Motif
Invulnerability through externalized soul
invulnerability_through_externalized_soul
A motif of the External Soul and Life-Token family, within the sub-family External Life-Tokens, Invulnerability, and Decoys. 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) The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 7255-7309 confidence: high
A Nias chief is captured by enemies who fail to kill him: water does not drown him, fire does not burn him, and steel does not pierce him.
The chief cannot be killed by water, fire, or steel until the life-bearing hair is removed; Frazer also states that heroes in tales remove the soul before battle to make the body invulnerable and immortal in combat.
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