects to remove bu-ku-rú
summary: Objects left unused are treated as affected by bu-ku-rú and are beaten
with a stick before use; a basket is specifically beaten to drive off the harmful
property.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Purifying a long-unused house
summary: A long-unused house is swept and then beaten throughout its interior before
it is considered fit for occupation the next day.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Unvisited place and disturbed blow-guns treated as dangerous
summary: Pico Blanco is described as bu-ku-rú because it had not been visited before,
and dusty blow-guns disturbed by Gabb are later believed to have caused a boy's
death through bu-ku-rú.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:4
label: Three-day ritual seclusions of boys
summary: A Brahman boy after sacred-thread investment and Bali boys after tooth
filing are subjected to three-day restrictions involving sun avoidance or dark-room
confinement.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:5
label: Tower escape by means of a bone
summary: In cited folk-tales, a prince or princess confined in a tower escapes by
using a bone to scrape a hole in the wall.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:6
label: Bone restrictions and bone drinking tubes in puberty contexts
summary: The passage reports that a Hare-skin girl at puberty may not break hare
bones but drinks from a swan-bone tube, and that a Thlinkeet girl in similar circumstances
drinks from an eagle wing-bone.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Contagious ritual uncleanness attached to persons, objects, houses, and places
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Bu-ku-rú is described as capable of infecting people, causing sickness or
death, and attaching to disused objects, houses, and unvisited places.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports Gabb's interpretation and explicitly notes uncertainty
about whether the Indians personified bu-ku-rú as a spirit.
- id: motif:2
label: Purification by beating inanimate objects
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Affected baskets, house interiors, beds, posts, and movable objects are beaten
with a stick to drive off or purify bu-ku-rú.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The practice is presented through a cited ethnographic report and should
be checked against the original source.
- id: motif:3
label: Initiatory seclusion with darkness or sun avoidance
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The Brahman boy after sacred-thread investment and Bali boys after tooth
filing are both restricted for three days, including avoidance of the sun or confinement
in a dark room.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage offers brief citation notes rather than full ritual context.
- id: motif:4
label: Confined royal child escapes using a bone
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage describes folk-tales in which a prince or princess shut in a
tower escapes by scraping a hole with a bone accidentally conveyed inside.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage summarizes multiple tales without giving their full narratives
in this excerpt.
- id: motif:5
label: Bone taboo or regulated bone use during female seclusion or puberty
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The passage links restrictions on princesses receiving bones, a Hare-skin
puberty girl being forbidden to break hare bones, and girls drinking through bird-bone
tubes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: Frazer's inference from folk-tales to a broader rule is interpretive and
should be reviewed separately from the cited ethnographic examples.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Brahman sacred-thread restrictions and the Balinese post-tooth-filing
confinement share the function of temporary seclusion or sensory restriction after
a ritual status transition.
claim_level: same_function
target: Post-rite seclusion of boys in Brahman and Balinese examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage gives only short cited notices and does not demonstrate
historical connection.
- id: claim:2
claim: The cited Greek, Albanian, Sicilian, and related folk-tale examples are presented
as sharing the incident of a confined prince or princess escaping from a tower
by means of a bone.
claim_level: same_motif
target: European folk-tale incident of tower escape using a bone
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage names collections and tale numbers but does not quote the
full tales in this excerpt.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage cautiously relates folk-tale avoidance of giving bones to a confined
princess with ethnographic restrictions on bone handling or bone use for girls
during puberty or similar seclusion.
claim_level: same_function
target: Bone restriction or controlled bone use in female seclusion contexts
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The link between the folktale incident and ritual practice is Frazer's
inference, not a directly reported connection within a single tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 14274-14315
quote_or_summary: Costa Rican Indians are reported to distinguish nya from the more
virulent bu-ku-rú; bu-ku-rú is associated with first pregnancy, disused objects,
houses, unvisited places, Pico Blanco, and dusty blow-guns, and is removed from
objects or houses by beating them with a stick.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 14319-14329
quote_or_summary: After sacred-thread investment a Brahman boy is restricted for
three days, including not seeing the sun; in Bali, boys after tooth filing before
marriage are kept shut in a dark room for three days.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 14335-14362
quote_or_summary: The passage notes folk-tales where a confined prince or princess
escapes a tower by scraping the wall with a bone, discusses versions where bones
are withheld from the princess, and cites puberty-related bone restrictions or
bone drinking tubes among Hare-skin and Thlinkeet girls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is a set of comparative footnotes and summaries rather than a
single mythic narrative. Literal ethnographic claims and Frazer's interpretations
have been separated where possible.
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 external sources were used; taxonomy references were limited to supplied available refs where directly supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l14274-l14368
passage_sha256=9a70e39e446770ee669b05699a9ba5ff452ede53cc65bb0552a97140fdf92b72