batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l5166-l5241
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l5166-l5241
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 5166-5241'
start: '5166'
end: '5241'
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: The second rule to be here noted is that the sun may not shine upon the divine
person.
summary: Frazer describes a rule that sacred or royal persons, including the Mikado,
the Zapotec pontiff, and several South American heirs or princes, must not be
exposed to the sun or light. He then compares this with puberty restrictions on
girls in Loango, South Africa, and New Ireland, including seclusion, darkness,
avoidance of ground contact, taboo access, and eventual emergence for marriage
festivities.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that the sun may not shine upon a divine person and gives
the Mikado and the pontiff of the Zapotecs as examples.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The heir to the throne of Bogota, the heir to Sogamoso, and the prince who
was to become Inca are described as undergoing retirement, fasting, darkness,
or avoidance of sun and light before accession.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: 'The passage explicitly identifies two rules: not touching the ground and
not seeing the sun.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Among the Loango, girls at puberty are confined in separate huts and may not
touch the ground with any part of their bare body.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Among the Zulus and kindred tribes, a girl showing first signs of puberty
hides near a river among reeds, covers her head so the sun does not shine on it,
and returns home after dark for seclusion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: In New Ireland, girls are confined for four or five years in small cages,
kept in the dark, and not allowed to set foot on the ground.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The New Ireland house is described as standing in a reed and bamboo enclosure,
with dried grass suspended at the entrance to mark it as tabu.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The New Ireland cages are made of pandanus leaves and have doors of plaited
coconut-tree and pandanus-tree leaves; they admit little or no light and little
or no air.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Only an old woman in charge is allowed to open the doors, and the girls step
on pieces of wood and bamboo so that their feet do not touch the ground.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The inside of a New Ireland cage is described as hot, stifling, nearly or
quite dark, and containing a bamboo platform and short bamboo lengths for holding
water.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The New Ireland girls are allowed out only once a day to bathe in a dish or
wooden bowl placed close to each cage.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The New Ireland girls are placed in the cages when young and remain there
until they are young women, when they are taken out and given marriage feasts.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Mikado
description: A sacred person whose head should not be exposed to the sun.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Pontiff of the Zapotecs
description: A figure regarded as a god whom the earth was not worthy to hold and
the sun was not worthy to shine upon.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Heir to the throne of Bogota
description: A royal heir trained from age sixteen in temple retirement, with restrictions
including not seeing the sun.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Heir to the kingdom of Sogamoso
description: A royal heir who fasted for seven years in a temple, shut up in darkness
and not allowed to see sun or light.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Prince who was to become Inca of Peru
description: A royal figure required to fast for a month without seeing light.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Loango girls at puberty
description: Girls confined in separate huts and forbidden to touch the ground with
bare body parts.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Zulu and kindred-tribe girls at puberty
description: Girls who hide, cover their heads from the sun, and later undergo seclusion.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: New Ireland confined girls
description: Young women confined for years in dark cages and not allowed to set
foot on the ground.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Old woman in charge
description: The woman who is allowed to open the cage doors and helps the girls
move without touching the ground.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Chief
description: A local authority who takes the observer to the house and directs the
old woman to open the doors.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine or sacred person under solar taboo
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage describes the Mikado and Zapotec pontiff as sacred or divine
persons upon whom the sun should not shine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: royal heir undergoing pre-accession seclusion
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The passage describes heirs or princes kept from sun, light, or ordinary
contact before succession or becoming Inca.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: puberty initiate under seclusion restrictions
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The passage applies the rules of avoiding ground and sun to girls at puberty
in several places.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: female ritual caretaker or gatekeeper
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The old woman is the person in charge who alone is allowed to open the doors
of the cages.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: local authority controlling access
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The chief controls or mediates access to the house and gives the order to
open the doors.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sun and light as prohibited exposure
literal_form: sun, sunbeams, light
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: ground or earth as prohibited contact
literal_form: ground, earth, bare body or feet touching ground
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: seclusion enclosure
literal_form: temple, hut, house, cage
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: tabu marker
literal_form: bundle of dried grass suspended across the entrance
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: river and bathing water
literal_form: river, dish or wooden bowl for bathing, bamboo lengths for holding
water
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:6
label: leaf cage
literal_form: pandanus-leaf cage with plaited coconut-tree and pandanus-tree leaf
doors
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sacred and royal figures kept from sun or light
summary: The passage lists divine, sacred, and royal persons whose bodies, heads,
or eyes must not be exposed to the sun or light.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Puberty restrictions in Loango and South Africa
summary: Girls at puberty are described as undergoing confinement, avoiding ground
contact, hiding by a river, covering the head from the sun, and entering seclusion.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: New Ireland cage confinement
summary: Girls in New Ireland are kept for years in dark, leaf-made cages inside
a tabu-marked enclosure and are not allowed to set foot on the ground.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Controlled emergence without touching ground
summary: The cage doors are opened by the old woman, and a girl moves across pieces
of wood and bamboo so that she may approach without putting her feet on the ground.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Daily bathing and final marriage feast
summary: The girls bathe once daily close to the cages and eventually leave confinement
as young women for marriage feasts.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacred or royal avoidance of sun and light
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Sacred and royal figures are required to avoid exposure to the sun or light
before or during their special status.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is a comparative ritual discussion rather than a mythic narrative;
the royal-legitimacy taxonomy link is broad.
- id: motif:2
label: avoidance of ground contact by sacred or liminal persons
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The passage identifies not touching the ground as a rule applied to puberty
girls and also evokes earth not being worthy to hold the Zapotec pontiff.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The examples differ in social context, including divine status and puberty
seclusion.
- id: motif:3
label: puberty seclusion in darkness
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Girls at puberty are confined or secluded, and the New Ireland girls are
kept for years in dark cages.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The evidence is ethnographic description mediated through Frazer and quoted
observers.
- id: motif:4
label: tabu enclosure and restricted access to initiates
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The New Ireland girls are kept in a tabu-marked enclosure, and male access
is restricted except for certain relations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives one detailed locality for this form of restricted access.
- id: motif:5
label: liminal confinement ending in social transition
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The New Ireland girls enter cages when young, remain until young women, and
then leave for marriage feasts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explain the full ritual meaning beyond the sequence
of confinement and marriage feast.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself compares the restrictions placed on sacred or royal persons
with those placed on girls at puberty, especially the rules against seeing the
sun and touching the ground.
claim_level: same_function
target: sun-avoidance and ground-contact taboo in sacred/royal seclusion and puberty
initiation contexts
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supports functional comparison of restrictions, not historical
contact, common origin, or identical ritual meaning across the cited societies.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 5166-5171
quote_or_summary: The passage says the sun may not shine on the divine person and
cites the Mikado and the Zapotec pontiff.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 5171-5176
quote_or_summary: Royal heirs or princes of Bogota, Sogamoso, and Peru undergo retirement
or fasting while avoiding the sun or light.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 5177-5179
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that the two rules are “not to touch the ground
and not to see the sun,” and that they occur among girls at puberty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 5179-5181
quote_or_summary: Among the Loango, puberty girls are confined in separate huts
and forbidden to touch the ground with bare body parts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 5181-5188
quote_or_summary: Among Zulus and related groups, a puberty girl hides by the river,
covers her head so the sun does not shine on it, returns after dark, and is secluded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 5189-5191
quote_or_summary: In New Ireland, girls are confined for four or five years in small
cages, kept dark, and not allowed to set foot on the ground.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 5191-5204
quote_or_summary: An observer describes a house in a reed and bamboo enclosure marked
tabu by dried grass, containing conical pandanus-leaf cages that admit little
light and air.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 5204-5228
quote_or_summary: The chief says the girls are tabu to most men; an old woman opens
the doors, and the girls step on pieces of wood and bamboo to avoid touching the
ground.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 5228-5236
quote_or_summary: The cage interior is hot, stifling, dark, and cramped, with a
bamboo platform and short bamboo lengths for water.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 5236-5241
quote_or_summary: The girls come out only once daily to bathe near the cages and
remain there until young womanhood, when each receives a marriage feast.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise quotation or summary allowed.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about the listed restrictions and about Frazer’s
comparison. Motif labeling is cautious because the passage is comparative ethnographic
scholarship, not a primary myth text.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. No historical-contact or common-inheritance claim is made.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l5166-l5241
passage_sha256=dc48f9b2d994491695e23b0957490a1f09b82297eeb6d78048ce235366b887e0