batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l6654-l6693
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l6654-l6693
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 6654-6693'
start: '6654'
end: '6693'
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 two Hindoo stories in which a child or royal person’s
soul or life is bound to a golden necklace. In the first, Sodewa Bai dies when
a rival has the necklace stolen and worn by another woman, but revives whenever
the necklace is removed, until the prince restores it. In the second, Dalim’s
life is bound through a boal-fish, a wooden box, and a golden necklace; when the
elder queen obtains and wears the necklace he dies, and when she removes it at
night he revives.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Sodewa Bai is born with a golden necklace around her neck, and an astrologer
says the necklace contains her soul.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Sodewa Bai’s mother fastens the necklace around the child’s neck and warns
her not to let it be taken off.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Sodewa Bai marries a prince who already has another wife.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The first wife, described as jealous, persuades a negress to steal Sodewa
Bai’s golden necklace.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: When the negress wears the necklace, Sodewa Bai dies; when the negress removes
it at night, Sodewa Bai lives again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The prince discovers the elder wife’s treachery and restores the necklace
to Sodewa Bai.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A holy mendicant tells a queen that her future son’s life is bound to a boal-fish
in the palace tank.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The mendicant says that inside the fish’s heart is a wooden box, inside the
box is a golden necklace, and that necklace is the boy’s life.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Dalim is born to the Suo, or younger queen, and the Duo, or elder queen, hates
him.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The elder queen learns the secret and causes the boal-fish to be caught.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: As the fish is caught and brought to land, Dalim becomes ill and appears near
death.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: When the fish is cut open, a casket containing a golden necklace is found;
when the elder queen wears the necklace, Dalim dies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The elder queen removes the necklace every night, and Dalim comes to life
again; every morning she puts it on, and he dies again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sodewa Bai
description: Princess born with a golden necklace that contains her soul.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sodewa Bai’s parents
description: Parents who receive the astrologer’s warning about their daughter’s
necklace.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Astrologer
description: Advises Sodewa Bai’s parents that the necklace contains her soul and
must be guarded.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Sodewa Bai’s mother
description: Fastens the necklace around Sodewa Bai’s neck and warns her not to
let it be removed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Prince
description: Sodewa Bai’s husband, who discovers the treachery and restores the
necklace.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: First wife
description: The prince’s first wife, jealous of Sodewa Bai, who arranges the theft
of the necklace.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Negress
description: Person persuaded by the first wife to steal and wear Sodewa Bai’s necklace.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Holy mendicant
description: Tells the queen that her future son’s life will be bound up with a
fish, box, and necklace.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Queen addressed by the mendicant
description: Queen told that she will bear a son whose life will be bound in an
external object sequence.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Dalim
description: Boy born to the younger queen; his life is identified with the golden
necklace inside the fish.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Suo, or younger queen
description: Dalim’s mother.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Duo, or elder queen
description: Elder queen who hates Dalim, causes the fish to be caught, and wears
the necklace.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Boal-fish
description: Large fish in the palace tank with which Dalim’s life is bound up.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: King
description: Dalim’s father, astonished by his son and heir’s sudden illness.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Physician
description: Orders the fish to be taken into the elder queen’s room.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: life-holder affected by external object
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:10
basis: Both Sodewa Bai and Dalim die or revive according to the handling or wearing
of a golden necklace containing their soul or life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:2
label: royal child or royal person
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:10
basis: Sodewa Bai is called a princess; Dalim is the queen’s son and the king’s
son and heir.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: parent or mother-guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:9
- fig:11
basis: Parents or mothers receive warnings, guard the child, or are identified as
the child’s mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: revealer of hidden life secret
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:8
basis: The astrologer and the holy mendicant disclose where the child’s soul or
life is located.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: restorer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The prince discovers the treachery and restores the golden necklace to Sodewa
Bai.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: jealous elder rival
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:12
basis: The first or elder wife is described as jealous or hateful and acts against
the younger rival or her child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: theft-agent and wearer
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The negress steals and wears Sodewa Bai’s soul-containing necklace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: animal container of external life
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Dalim’s life is bound up with the boal-fish, which contains the box and necklace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: golden necklace containing soul
literal_form: Golden necklace around Sodewa Bai’s neck
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: golden necklace containing life
literal_form: Golden necklace found in a casket inside the boal-fish
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: boal-fish containing life-object
literal_form: Big boal-fish in the tank in front of the palace
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: nested box or casket
literal_form: Small wooden box or casket inside the fish, containing the golden
necklace
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: palace tank
literal_form: Tank in front of the palace where the boal-fish is located
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sodewa Bai’s birth and warning
summary: Sodewa Bai is born with a golden necklace, and an astrologer warns her
parents that it contains her soul and must be guarded.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Theft and alternating death of Sodewa Bai
summary: A jealous first wife arranges for the necklace to be stolen. The wearer’s
daily use of it causes Sodewa Bai to die, while its nightly removal causes her
to revive.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Restoration of Sodewa Bai’s necklace
summary: The prince discovers the elder wife’s treachery and restores the necklace
to Sodewa Bai.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Mendicant’s prophecy of Dalim’s external life
summary: A holy mendicant tells a queen that her son’s life will be bound to a boal-fish,
inside which are a wooden box and a golden necklace.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Capture of the fish and Dalim’s illness
summary: After the elder queen learns the secret and has the boal-fish caught, Dalim
becomes gravely ill as the fish is captured and brought to land.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Necklace worn and Dalim’s daily death
summary: The fish is opened, a casket and necklace are found, and Dalim dies whenever
the elder queen wears the necklace but revives when she removes it at night.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: external soul or external life kept in an object
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Both stories state that a person’s soul or life is located in a golden necklace,
and the person dies or lives depending on the necklace’s possession or use.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The supplied taxonomy list has no specific external-soul motif reference,
so no taxonomy reference is assigned.
- id: motif:2
label: death and revival controlled by removal or wearing of a life-object
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
- resurrection
basis: Sodewa Bai and Dalim repeatedly die when another person wears the necklace
and come back to life when it is removed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The deaths and revivals are cyclical and mechanically tied to an object,
not described as ritual resurrection.
- id: motif:3
label: jealous elder wife or queen attacks younger rival or child
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: In the first story the jealous first wife has Sodewa Bai’s necklace stolen;
in the second the elder queen hates Dalim and has the fish containing his life
caught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative role-pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy motif.
- id: motif:4
label: theft or seizure of life-containing object
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: Sodewa Bai’s necklace is stolen, and Dalim’s life-object is obtained by capturing
the fish and extracting the necklace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not call the necklace sacred; the taxonomy reference
is approximate because the object contains life or soul.
- id: motif:5
label: nested concealment of life in animal, box, and necklace
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Dalim’s life is described as bound to a boal-fish, within whose heart is
a wooden box containing a golden necklace that is his life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This motif applies only to the Dalim story in this passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The two Hindoo stories in the passage share a pattern in which a royal person’s
soul or life is externalized in a golden necklace, and another woman’s wearing
of the necklace causes death while removal allows revival.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Sodewa Bai story and Dalim story within the cited passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is limited to the two stories as summarized by Frazer in
this passage and does not establish historical contact or origin.
- id: claim:2
claim: Both stories also share an antagonist pattern involving an elder or first
wife/queen acting against a younger rival or the younger queen’s child.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jealous first wife in the Sodewa Bai story and Duo elder queen in the Dalim
story
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: 'The social roles are similar but not identical: one antagonist targets
a co-wife directly, while the other targets the younger queen’s son.'
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6654-6662
quote_or_summary: Sodewa Bai is born with a golden necklace; an astrologer says
it contains her soul and must be guarded, and her mother fastens it and warns
her.
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 6662-6667
quote_or_summary: Sodewa Bai marries a prince with another wife; the first wife
is jealous and persuades a negress to steal the golden necklace.
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 6667-6673
quote_or_summary: When the negress wears the necklace Sodewa Bai dies; when she
removes it at night Sodewa Bai’s soul returns and she lives, then dies again when
it is worn in the morning.
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 6673-6675
quote_or_summary: The prince discovers the elder wife’s treachery and restores the
golden necklace to Sodewa Bai.
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 6675-6682
quote_or_summary: A holy mendicant tells a queen she will bear a son whose life
is bound to a big boal-fish in the palace tank; in the fish’s heart is a wooden
box, and in the box is a golden necklace that is the son’s life.
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 6682-6686
quote_or_summary: Dalim is born to the younger queen; the elder queen hates him,
learns the secret, and causes the boal-fish to be caught.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6686-6690
quote_or_summary: As the boal-fish is caught and brought to land, Dalim becomes
unwell, falls down, and is treated as near death; the king is astonished at his
son and heir’s sudden illness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6690-6692
quote_or_summary: The fish is taken to the elder queen’s room; when it is cut open
a casket is found, and the casket contains a golden necklace; when the queen wears
it, Dalim dies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 6692-6693
quote_or_summary: The elder queen removes the necklace every night and Dalim comes
to life; each morning when she puts it on, he dies again.
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: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is explicit about soul or life being located in necklaces and
about repeated death and revival. Taxonomy mapping is partly approximate because
the available list lacks a specific external-soul category.
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: |-
Ethnonym and racial terms are retained only as passage-derived labels where necessary for identification; no additional characterization is inferred.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l6654-l6693
passage_sha256=d359017d7dbfd91beb6ad9fb3543e370c598168e8047b56e61b36ca79a2085fc