Motif
external soul hidden outside the body
external_soul_hidden_outside_the_body
A motif of the External Soul and Life-Token family, within the sub-family Souls, Life, or Strength Outside the Body. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
2 occurrences
2 traditions
celtic (1) · comparative (1)
celtic
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Popular Tales of the West Highlands, Volume 1 THE YOUNG KING OF EASAIDH RUADH. 5 / THE YOUNG KING OF EASAIDH RUADH. 7 / THE YOUNG KING OF EASAIDH RUADH. 9 / THE FOUNG KING OF EASAIDH RUADII. 11; lines 5627-5670 confidence: high
The giant says his soul is in an egg inside a duck, inside a wether, beneath a great flagstone under the threshold.
The giant says that his soul is in an egg outside his body, and his death follows when that egg is crushed.
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comparative
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The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6586-6652 confidence: high
Frazer says folk-tales such as the Norse story of 'The giant who had no heart in his body' furnish evidence for a primitive belief in an external soul; he states that such stories are widely diffused and will be compared with beliefs and practices concerning externalizing the soul.
The passage repeatedly describes beings whose soul, heart, life, or death is hidden elsewhere, so that destroying the external object or animal kills the being.
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