batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l9317-l9539
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l9317-l9539
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
/ NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539'
start: '9317'
end: '9539'
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: An index segment listing topics and page references in Frazer's comparative
study, including tree souls, corn-spirit personifications, first-fruits ceremonies,
sacred kings, scapegoats, expulsion rites, Demeter, Dionysus, Diana, Osiris, bonfires,
rain-charms, seclusion, and initiation-related entries.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage lists beliefs and rites involving souls or spirits associated
with trees, including tree souls, inhabited tree tops, oak worship, a tree goddess,
and a tree of Osiris.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage lists many entries for the corn-spirit, including its presentation
as grandmother, youthful figure, animal, representative person, stranger, or human
victim, and notes the death or pretended killing of the corn-spirit or its representative.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:3
text: The passage lists animal forms of the corn-spirit, including dog, cock, hare,
cat, goat, bull, calf, cow, mare, horse, pig, wolf, and ox.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage lists ceremonies at the eating of new crops, sacramental eating
of new crops, and first-fruits festivals among the Creek Indians.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The passage lists practices called carrying out Death, driving out Death,
burying Death, and the use of an effigy of Death.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The passage lists expulsion rites involving devils, diseases sent away in
boats, and animals or divine persons used as scapegoats.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The passage lists sacred or divine kings and priests whose condition is connected
with nature or crops and who are subject to burdensome restrictions, seclusion,
or punishment for crop failure.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The passage lists Demeter as corn mother, mentions festivals of Demeter, her
representation as a pig, the myth of Demeter and Proserpine, and possible prototypes
of Demeter.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The passage lists Dionysus with titles, myth, rites, animal form, association
with Demeter and Proserpine, and rites described as similar to those of Osiris.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The passage lists May-day customs and midsummer bonfires in several places,
including Cornwall, Corsica, Denmark, Dublin, and the Daedala festival.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The passage lists rain-charms and rain-making practices, including corn drenched
as a rain-charm.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Corn-spirit
description: An indexed agricultural spirit appearing as grandmother, youthful figure,
human representative, stranger, human victim, or animal, with entries for death
and pretended killing.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Demeter
description: A deity indexed as corn mother, associated with festivals, pig representation,
Proserpine, and possible prototypes.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dionysus
description: A deity indexed with myth, rites, animal form, association with Demeter
and Proserpine, and rites similar to those of Osiris.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Osiris
description: A deity indexed through the tree of Osiris at Denderah and as a comparator
for Dionysus’s rites.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Diana
description: A deity indexed with priesthood rules, festival ceremonies, the Arician
Grove, and as a tree goddess.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Divine kings and priests
description: Sacred rulers and priests indexed as connected with the dependence
of nature, crop failure, restrictions, seclusion, and possible cessation of government.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Death effigy or personified Death
description: Death is indexed as carried out, driven out, buried, and represented
by an effigy in the relevant customs.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Devils and diseases
description: Entities indexed as expelled or sent away, including devils represented
by men and diseases sent away in boats.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Scapegoat figures
description: Animals or divine persons indexed as scapegoats, including dog, cow,
and Divine Man.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Agricultural spirit or crop personification
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The corn-spirit is repeatedly indexed as a personified crop entity, and Demeter
is indexed as corn mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: Ritually killed or displaced representative
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The index includes death of the corn-spirit, pretended killing of the corn-spirit
or its representative, and representation by stranger or human victim.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: Sacral ruler bound to fertility and taboo
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The index links kings and priests with crop failure, dependence of nature,
burdensome observances, seclusion, and punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: Expelled harmful or death-associated figure
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The index lists carrying out or driving out Death, expulsion of devils, and
diseases sent away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: Scapegoat or transferred-burden bearer
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The index explicitly lists cow, dog, and Divine Man as scapegoats and identifies
Death as probably a divine scapegoat in one custom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: Named deity in comparative ritual discussion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The index includes named deities Demeter, Dionysus, Osiris, and Diana in
relation to rites, tree symbolism, or agricultural forms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Corn or new crop
literal_form: Corn, crops, first-fruits, and new crops
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: Animal embodiment
literal_form: Dog, cock, hare, cat, goat, bull, calf, cow, mare, horse, pig, wolf,
ox
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: Tree
literal_form: Tree souls, inhabited tree tops, oak worship, tree goddess, tree of
Osiris, mistletoe divining rods
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: Fire
literal_form: May-day fires and midsummer bonfires
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: Effigy
literal_form: Effigy of Death
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: Boat of removal
literal_form: Boats used to send diseases away
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: Water or drenching in rain-charm
literal_form: Corn drenched as a rain-charm; rain-making entries
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Corn-spirit embodied and killed or displaced
summary: The index points to customs in which the corn-spirit is personified, represented
by people or animals, bound in sheaves, and killed or pretended to be killed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: First-fruits and eating new crops
summary: The index points to rites for first-fruits and ceremonial or sacramental
eating of new crops.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Expelling Death, devils, and disease
summary: The index points to practices of carrying out or driving out Death, expelling
devils, representing devils by men, and sending diseases away in boats.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Sacred king under fertility burdens
summary: The index points to sacral rulers and priests whose conduct or condition
is treated as linked with nature, crops, restrictions, seclusion, and punishment
for crop failure.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Tree-associated divinity and soul belief
summary: The index points to tree souls, inhabited tree tops, oak worship, Diana
as tree goddess, the tree of Osiris, and mistletoe divining rods.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:6
label: Seasonal fire customs
summary: The index points to May-day customs and midsummer bonfires in multiple
European locations.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:7
label: Named deities compared through agricultural or animal rites
summary: The index links Demeter with corn mother and pig representation, Dionysus
with animal form and rites, and Dionysus’s rites with those of Osiris.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Crop spirit embodied in human or animal representative
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
- sacrifice
basis: The index lists the corn-spirit as anthropomorphic, theriomorphic, represented
by people or animals, and subject to death or pretended killing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is an index and does not narrate a single ritual sequence.
- id: motif:2
label: First-fruits and sacramental eating of new crops
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The index explicitly lists ceremonies at eating new crops, sacramental eating
of new crops, and first-fruits festivals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The details of the offerings or exchange are not given in this index segment.
- id: motif:3
label: Scapegoat expulsion of death, devils, or disease
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The index lists carrying out and driving out Death, Death as probably a divine
scapegoat, expulsion of devils, diseases sent away in boats, and animals or divine
persons used as scapegoats.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The index combines several examples and page references rather than one
continuous account.
- id: motif:4
label: Sacred king bound to fertility and taboo
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
- sacred_exchange
basis: The index links kings and priests with crop failure, dependence of nature
on the divine king, burdensome observances, seclusion, and punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: Specific rites or causal explanations are not fully supplied in the index
entry.
- id: motif:5
label: Tree inhabited by soul or linked with deity
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: The index lists tree souls, inhabited tree tops, oak worship, Diana as tree
goddess, the tree of Osiris, and mistletoe divining rods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy term includes axis symbolism, but the passage only directly
supports sacred or inhabited trees, not an explicit world-axis concept.
- id: motif:6
label: Seasonal bonfires and May customs
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The index lists May-day customs and midsummer bonfires across several locations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage names the customs but does not describe their ritual content.
- id: motif:7
label: Rain-making through sympathetic charm
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The index lists corn drenched as a rain-charm and several rain-making or
rain-charm entries.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The mechanism of the charm is not described in this index segment.
- id: motif:8
label: Deity or spirit in animal form
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The index lists corn-spirit animal forms, Demeter as a pig, and Dionysus
as an animal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: low
cautions: The passage supports theriomorphic representation or embodiment, but not
necessarily transformation or shapeshifting.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The index states that rites of Dionysus are similar to those of Osiris.
claim_level: same_function
target: Dionysus rites and Osiris rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The statement is an index entry only and gives no details of the similarity
in this passage.
- id: claim:2
claim: The index treats the corn mother as a prototype of Demeter and separately
lists possible prototypes of Demeter.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Corn mother and Demeter
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim reflects Frazer's indexed framing; the passage does not provide
the supporting argument.
- id: claim:3
claim: The index explicitly notes a parallelism between anthropomorphic and theriomorphic
conceptions of the corn-spirit.
claim_level: same_function
target: Human and animal embodiments of the corn-spirit
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The index does not describe the parallelism beyond naming it.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 9317-9539, entries on Congo, Curka Coles, Druids, Diana, Denderah,
divining rods
quote_or_summary: Entries mention belief in souls of trees, tree tops inhabited,
oak-worship, Diana as a tree goddess, the tree of Osiris at Denderah, and divining
rods made from mistletoe.
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 9317-9539, entries on Corn mother and Corn spirit
quote_or_summary: Entries list the corn-spirit as grandmother or youthful, its death,
binding persons in sheaves as representatives, pretended killing of the corn-spirit
or its representative, representation by a stranger, and representation by a human
victim.
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 9317-9539, entries on Corn spirit and animal forms
quote_or_summary: Entries list the corn-spirit as dog, cock, hare, cat, goat, bull,
calf, cow, mare, horse, pig, wolf, and ox, and note parallelism between anthropomorphic
and theriomorphic conceptions.
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 9317-9539, entries on Creek Indians and Crops
quote_or_summary: Entries mention a festival of first-fruits among the Creek Indians,
ceremonies at the eating of new crops, and sacramental eating of new crops.
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 9317-9539, entry on Death
quote_or_summary: Entries mention carrying out Death, driving out Death, Death probably
as a divine scapegoat in that custom, ceremonies at burying Death, and an effigy
of Death.
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 9317-9539, entries on Devils, Diseases, Dog, Cow, Divine Man
quote_or_summary: Entries mention expulsion of devils, devils represented by men
and expelled, diseases sent away in boats, dog and cow as scapegoats, and Divine
Man as scapegoat.
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 9317-9539, entries on Crops, Divine king, Divine kings and priests,
Corea, Dahomey, Darfur
quote_or_summary: Entries mention kings and priests punished for crop failure, dependence
of nature on the divine king, divine kings cared for or ceasing to govern, burdensome
observances placed on divine kings and priests, seclusion of divine persons, and
taboos around royal bodies or eating.
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 9317-9539, entries on Demeter and Corn mother
quote_or_summary: Entries mention Demeter as corn mother, festivals of Demeter,
Demeter as a pig, the Phigalian Demeter, Demeter and Proserpine, probable origin
of Demeter, prototypes of Demeter, and the corn mother as a prototype of Demeter.
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 9317-9539, entry on Dionysus
quote_or_summary: Entries mention Dionysus’s marriage, titles, myth, rites, rites
similar to those of Osiris, Dionysus as an animal, and association with Demeter
and Proserpine.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 9317-9539, entries on Cornwall, Corsica, Denmark, Dublin, Daedala
quote_or_summary: Entries mention May-day customs and midsummer bonfires in several
locations, along with the Daedala festival.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 9317-9539, entries on Corn, Crannon, Dards, Devonshire, Dieyerie
quote_or_summary: Entries mention corn drenched as a rain-charm and several rain-charms
or rain-making practices.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is an index rather than a continuous primary narrative. Extraction
is limited to named entries and relationships explicitly present in the index
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: |-
No external sources were used. Taxonomy references were applied only where supported by the supplied passage and available taxonomy list.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l9317-l9539
passage_sha256=6ca477aa129083a64faa9f97214c157b2695897705f574550705f77dc7e2faf1