batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l2061-l2136
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l2061-l2136
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS;
lines 2061-2136'
start: '2061'
end: '2136'
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 summarizes a comparative argument about agricultural peoples who
annually kill a human or animal representative of a corn or plant spirit and eat
the god sacramentally. He then lists examples of beliefs that eating an animal,
human, or specific body part can transfer qualities such as courage, strength,
agility, longevity, speech, or soul-substance to the eater.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that among agricultural-stage peoples the spirit of corn
or other cultivated plants is commonly represented in human or animal form.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage states that a custom has prevailed of annually killing the human
or animal representative of the god.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that there is a widespread custom of eating the god sacramentally,
either as the representative man or animal or as bread made in human or animal
form.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The passage states a belief that eating the flesh of an animal or human can
transmit physical, moral, and intellectual qualities of that being to the eater.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Several examples describe avoiding heavy or timid animals as food because
their qualities are believed to affect the eater.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Several examples describe eating or applying lion, leopard, tiger, wolf, bear,
dog, pig, wallaby, fish, or other animal substances to acquire courage, strength,
boldness, nimbleness, or agility.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: A Zulu example describes administering the bone of a very old animal so that
people may live to be as old as that animal.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: A Central Asian Turkish example describes giving tongues of certain birds
to a child late in learning to speak.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: A Darfur example states that the liver is considered the seat of the soul
and that eating animal liver can enlarge a person's soul.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: corn-spirit or cultivated-plant spirit
description: A god or spirit of corn or other cultivated plants represented in human
or animal form.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: human or animal representative of the god
description: The human or animal form in which the corn or plant spirit is represented
and which may be killed annually or eaten sacramentally.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: ritual or customary eaters
description: People who eat the god, its representative, bread in its form, or animal
and human substances in order to obtain qualities.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: comparative cultural groups cited by Frazer
description: Groups named in examples, including Creeks, Cherokees, Zaparo, Namaquas,
Arabs of Eastern Africa, Zulu, Miris, Dyaks, men of Buro and Aru, Papuans, Koreans/Chinese,
Norse figures, Moroccans, Turks of Central Asia, a North American Indian, and
people of Darfur.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: specific animal sources of qualities
description: Animals whose flesh, blood, fat, bones, heart, bile, tongue, or liver
are described as transmitting qualities, including deer, bear, hare, lion, leopard,
dog, tiger, wolf, birds, and other animals.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: plant deity or crop spirit
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage identifies the corn or cultivated-plant spirit as the god whose
representative is killed and eaten.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: divine representative or substitute body
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage describes human or animal representatives of the god as the figures
killed annually and sometimes eaten.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: recipient of transferred qualities through ingestion
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage repeatedly describes eaters acquiring or seeking qualities from
consumed beings or body parts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: ethnographic comparanda
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The groups are cited as examples in Frazer's comparative discussion of ingestion
and transferred qualities.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: source of desired or avoided qualities
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Animals and their body parts are treated as sources of qualities such as
courage, strength, timidity, heaviness, longevity, speech, or soul-substance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: corn or cultivated plant spirit
literal_form: A spirit of corn or other cultivated plants represented in human or
animal form.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: bread in human or animal form
literal_form: Bread made in human or animal shape and eaten as a form of sacramental
god-eating.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: flesh as vehicle of qualities
literal_form: Animal or human flesh eaten in the belief that it conveys physical,
moral, or intellectual qualities.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: blood, fat, bone, heart, bile, tongue, and liver
literal_form: Specific body substances or organs consumed or applied to acquire
boldness, longevity, courage, speech, or soul-substance.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: liver as seat of the soul
literal_form: The liver described in the Darfur example as the seat of the soul
and eaten raw as sacred substance.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Annual killing of crop-spirit representative
summary: The corn or cultivated-plant spirit is represented by a human or animal
form, and that representative is described as being killed annually.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Sacramental eating of the god
summary: The god is eaten sacramentally either through the man or animal who represents
the god or through bread made in human or animal form.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Acquiring qualities through animal ingestion
summary: Frazer lists examples in which people eat or avoid specific animals or
animal parts because the animals' qualities are believed to pass to the eater.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Liver and soul in Darfur example
summary: The passage describes the liver as sacred, as the seat of the soul, and
as eaten raw in small pieces without being touched by the hands.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Annual killing of a divine or crop-spirit representative
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage describes an annual custom of killing the human or animal representative
of the corn or cultivated-plant god in an agricultural setting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage summarizes Frazer's comparative argument and does not give
a full primary ritual narrative for any single community in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Sacramental eating of the god
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage explicitly describes a widespread custom of eating the god sacramentally
through a human or animal representative or through shaped bread.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact 'god-eating' category; 'sacrifice'
is a partial fit because the passage links killing and ritual consumption.
- id: motif:3
label: Ingestion transfers qualities of the consumed being
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states the general belief and supplies many examples in which
animal or human substances are eaten to acquire courage, strength, agility, longevity,
speech, or soul-substance, or avoided to prevent undesirable qualities.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a pattern extracted from Frazer's comparative presentation, not
a taxonomy-specific motif reference.
- id: motif:4
label: Sacred organ as seat of soul or virtue
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Examples identify particular organs or substances as seats or carriers of
qualities, especially the Darfur liver as seat of the soul and Chinese gall-bladder/bile
as linked to courage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The examples are brief and culturally distinct; the passage does not establish
a single shared doctrine among them.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'Across the examples Frazer groups together a recurring functional pattern:
consuming or avoiding animal and human substances is believed to transfer, enhance,
or prevent the qualities associated with those beings.'
claim_level: same_function
target: comparative pattern of ingestion-based transfer of qualities
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim reflects the passage's comparative framing; it does not demonstrate
historical contact or common inheritance among the groups named.
- id: claim:2
claim: Frazer links sacramental eating of the agricultural god with a broader pattern
of eating a body or body-shaped substitute to acquire the power or qualities associated
with it.
claim_level: same_function
target: sacramental god-eating and quality-transfer ingestion
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The excerpt provides Frazer's interpretive connection but not detailed
primary evidence for each crop-spirit ritual.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2061-2072
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that agricultural peoples represent the corn or
cultivated-plant spirit in human or animal form, kill the representative annually,
and eat the god sacramentally as the representative or as human- or animal-shaped
bread.
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 2072-2078
quote_or_summary: The passage states that the reason for eating the god is connected
to a belief that eating the flesh of an animal or man transfers that being's physical,
moral, and intellectual qualities.
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 2078-2096
quote_or_summary: Examples from Creeks, Cherokees, Zaparo, Namaquas, and Arabs of
Eastern Africa describe food or animal substances as affecting swiftness, sagacity,
heaviness, timidity, courage, strength, or boldness.
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 2096-2115
quote_or_summary: Examples from Zulu, Miri, Dyak, Buro and Aru, Papuan, Korean,
and Chinese contexts describe consuming bones, flesh, gall-bladders, or bile to
obtain longevity, strength, courage, boldness, nimbleness, or other qualities,
or avoiding foods that would make eaters timid or too strong-minded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2115-2124
quote_or_summary: Examples from Norse history, Morocco, Central Asian Turks, and
a North American Indian describe eating hearts, blood, ants, lion flesh, bird
tongues, or interpreting brandy as made from hearts and tongues in connection
with courage, strength, speech, and talkativeness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2124-2136
quote_or_summary: The Darfur example says the liver is the seat of the soul; animal
liver is eaten raw in small pieces as sacred substance, not touched by the hands,
while women are not allowed to eat it according to the passage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is itself a comparative scholarly synthesis, making literal extraction
strong but taxonomy mapping and cross-cultural claims dependent on Frazer's framing.
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: |-
Terms such as 'savage' occur in the source passage as historical scholarly language; this extraction uses neutral paraphrase where possible.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l2061-l2136
passage_sha256=95b788a01c9bad6dc895dbc3dc5b77e330c42b3800ccbc3dd87da06d9cc6e01d