batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l7176-l7253
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l7176-l7253
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 7176-7253'
start: '7176'
end: '7253'
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 Mongolian, Tartar, and Malay narratives in which a person's
soul is located outside the body, often in an animal, insect, weapon, box, or
nested container. The external soul can be captured, injured, removed from water,
restored to water, or destroyed, causing loss of consciousness, revival, or death
in the person whose soul it is.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The lama Tschoridong sends out his soul as a wasp to sting Joro's eyes; Joro
captures the wasp and makes the lama alternately lose and recover consciousness
by opening and closing his hand.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: An old witch remains alive after her body is cut open; when her soul is identified
as a seven-headed speckled snake in her shoe-sole, the snake's heads are cut off
and the witch dies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Swan-woman's soul is not in her body but in seven little birds inside
a golden casket, which is inside a black chest at the foot of a copper rock near
nine seas.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The piebald and black horses know where the Swan-woman's soul is; the piebald
horse changes into a bald-headed man and cuts off the birds' heads, after which
the Swan-woman dies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Tash Kan says his soul is a particular quail among seven quails hidden through
a sequence involving seven poplars, a golden well, seven Maralen, and nested golden
and silver boxes.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A hero wrings the necks of the quails associated with Tash Kan's soul; after
the final quail's neck is wrung, Tash Kan drops dead.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A pursuing hero is warned that his sister has carried away his soul in a golden
sword and a golden arrow, which she can use to kill him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: A merchant transfers Bidasari's soul into a golden fish, places the fish in
a golden box full of water, and hides the box in a pond in his garden.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Bidasari cannot die under torture because her soul is not in her body.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: When Bidasari's soul-fish is taken out of water, she falls unconscious; when
it is returned to water, she revives.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Joro
description: Hero in a Mongolian story who captures the wasp containing the lama's
soul.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Tschoridong
description: A lama and enchanter whose soul is sent out in the form of a wasp.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Old witch
description: A witch in a Tartar poem whose soul is in a seven-headed speckled snake
in her shoe-sole.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Two youths
description: Youths who cut open the witch and one of whom destroys the snake containing
her soul.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Kartaga
description: Hero in a Tartar poem who wrestles with the Swan-woman for a long time.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Swan-woman
description: Female figure whose soul is in seven birds hidden in a golden casket.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Piebald horse
description: Horse that helps locate the Swan-woman's soul, turns into a bald-headed
man, opens the casket, and kills the birds.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Black horse
description: Horse that knows the Swan-woman's soul is not in her and runs with
the piebald horse to the copper rock.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Tash Kan
description: Chief whose soul is a special quail hidden in nested containers and
animals.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Hero opposed to Tash Kan
description: Hero who gets possession of the quails and kills the quail that is
Tash Kan's soul.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Pursuing hero
description: Hero pursuing his sister after she has driven away his cattle.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Hero's sister
description: Sister who has carried away the hero's soul in a golden sword and a
golden arrow.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Merchant of Indrapoera
description: Rich merchant who adopts Bidasari and transfers her soul into a golden
fish.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Merchant's wife
description: Wife of the merchant who helps adopt the baby girl Bidasari.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Bidasari
description: Adopted girl whose soul is in a golden fish and whose consciousness
changes with the fish's condition.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Queen of Indrapoera
description: Young queen who fears Bidasari as a possible rival, tortures her, and
controls the fish containing her soul.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: King of Indrapoera
description: King who finds Bidasari unconscious, learns her secret, restores the
fish to water, and marries her.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: heroic actor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:11
basis: These figures are explicitly called heroes or perform the decisive action
against the external soul-holder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: antagonist or threatening figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:12
- fig:16
basis: These figures attack, threaten, pursue hostile action, or persecute another
figure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: external-soul bearer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:15
basis: The passage states that each figure's soul is located outside the body in
an animal, insect, weapon, or container-mediated form.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: animal helper with knowledge of hidden soul
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The horses know that the Swan-woman's soul is not in her and go to retrieve
the casket containing it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: shapeshifting helper
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The piebald horse turns himself into a bald-headed man before opening the
casket and killing the birds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: adoptive parent
assigned_to:
- fig:13
- fig:14
basis: The merchant and his wife find and adopt Bidasari.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: controller of external soul-object
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: The queen removes the golden fish from water, wears it around her neck, and
thereby causes Bidasari's swoon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: rescuer-restorer
assigned_to:
- fig:17
basis: The king takes the fish from the queen, puts it in water, and Bidasari revives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: wasp-soul
literal_form: Wasp containing the lama's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: seven-headed speckled snake-soul
literal_form: Seven-headed speckled snake hidden in a shoe-sole
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: shoe-sole hiding place
literal_form: Middle of the witch's shoe-sole
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: copper rock
literal_form: Rock of copper rising between heaven and earth at the mouth of nine
seas
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: nested chest and casket
literal_form: Black chest containing a golden casket
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: seven birds-soul
literal_form: Seven little birds that are the Swan-woman's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: seven poplars and golden well
literal_form: Seven great poplars with a golden well beneath them
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: nested animal and boxes
literal_form: A Maral containing a golden box, which contains a silver box, which
contains seven quails
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:9
label: special quail-soul
literal_form: Quail with golden head and silver tail identified as Tash Kan's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:10
label: golden sword and golden arrow
literal_form: Weapons carrying the pursuing hero's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:11
label: golden fish-soul
literal_form: Golden fish into which Bidasari's soul is transferred
associated_figures:
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:12
label: golden box of water
literal_form: Golden box full of water containing the golden fish
associated_figures:
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:13
label: garden pond
literal_form: Pond in the merchant's garden where the box holding Bidasari's soul-fish
is hidden
associated_figures:
- fig:13
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Joro captures the lama's wasp-soul
summary: The lama sends his soul as a wasp to attack Joro, but Joro captures it
and controls the lama's consciousness by opening and closing his hand.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: The witch's snake-soul is destroyed
summary: The witch survives bodily mutilation until the youths find the seven-headed
snake in her shoe-sole and cut off its heads, causing her death.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: The Swan-woman's birds are found and killed
summary: During Kartaga's prolonged struggle with the Swan-woman, the horses retrieve
the casket containing her soul-birds; the piebald horse changes form and kills
the birds, after which she dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Tash Kan's quail-soul is killed
summary: Tash Kan describes a nested hiding place for his soul-quail; the hero obtains
the quails and kills them, and Tash Kan dies when the final soul-quail is killed.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: The sister carries away the hero's soul in weapons
summary: A hero pursuing his sister is warned that she has taken his soul in a golden
sword and arrow and can kill him with them.
figure_refs:
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Bidasari's soul is placed in a golden fish
summary: A childless merchant and his wife adopt Bidasari; the merchant makes a
golden fish, transfers Bidasari's soul into it, places it in a water-filled golden
box, and hides it in a pond.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
- sym:12
- sym:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: The queen controls Bidasari through the fish
summary: The queen tortures Bidasari but cannot kill her because her soul is elsewhere;
after learning the secret, the queen removes the fish from water, making Bidasari
unconscious, and restores it to water in the evening, reviving her.
figure_refs:
- fig:15
- fig:16
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: The king restores Bidasari and marries her
summary: The king finds Bidasari unconscious, later learns her life-secret, takes
the fish from the queen, puts it in water, and Bidasari revives; he then takes
her as wife.
figure_refs:
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:17
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: External soul located outside the body
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Multiple narratives state that a figure's soul is in a wasp, snake, birds,
quail, weapons, or fish rather than in the body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a comparative scholarly summary rather than a full primary
narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: Life or consciousness controlled by handling an external soul-object
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Joro controls the lama's consciousness by holding the wasp; the queen controls
Bidasari's unconsciousness and revival by taking the fish out of water and returning
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The precise mechanism differs between examples.
- id: motif:3
label: Death by destruction of an external animal-soul
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The witch dies when the snake's heads are cut off; the Swan-woman dies when
the seven birds are killed; Tash Kan dies when the soul-quail is killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The animal forms and hiding places vary.
- id: motif:4
label: Nested concealment of a soul in remote containers
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Swan-woman's soul is hidden through the sequence of copper rock, black
chest, golden casket, and birds; Tash Kan's soul is hidden through poplars, well,
Maral, boxes, and quails.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: Only two examples in the passage emphasize extended nesting.
- id: motif:5
label: Serpent as soul-container
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
basis: The witch's soul is specifically a seven-headed speckled snake hidden in
her shoe-sole.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a single example in the passage.
- id: motif:6
label: Shapeshifting helper
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The piebald horse turns into a bald-headed man before destroying the Swan-woman's
soul-birds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The shapeshifting action is incidental to the external-soul episode.
- id: motif:7
label: Water-dependent soul-fish and revival
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: Bidasari becomes unconscious when the fish containing her soul is removed
from water and revives when it is returned to water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes swoon and revival, not a completed death and resurrection.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Mongolian, Tartar, and Malay examples in the passage share the same broad
motif of a separable or external soul whose treatment affects the life or consciousness
of its owner.
claim_level: same_motif
target: External soul pattern across the passage's Mongolian, Tartar, and Malay
examples
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage provides Frazer's summaries, not the full underlying tales;
no claim of historical contact is made.
- id: claim:2
claim: Several Tartar examples in the passage use a shared functional pattern in
which the soul is hidden in a small living creature, and killing that creature
causes the owner's death.
claim_level: same_function
target: Tartar witch, Swan-woman, and Tash Kan episodes
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The particular creatures and concealment structures differ.
- id: claim:3
claim: The Bidasari episode has the same external-soul function as the earlier examples,
but emphasizes reversible unconsciousness and revival through the fish's relation
to water rather than immediate destruction of the soul-object.
claim_level: same_function
target: Bidasari compared with earlier external-soul episodes in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Bidasari episode uses preservation and restoration of the fish
rather than killing it.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7176-7182
quote_or_summary: In a Mongolian story, Joro captures the wasp-form soul sent by
the enchanter-lama Tschoridong and controls the lama's consciousness by opening
and shutting his hand.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7182-7189
quote_or_summary: In a Tartar poem, an old witch survives disembowelment until her
soul, a seven-headed speckled snake in her shoe-sole, is removed and beheaded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7189-7206
quote_or_summary: In another Tartar poem, the Swan-woman's soul is seven little
birds inside a golden casket in a black chest at the foot of a copper rock; helper
horses retrieve it, the piebald horse changes into a man and beheads the birds,
and the Swan-woman dies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7206-7218
quote_or_summary: In a Tartar story, Tash Kan's soul is a quail hidden within a
sequence of poplars, a well, Maralen, and nested boxes; when the hero wrings the
quail's neck, Tash Kan drops dead.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 7218-7223
quote_or_summary: In another Tartar poem, a hero is warned that his sister has carried
away his soul in a golden sword and a golden arrow and can kill him with them
if he pursues her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 7224-7233
quote_or_summary: In a Malay poem, a childless merchant and wife adopt Bidasari;
the merchant transfers her soul into a golden fish, puts it in a water-filled
golden box, and hides it in a garden pond.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 7233-7247
quote_or_summary: The queen tortures Bidasari but she cannot die because her soul
is not in her; Bidasari reveals the fish, and when the queen removes it from water
Bidasari swoons, while returning it to water revives her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 7247-7253
quote_or_summary: The king finds Bidasari unconscious, learns her secret, takes
the fish from the queen, puts it in water, and Bidasari revives; he then takes
her as wife.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage explicitly presents a sequence of external-soul examples, making
extraction of the pattern strong. Comparison claims are limited to patterns supported
by the passage's own juxtaposition and summaries.
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 historical-contact or common-inheritance claim is made; all comparisons are restricted to motif/function similarity within the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l7176-l7253
passage_sha256=1ecf053727d50d211d598895e3a2bb2898a1fd386b0bf0555de281b958314d74