Motif
Animal-human boundary ambiguity
animal_human_boundary_ambiguity
A motif of the Shapeshifter and Transformation family, within the sub-family Animal Forms, Hybrids, and Boundaries. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
comparative
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The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12961-13082 confidence: medium
A Bushman reportedly did not distinguish man from brute and imagined a buffalo might shoot with bows and arrows; Alaskan islanders reportedly took Russians for cuttle-fish because of clothing buttons.
The passage gives examples where humans and animals are not sharply distinguished: a buffalo might use weapons, and foreign humans are mistaken for cuttle-fish.
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