Motif
External soul kept outside the body
external_soul_kept_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
1 traditions
comparative
-
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
The author says folk-tales such as the Norse story of 'The giant who had no heart in his body' furnish evidence for belief in an external soul and are widely diffused.
The passage repeatedly describes beings whose life or soul is stored in a distant object or animal rather than in the body.
read in the book → -
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 7544-7600 confidence: high
The totem is described as “the receptacle in which a man keeps his life,” compared with Punchkin's life in a parrot and Bidasari's soul in a golden fish.
The passage repeatedly describes life or soul kept outside the body, including in a totem, a parrot, a golden fish, and the Batta belief in an external soul whose death causes the owner’s death.
read in the book →