batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l2717-l2801
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l2717-l2801
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 2717-2801'
start: '2717'
end: '2801'
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 surveys reported customs in which hunters and communities address,
apologize to, honor, sacrifice to, or carefully dispose of remains of animals
they kill, especially dangerous animals or animals valued for food, skins, or
hunting success. Examples include elephants, lions, leopards, tapirs, sables,
beavers, and North American animal manidos.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Kafir hunters address an elephant honorifically while spearing it, and after
its death they make excuses to it and bury its trunk ceremonially.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Some Eastern African tribes bring a killed lion before the king, who prostrates
himself and rubs his face on the animal's muzzle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: In some parts of Western Africa, a leopard killer is bound and brought before
chiefs, then released and rewarded after pleading that the leopard is chief of
the forest and a stranger.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The dead leopard is adorned with a chief's bonnet and set up in the village,
where nightly dances are held in its honor.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Guiana Indians destroy a babracot used to dry tapir meat before leaving camp,
saying that a passing tapir might otherwise find signs of the slaughter and retaliate
by babracoting a man.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Stiens of Cambodia are described as believing that all animals have souls
which roam after death, and they beg pardon of animals they kill to prevent torment
by the soul.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Stiens offer sacrifices to killed animals, with ceremonies scaled to the
animal's size and strength; elephant death ceremonies are said to last seven days.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: North American Indians are reported to treat bear, buffalo, and beaver as
manidos furnishing food, and to perform ceremonies asking the bear to allow itself
to be eaten.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage states that feared animals, animals good to eat, or both are treated
with ceremonious respect, while animals neither formidable nor good to eat may
be despised.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Siberian sable hunters conceal captured sables and avoid speech about them,
because sables are thought able to hear and to resent disrespect.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Alaskan hunters preserve the bones of sables and beavers away from dogs for
a year and then carefully bury them, lest spirits associated with the animals
perceive contempt and stop animals from being killed or trapped.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Canadian Indians collect and preserve beaver bones and, when the beaver was
caught in a net, throw them into the river rather than letting dogs gnaw them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Canadian Indians explain that a dying beaver's soul observes what is done
with its bones and that other beavers would refuse capture if the bones were given
to dogs.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: Before hunting beaver, Canadian Indians offer prayer and tobacco to the Great
Beaver; after the hunt an orator gives a funeral oration over the dead beavers.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Kafir elephant hunters
description: Hunters who spear an elephant, address it honorifically, excuse its
death, and bury its trunk ceremonially.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Elephant
description: A dangerous animal called a great captain, mighty chief, great lord,
and possessor of a trunk described as its hand.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Eastern African king
description: A king before whom a killed lion is brought and who performs homage
to the carcass.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lion
description: A killed animal whose carcass receives royal homage in the cited Eastern
African example.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Leopard
description: A killed animal treated as a peer or chief of the forest and honored
with a chief's bonnet and nightly dances.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Leopard killer
description: A man bound and brought before chiefs for killing a leopard, then released
and rewarded after his defense.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Tapir
description: An animal whose slaughter traces are concealed because another tapir
is feared to retaliate.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Stiens of Cambodia
description: People described as begging pardon of killed animals and offering sacrifices
according to animal size and strength.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Animal souls
description: Souls of animals believed by the Stiens to roam after death and potentially
torment killers.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Bear, buffalo, and beaver manidos
description: North American animal divinities furnishing food, with ceremonies rendered
especially to the bear and similar treatment of other animals.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Siberian sable hunters
description: Hunters who conceal captured sables and avoid speech about them because
of sable awareness and resentment.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Sables
description: Fur-bearing animals believed able to hear what is said about them and
to resent being viewed or treated improperly.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Alaskan hunters
description: Hunters who preserve and bury sable and beaver bones out of reach of
dogs.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Spirits who look after beavers and sables
description: Spirits believed capable of interpreting bone treatment as contempt
and preventing further trapping or killing.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Canadian Indians
description: Hunters who preserve beaver bones, throw them into the river, pray
to the Great Beaver, offer tobacco, and deliver funeral orations.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Great Beaver
description: A being addressed with solemn prayer and presented with tobacco before
beaver hunting.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Beaver soul
description: A soul said to visit the killer's hut before the beaver is fully dead
and note what is done with its bones.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: hunter or killer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:11
- fig:13
- fig:15
basis: These figures kill, trap, hunt, or process the animals described in the passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: honored killed or hunted animal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:12
basis: These animals receive titles, homage, ceremonies, concealment, or careful
post-kill treatment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: royal ritual honorer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The king prostrates himself and rubs his face on the lion's muzzle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: animal treated as chief or peer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The leopard is described as chief of the forest and as one of the chiefs'
peers, and is given a chief's bonnet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: potential avenger of slain kind
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: A tapir passing the camp is said to be able to discover traces of slaughter
and retaliate against sleeping humans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: ritual appeaser
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:13
- fig:15
basis: These human groups use apologies, sacrifices, bone preservation, burial,
prayer, tobacco, or funeral speech to avoid animal or spirit displeasure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: post-mortem witness or enforcer
assigned_to:
- fig:9
- fig:12
- fig:14
- fig:17
basis: Animal souls, sables, guardian spirits, or beaver souls are said to observe,
hear, or respond to human treatment of animals and remains.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: animal divinity or great animal recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:10
- fig:16
basis: The passage calls bear, buffalo, and beaver manidos and describes prayer
and tobacco offered to the Great Beaver.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Elephant trunk as hand
literal_form: Elephant trunk buried with solemn ceremony and described as the elephant's
hand.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Chief's bonnet on leopard
literal_form: A chief's bonnet placed on the dead leopard.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Babracot
literal_form: Drying frame used for tapir meat and destroyed to remove traces of
slaughter.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: Animal bones
literal_form: Bones of sables and beavers preserved, buried, kept from dogs, thrown
into river, or otherwise carefully treated.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:14
- fig:15
- fig:17
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: Bear head and paws
literal_form: Bear head and paws described as objects of homage.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: Tobacco offering
literal_form: Tobacco presented to the Great Beaver before hunting.
associated_figures:
- fig:15
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: River disposal of bones
literal_form: Beaver bones thrown into the river after capture in a net.
associated_figures:
- fig:15
- fig:17
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: Fire disposal of bones
literal_form: Bones thrown into the fire are said to satisfy beavers.
associated_figures:
- fig:17
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Elephant killing and apology
summary: Kafir hunters address an elephant with titles during the killing, excuse
the death afterward as accidental, and ceremonially bury its trunk.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Lion and leopard post-kill honors
summary: A killed lion receives royal homage in one example; a killed leopard is
treated as a high-status being, adorned, displayed, and honored with dances in
another.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Concealment of tapir slaughter traces
summary: Guiana Indians destroy the babracot before leaving camp to prevent a tapir
from discovering evidence of a killed tapir and taking revenge.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Animal pardon and sacrifice in Cambodia
summary: The Stiens beg pardon of killed animals and offer sacrifices in proportion
to the animals' size and strength, with elaborate ceremonies for elephants.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: North American animal manido ceremonies
summary: Bear, buffalo, and beaver are described as food-giving manidos; ceremonies
ask the bear to allow itself to be eaten and honor the animal's remains.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Sable concealment and respectful speech taboo
summary: Siberian sable hunters keep captured sables from being seen and avoid good
or evil speech about them because sables are believed to hear and resent such
treatment.
figure_refs:
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Alaskan bone preservation for sables and beavers
summary: Alaskan hunters keep bones away from dogs for a year and bury them carefully
so guardian spirits do not interpret contempt and stop further trapping.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: Canadian beaver bone rites and Great Beaver prayer
summary: Canadian Indians protect beaver bones from dogs, explain that the beaver
soul observes bone treatment, offer prayer and tobacco to the Great Beaver before
hunting, and pronounce a funeral oration after the hunt.
figure_refs:
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:17
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:6
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Apology and honor to slain dangerous animals
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Elephants, lions, and leopards are addressed, apologized to, ceremonially
handled, or honored after being killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports examples through Frazer's comparative framing; individual
local terms and contexts are not supplied beyond the excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Killed animal soul or spirit monitors human treatment
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Animal souls, sables, guardian spirits, and beaver souls are said to observe,
hear, resent, torment, or prevent future hunting if treated with contempt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: 'The responsible agent varies by example: animal soul, animal itself,
or guardian spirit.'
- id: motif:3
label: Respectful treatment of bones secures future game
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Alaskan and Canadian examples connect preserving, burying, burning, or river-disposing
of beaver or sable bones with the continued willingness or availability of animals
to be trapped or killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives this especially for sables and beavers, not for every
animal mentioned.
- id: motif:4
label: Ritual exchange with hunted animals
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Hunters use prayer, tobacco, funeral oration, ceremony, respectful handling,
or bone care to maintain relations with animals or their spirits and to enable
continued hunting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The term 'exchange' is interpretive; the passage more literally describes
prayers, offerings, ceremonies, and expected animal or spirit responses.
- id: motif:5
label: Sacrifice or offering to animal beings
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The Stiens offer sacrifices to killed animals, and Canadian Indians present
tobacco to the Great Beaver before hunting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The tobacco presentation is an offering but not explicitly called a sacrifice
in the passage.
- id: motif:6
label: Graded reverence according to danger or usefulness
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Frazer explicitly states that animals feared, good to eat, or both receive
ceremonious respect, while animals neither formidable nor good to eat may be treated
with contempt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is Frazer's comparative generalization from examples, not a single
local mythic narrative.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage presents multiple traditions as using ritual respect toward hunted
or killed animals to keep relations with those animals, their souls, or their
guardian spirits favorable.
claim_level: same_function
target: Cross-cultural pattern of appeasing slain or hunted animals
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is Frazer's own juxtaposition of reports; the excerpt
does not demonstrate historical connection among the traditions.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Alaskan and Canadian examples share a close pattern in which careful
handling of beaver or sable bones prevents animal spirits or other animals from
withdrawing future hunting success.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Post-kill bone care to preserve future game supply
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: 'The two examples differ in details: Alaskan hunters bury bones after
a year, while Canadian Indians may throw beaver bones into the river or fire and
link the practice to the beaver soul''s report.'
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage contrasts animals receiving reverence because they are dangerous,
edible, or valuable with animals treated contemptuously because they are neither
formidable nor good to eat.
claim_level: same_function
target: Graded animal reverence by danger and subsistence value
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This comparison is an authorial analytical pattern in the passage and
is not independently documented here for every culture named.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2717-2725
quote_or_summary: Kafir hunters address an elephant as great captain and mighty
chief while spearing it; after death they excuse the killing as accidental and
solemnly bury the trunk because it is called the elephant's hand.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2725-2736
quote_or_summary: Eastern African lion carcass is brought before a king who prostrates
and rubs his face on its muzzle; in Western Africa a leopard killer is tried before
chiefs, while the dead leopard is given a chief's bonnet and honored with nightly
dances.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2736-2743
quote_or_summary: Guiana Indians destroy the babracot used for tapir meat so that
a tapir will not discover traces of slaughter and later babracot a sleeping man
in revenge.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2744-2755
quote_or_summary: The Stiens of Cambodia believe animals have souls roaming after
death; they beg pardon of killed animals and offer sacrifices proportional to
size and strength, with elephant ceremonies lasting seven days.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2755-2771
quote_or_summary: North American Indians are quoted as treating bear, buffalo, and
beaver as manidos that furnish food; ceremonies beg the bear to allow itself to
be eaten, and bear head and paws are objects of homage. Frazer generalizes that
feared or edible animals receive ceremonious respect.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2772-2785
quote_or_summary: Siberian sable hunters do not allow captured sables to be seen
and avoid good or evil speech about them; a hunter says sables can hear speech
about them from as far away as Moscow and resent being displayed or improperly
treated.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2785-2790
quote_or_summary: Alaskan hunters preserve sable and beaver bones away from dogs
for a year and then bury them carefully, so that the spirits looking after the
animals will not think them contemptuously treated and stop further killing or
trapping.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2790-2801
quote_or_summary: Canadian Indians protect beaver bones from dogs, may throw them
into the river, and say the beaver soul notes bone treatment before death; before
hunting they pray to the Great Beaver and offer tobacco, and after the chase an
orator gives a funeral speech over dead beavers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the provided passage. Motif labels
and taxonomy links are cautious because the passage is a comparative scholarly
discussion rather than a mythic narrative, and local contexts are abbreviated.
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 supplied 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__l2717-l2801
passage_sha256=e5bf345b785533e00b25865c818c84ed69709a8683beab5157414f8731fba2c0