Motif
Sacred contagion as dangerous force
sacred_contagion_as_dangerous_force
A motif of the Sacred Law and Social Order family, within the sub-family Purification and Pollution. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
2 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 1374-1420 confidence: high
After touching a pig, a man had to wash himself and his clothes; the passage says contact with sacred objects is commonly believed to require removal before mingling with others.
The passage explicitly frames sacred contact as something that must be removed and describes sacredness as dangerous, shocking, or killing by contact.
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 1374-1420 confidence: high
Polynesians are said to have ceremonies for removing the sacred contagion acquired by touching sacred objects.
The passage explicitly describes sacred contact as a contagion or dangerous sanctity that can communicate harm by contact.
read in the book →