batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l688-l772
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l688-l772
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 688-772'
start: '688'
end: '772'
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: The passage surveys European harvest customs in which the last sheaf, last
cutter, or last thresher is associated with a Mare, Horse, Boar, Sow, or Pig.
It describes mock sending of the Mare between farms, horse-related harvest rites
around first and last sheaves, and pig-related rites involving ridicule, straw
objects, rough handling, pig-shaped dumplings, and village processions.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A call-and-response asks whose the Mare is and where she should be sent, naming
a farmer whose harvest is finished and then one whose harvest is not finished.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer who finishes harvest last cannot send the Mare onward and is said
to keep her all winter.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: At Longnor, the head man of the farmer who finished harvest first was mounted
on the best horse and led in triumph to neighboring farmhouses, with horse and
man decorated.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Near Lille, a weary harvester is said to have the fatigue of the Horse, and
the first sheaf is called the Cross of the Horse.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Near Lille, reapers dance around the last blades of corn, call them the remains
of the Horse, and give the sheaf from them to the youngest horse of the parish
to eat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: In Berry, a noon-day sleep in the harvest field is called seeing the Horse;
if the leader delays the signal, harvesters neigh like horses before sleeping.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage introduces the pig, boar, or sow as another animal embodiment
associated with the corn-spirit.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: In several local customs, the person who cuts the last stalk or gives the
last stroke at threshing is said to get, have, or be the Sow.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: In Swabia, a man associated with the Sow may try to pass on a straw-rope badge
to a neighbor; if caught, he is beaten, shut in a pig-sty, and forced to take
the Sow back.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: In parts of Upper Bavaria, the person who gives the last threshing stroke
carries a Pig, either a straw pig effigy or a bundle of straw-ropes, to a neighboring
farm where threshing is unfinished.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Upper Bavarian customs described in the passage include pig-shaped dumplings,
cries used in calling pigs, blackening the carrier's face, wheeling him around
the village, and sometimes throwing him on a dunghill.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Mare or Horse
description: A horse-form harvest figure associated with the completed or unfinished
harvest, the first and last sheaves, the last blades of corn, and horse-like actions
or speech.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Farmer who finishes harvest last
description: The farmer who cannot send the Mare to anyone else and is said to keep
her all winter.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Head man of the first-finishing farmer
description: At Longnor, the man mounted on the best team horse and led to neighboring
farms with decorations.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Youngest horse of the parish or farm
description: The horse that treads on the first sheaf in the barn and, in the parish
custom, eats the sheaf made from the last blades.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Pig, Boar, Sow, or Rye-boar
description: A pig-form harvest figure associated with wind in young corn, the last
sheaf, the last stalk, the last stroke at threshing, straw objects, and pig-shaped
food.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Person who cuts or threshes last
description: The cutter of the last stalk or thresher who gives the last stroke
and is said to get, have, or be the Sow or Pig.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Neighboring farmers, reapers, threshers, or household inmates
description: People at neighboring farms or houses who receive, chase, rough-handle,
or respond to the bearer of the Mare, Sow, or Pig.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: animal harvest embodiment
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:5
basis: The passage explicitly frames the horse and pig forms as animal embodiments
or forms of the corn-spirit in harvest customs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: last-holder of harvest burden
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:6
basis: The last farmer, cutter, or thresher is assigned the Mare, Sow, or Pig and
may be mocked or burdened with it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: processional bearer of the Mare
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Longnor head man rides the decorated leading horse to neighboring farmhouses
as the Mare is sent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: recipient of sheaf
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The youngest horse treads on the first sheaf and eats the sheaf made from
the last blades.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: ritual responders or pursuers
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Neighbors and threshers accept, chase, beat, dirty, or otherwise respond
to the person bringing the Mare, Sow, or Pig.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Mare or Horse
literal_form: Horse-form name, decorated horse, neighing, and horse-associated sheaves
in harvest rites.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: last sheaf or last blades of corn
literal_form: The final cut corn, called the remains of the Horse in one custom
and associated with the old corn-spirit's last refuge in the passage's explanation.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Pig, Boar, Sow, or Rye-boar
literal_form: Pig-form name, straw pig effigy, straw-rope bundle, and pig-shaped
dumplings in harvest and threshing customs.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: straw-rope badge
literal_form: A straw-rope used as the badge of the person called Sow and thrown
into a neighbor's house to pass on the designation.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: pig-shaped dumplings
literal_form: Dumplings made in the form of pigs, including a large sow and small
sucking-pigs in some versions.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Mock sending of the Mare
summary: Harvesters ask whose the Mare is and where she should be sent, naming a
farmer with a finished harvest and then a farmer whose harvest is unfinished;
the last farmer is said to keep her all winter.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Longnor decorated Mare procession
summary: A decorated man rides the best team horse, also decorated, and is led by
a boy to neighboring farmhouses, where he may receive ale and rough but good-humored
treatment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Lille Horse sheaf rites
summary: Horse terminology is applied to weariness, the first sheaf, and the last
blades of corn; the youngest horse treads on the first sheaf and eats the sheaf
made from the last blades.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Berry seeing the Horse
summary: Harvesters' noon-day sleep is called seeing the Horse; delayed permission
to sleep is met by neighing that spreads among the workers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Getting or having the Sow
summary: In several customs, the person who cuts the last stalk or gives the last
threshing stroke is called Sow or said to have the Sow, and may be laughed at,
bound, or dragged.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Carrying the Pig to another farm
summary: A person carrying a straw pig effigy or straw-ropes brings it to an unfinished
threshing site; if caught, the person is beaten, dirtied, or otherwise humiliated,
and later may receive pig-shaped dumplings or be paraded with pig-calling cries.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: animal embodiment of the corn-spirit at harvest end
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage repeatedly associates the end of harvest or threshing with animal
forms, especially Horse/Mare and Pig/Sow, and explicitly calls them animal embodiments
or forms of the corn-spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is a comparative scholarly
synthesis rather than a single traditional narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: last sheaf as temporary seat of harvest power
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The last blades or last sheaf are named as the remains of the Horse, eaten
by the youngest horse, and described as the final refuge of the old corn-spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The explanation relies partly on Frazer's and Mannhardt's interpretive
framing.
- id: motif:3
label: ritual transfer of harvest burden to a neighbor
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The Mare, Sow, or Pig may be sent or carried to a neighboring farm or house
where work is unfinished, and the bearer may be chased or forced to take it back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: Local forms differ; the passage groups them comparatively.
- id: motif:4
label: mock punishment of the last cutter or thresher
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The person who cuts or threshes last is mocked, named as Sow or Pig, bound,
dragged, beaten, dirtied, shut in a pig-sty, paraded, or thrown on a dunghill
in different customs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes custom reports, not a single rite with a uniform
sequence.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The horse-related harvest customs described from different regions share
a pattern in which horse terminology, horse behavior, or an actual horse is linked
to harvest completion and the last sheaf.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Horse or Mare harvest-spirit customs in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage reports varied local practices; not all include an actual
horse or the last sheaf.
- id: claim:2
claim: The pig-related customs from Thüringen, Oesel, Swabia, and Upper Bavaria
share a function of marking the last sheaf, last stalk, or last threshing stroke
with a Pig, Boar, Sow, or Rye-boar designation.
claim_level: same_function
target: Pig/Sow harvest and threshing customs in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The specific actions and punishments differ by locality.
- id: claim:3
claim: The horse and pig examples are presented as parallel animal embodiments of
the corn-spirit connected to the close of harvest or threshing.
claim_level: same_function
target: Animal embodiments of the corn-spirit in harvest-finality rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This comparison is made within Frazer's comparative framework and should
be reviewed against the cited ethnographic sources.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 688-704
quote_or_summary: Dialogue assigns the Mare from a farmer whose harvest is finished
to one whose harvest is unfinished; the farmer finishing last is said to keep
her all winter, with mock offers and acceptances of help.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 704-714
quote_or_summary: At Longnor, the head man of the first-finishing farmer rode the
best decorated team horse, led by a boy to neighboring farmhouses, and sometimes
returned after ale and rough good-humored treatment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 714-730
quote_or_summary: Near Lille, horse-form corn-spirit ideas appear in phrases about
harvest fatigue, the Cross of the Horse first sheaf, dancing around the last blades,
giving the last-blades sheaf to the youngest horse, and calling the last-sheaf
thresher one who beats the Horse.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 730-737
quote_or_summary: In Berry, harvesters' noon sleep is called seeing the Horse; if
the harvest leader delays the signal, harvesters neigh like horses before going
to sleep.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 738-752
quote_or_summary: The passage identifies the pig, boar, or sow as another animal
embodiment; examples include the Boar rushing through corn, the Esthonian Rye-boar
last sheaf, and several customs where the last cutter or thresher gets or has
the Sow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 752-760
quote_or_summary: In Swabia, the last flail-stroke giver is called Sow and may try
to pass the straw-rope badge to a neighbor; if caught, he is beaten, shut in a
pig-sty, and forced to take it back.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 760-772
quote_or_summary: In parts of Upper Bavaria, the last thresher must carry a straw
Pig or straw-ropes to an unfinished farm; if caught he is roughly handled, and
later customs include pig-shaped dumplings, pig-calling cries, face blackening,
village procession, and sometimes being thrown on a dunghill.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage explicitly describes repeated
customs. Motif and comparison fields are moderated because the source is Frazer's
comparative interpretation of reported practices.
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. Available taxonomy contains no direct animal-symbol refs, so animal symbols have empty taxonomy_refs.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l688-l772
passage_sha256=104ef8311d6e8e4522e2dcde3ce5a53f12b56b62f42a19d3d4b4640050090467