batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l6695-l6769
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l6695-l6769
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 6695-6769'
start: '6695'
end: '6769'
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: "“This tree is my life.”"
summary: Frazer lists several South Asian and Southeast Asian tales in which ogres,
kings, princes, or fairy beings have their life or soul lodged outside the body
in animals, plants, objects, water-associated places, snow, or a guarded box;
destruction or alteration of the external object causes injury or death to the
person or group whose life it contains.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: In a Kashmir story, a lad pretends to be the old ogress's grandson and learns
that the lives of several family members are contained in seven cocks, a spinning-wheel,
a pigeon, and a starling.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The lad kills the birds and smashes the spinning-wheel, after which the ogres
and ogresses perish.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: In another Kashmir story, an ogre can die only if a particular palace verandah
pillar is broken.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A prince breaks the pillar, and the ogre reacts to each blow before dying
when the pillar falls.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: In another Kashmir tale, an ogre says his life is in a queen bee located in
a honeycomb on a tree.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The hero crushes the queen bee, and the ogre immediately dies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: In Bengali tales, the life of a tribe of ogres is concentrated in two bees
on a crystal pillar in deep water in a tank.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The old ogress says that if blood from the destroyed bees falls to the ground,
a thousand ogres will spring up from it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: In another Bengali story, the lives of all ogres dwelling in Ceylon are in
one lemon, and a boy cuts it to pieces.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: In a Siamese or Cambodian story, Thossakan or Ravana removes his soul from
his body and leaves it in a box with the hermit Fire-eye before battle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Rama's arrows strike Ravana without wounding him while Ravana's soul is outside
his body.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: One of Rama's allies magically assumes Ravana's likeness, retrieves the soul-box
from the hermit, and squeezes it until Ravana dies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: In a Bengali story, a prince plants a tree and tells his parents that its
condition will show whether he is well, endangered, or dead.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: In an Indian tale, a prince leaves a barley plant to be watched; when he is
beheaded, the barley plant snaps and its ear falls.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: In the legend of the origin of Gilgit, a fairy king's soul is in the snows
and he can perish only by fire.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: lad in the Kashmir ogress story
description: A boy who pretends to be the old ogress's grandson and destroys the
objects and birds containing lives.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: old ogress in the Kashmir story
description: An old ogress who takes the lad into her confidence and identifies
the external life containers.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: ogres and ogresses with lives in birds and spinning-wheel
description: Ogres and ogresses whose lives are tied to seven cocks, a spinning-wheel,
a pigeon, and a starling.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: prince in the Kashmir pillar story
description: A prince who breaks the pillar that contains or controls the ogre's
life.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: ogre with life tied to a pillar
description: An ogre who howls and shakes when the palace pillar is struck and dies
when it falls.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: hero in the Kashmir queen-bee story
description: A hero who obtains and crushes the queen bee in which the ogre's life
dwells.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: ogre with life in a queen bee
description: An ogre who claims he will remain ever strong and young because his
life dwells in a difficult-to-obtain queen bee.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: old Bengali ogress
description: An ogress who explains to a captive princess the secret of the two
bees containing the lives of the ogres.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: captive princess
description: A princess who hears the secret from the old ogress and reveals it
to the hero.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Bengali hero who kills the two bees
description: A hero who destroys the two bees, causing all the ogres to fall dead.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: boy who cuts the lemon
description: A boy who cuts the lemon containing all the ogres' lives.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Thossakan or Ravana, King of Ceylon
description: A king who removes his soul from his body, stores it in a box, and
becomes unwounded in battle until the box is recovered and squeezed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Rama
description: Ravana's opponent in battle, whose arrows initially fail to wound the
king.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Fire-eye hermit
description: A hermit entrusted with Ravana's soul-box.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Rama's ally
description: An ally who transforms into Ravana's likeness, retrieves the soul-box,
and brings it to Rama while squeezing it.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: prince with life-tree
description: A prince who plants a tree and says its condition indicates his own
life condition.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: prince with barley plant
description: A prince whose watched barley plant snaps when he is beheaded.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: fairy king of Gilgit legend
description: A fairy king whose soul is in the snows and who can only perish by
fire.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: secret discloser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: These figures reveal or pass on knowledge of where the external life is located.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: destroyer or retriever of external life object
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:15
basis: These figures destroy, break, crush, cut, or retrieve the external object
or animal on which another being's life depends.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: being with externally located life or soul
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:12
- fig:18
basis: These figures are described as living, dying, or being invulnerable because
their life or soul is lodged outside the body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: guardian of soul container
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The hermit Fire-eye is entrusted with keeping Ravana's soul safe in a box.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: owner of plant life-token
assigned_to:
- fig:16
- fig:17
basis: The princes' conditions are mirrored by a tree or barley plant left behind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: birds as life containers
literal_form: seven cocks, a pigeon, and a starling
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: spinning-wheel as life container
literal_form: spinning-wheel
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: pillar as vulnerable life object
literal_form: particular pillar in the verandah of a palace
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: queen bee as external life
literal_form: queen bee in a honeycomb on a tree
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: two bees on crystal pillar in water
literal_form: two bees on a crystal pillar in deep water in a tank
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: blood as multiplying source of ogres
literal_form: blood of the two bees falling to the ground
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: lemon containing collective lives
literal_form: single lemon
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: box containing removed soul
literal_form: box holding Ravana's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:14
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:9
label: tree as life-token
literal_form: tree planted in the courtyard
associated_figures:
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:10
label: barley plant as life-token
literal_form: barley plant
associated_figures:
- fig:17
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:11
label: snow-held soul and fatal fire
literal_form: soul in the snows; death by fire
associated_figures:
- fig:18
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Kashmir ogress reveals and loses life containers
summary: A lad deceives an old ogress, learns the life locations of ogres and ogresses,
destroys the birds and spinning-wheel, and the beings perish.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Kashmir pillar broken to kill an ogre
summary: A prince learns that an ogre's death depends on a palace pillar, breaks
it, and the ogre dies with the pillar's collapse.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Kashmir queen bee crushed
summary: An ogre's life is located in a queen bee in a honeycomb on a tree; the
hero crushes the bee and the ogre dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Bengali ogres' lives in two bees
summary: An old ogress reveals that the lives of a tribe of ogres are in two bees
on a crystal pillar under water; after the princess tells the hero, he kills the
bees and the ogres die.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Bengali lemon cut to kill ogres
summary: A boy cuts the single lemon containing the lives of all ogres in Ceylon,
and the ogres die.
figure_refs:
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Ravana's soul-box retrieved
summary: Ravana stores his soul in a box with Fire-eye and is unwounded in battle;
Rama's ally takes the box by disguise, squeezes it, and Ravana dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Plant life-tokens of absent princes
summary: 'Two tales describe plants left behind by princes: a tree whose state shows
the prince''s condition and a barley plant that snaps when its prince is beheaded.'
figure_refs:
- fig:16
- fig:17
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Gilgit fairy king's soul in snow
summary: A fairy king is described as having his soul in the snows and as being
killable only by fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:18
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: external life or soul hidden outside the body
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Multiple tales describe a being or group whose life or soul is in an animal,
object, plant, box, pillar, lemon, snow, or other external locus, so that injury
to that locus causes death or vulnerability.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: No exact supplied taxonomy family names the external-soul motif, so taxonomy_refs
are left empty.
- id: motif:2
label: secret vulnerability disclosed to a deceiver or captive
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The old ogress tells the disguised lad the location of several lives; another
old ogress tells a captive princess the secret of the ogres' two bees, which the
princess passes to the hero.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives only these examples of disclosure; broader narrative
context is not supplied.
- id: motif:3
label: life-token plant indicating absent person's fate
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A tree and a barley plant left behind by princes show the condition of the
absent owner, including danger or death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: These plant tokens are indicators of the person's state; the passage does
not state that destroying them would kill the prince.
- id: motif:4
label: invulnerability through soul removal and guarded soul-box
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ravana removes his soul from his body, leaves it with a hermit in a box,
and cannot be wounded until the box is recovered and squeezed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage labels the story Siamese or Cambodian and probably Indian-derived,
but gives only a brief summary.
- id: motif:5
label: dangerous blood of slain life-animals generating more monsters
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The old ogress says that if a drop of blood from the destroyed bees falls
to the ground, a thousand ogres will spring up from it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports the warning but does not describe the blood actually
falling or generating ogres.
- id: motif:6
label: opposed elements as soul location and means of death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Gilgit fairy king's soul is in the snows, while fire is the only stated
means by which he can perish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage provides only a single sentence for this legend.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Kashmir, Bengali, Siamese or Cambodian, Indian, and Gilgit examples in
this passage share a recurring pattern in which life or soul is lodged outside
the body and can be attacked through that external locus.
claim_level: same_motif
target: external life or external soul tale pattern across the cited examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage is a comparative collection of summaries and does not provide
full tale texts or independent source contexts.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage itself states that the Siamese or Cambodian Ravana story is probably
derived from India, supporting a cautious contact or transmission claim for that
example.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Siamese or Cambodian Ravana story and Indian narrative tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim rests on Frazer's wording in this passage; no additional
evidence for transmission is supplied here.
- id: claim:3
claim: The Bengali tree and Indian barley examples share the same function of marking
an absent prince's condition through the condition of a plant left at home.
claim_level: same_function
target: plant life-token tales of the Bengali prince and the Indian prince
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The plant objects function as status indicators in the summaries; the
passage does not assert that they are identical tale types.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6695-6709
quote_or_summary: 'Kashmir story: a lad pretending to be an ogress''s grandson learns
that seven cocks, a spinning-wheel, a pigeon, and a starling contain lives, then
kills or smashes them and the ogres and ogresses perish.'
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 6709-6716
quote_or_summary: 'Kashmir story: an ogre can die only if a particular palace verandah
pillar is broken; a prince breaks it, and the ogre suffers with each blow and
dies when it falls.'
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 6716-6725
quote_or_summary: 'Kashmir tale: an ogre''s life dwells in a queen bee in a honeycomb
on a tree; the hero crushes the queen bee and the ogre dies immediately.'
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 6725-6742
quote_or_summary: 'Bengali tales: an old ogress reveals that a tribe of ogres''
lives are in two bees on a crystal pillar in deep water; if bee-blood falls, a
thousand ogres arise; the princess tells the hero, who kills the bees and all
the ogres die.'
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 6742-6745
quote_or_summary: 'Bengali story: all ogres dwell in Ceylon and all their lives
are in a single lemon; a boy cuts the lemon in pieces and all the ogres die.'
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 6746-6759
quote_or_summary: 'Siamese or Cambodian story, said probably derived from India:
Ravana removes his soul into a box kept by Fire-eye; Rama''s arrows do not wound
him; Rama''s ally retrieves and squeezes the box, causing Ravana to die.'
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: quote
locator: lines 6759-6764
quote_or_summary: A Bengali prince plants a tree and says, “This tree is my life,”
explaining that green, fading, or fully faded states correspond to his wellbeing,
danger, or death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6764-6768
quote_or_summary: 'Indian tale: a prince leaves a barley plant to be tended and
watched; if it flourishes he is well, if it droops mischance is near; when he
is beheaded the barley plant snaps and the ear falls.'
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 6768-6769
quote_or_summary: 'Gilgit origin legend: a fairy king has his soul in the snows
and can perish only by fire.'
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: medium
notes: The passage is explicitly comparative and gives clear repeated external-life
examples. Some individual stories are brief summaries, limiting detail and historical
inference.
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 exact available taxonomy motif family corresponds to the external-soul/life-in-object pattern; available symbol refs were used only where literal forms matched tree, water, or fire.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l6695-l6769
passage_sha256=b451fcf6e03e5d9efe419392ad83a124e150eb818b64f2e32faebe9e8b0dfedb