Seasonal Cycle

comparative

• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 2887-2971 confidence: high

  Chitomé or Chitombé in Congo is regarded as a god on earth and all-powerful in heaven; he receives first-fruits, is protected by continence rules, and his natural death is believed to destroy the world and earth.

  People offer Chitomé first-fruits before tasting new crops, fearing misfortune if they break the rule.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 2887-2971 confidence: medium

  Chitomé or Chitombé of Congo is regarded as a god on earth and all-powerful in heaven; receives first-fruits; married people must observe continence during his travels; his natural death is thought to entail the world’s destruction and earth’s annihilation.

  Chitomé receives first-fruits before people taste the new crops, with misfortune feared if the rule is broken.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 4039-4102 confidence: medium

  Among the Alfoers of Celebes, the Leleen priest is associated with making rice grow; from before sowing until after the crop is housed, he observes taboos including not eating or drinking with others and drinking only from his own vessel.

  The Leleen priest's duties begin before rice sowing and end after the crop is housed, and during this period he observes taboos.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 4039-4102 confidence: medium

  Among the Alfoers of Celebes, the Leleen is a priest connected with making rice grow; during his term he may not eat or drink with others and may drink only from his own vessel.

  The Leleen’s duties begin before rice sowing and end after the crop is housed, during which time he observes taboos on eating, drinking, and vessels.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: high

  After the autumnal equinox Egyptians celebrated the 'nativity of the sun's walking-sticks' because the declining sun's heat and light diminished and it was supposed to need a staff.

  The Egyptian celebration after the autumnal equinox marks the sun's decline and diminished heat and light by imagining it needs walking-sticks.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: high

  A Greek scholion identifies Adonis with sown grain spending six months in earth and six months with Aphrodite; Jerome connects Adonis' killing and resurrection with seeds dying and crops reborn.

  Cited interpretations identify Adonis with sown grain and connect his killing and resurrection with seeds dying in earth and crops being reborn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: medium

  Authorities are cited for the Gardens of Adonis; several mention women only as planting them, while Diogenianus' wording allows male or female planters.

  The passage cites authorities for people, especially women, planting Gardens of Adonis.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: medium

  In hot southern countries such as Egypt and Semitic Western Asia, where vegetation depends on irrigation, the charm's purpose is said to be securing a plentiful flow of water in streams.

  The note states that in irrigation-dependent regions the charm's purpose is to secure plentiful water in streams for vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: high

  Cited interpretations identify Adonis with sown grain, describe six months in earth and six with Aphrodite, and interpret Adonis’s death and resurrection through seeds dying in earth and crops being reborn.

  The passage cites interpretations of Adonis’s killing and resurrection as corresponding to seeds dying in earth and crops growing again.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: high

  Cited interpretations identify Adonis with sown grain, describe six months in earth and six with Aphrodite, and interpret Adonis’s death and resurrection through seeds dying in earth and crops being reborn.

  A cited interpretation says Adonis, identified with sown grain, spends six months in the earth and six months with Aphrodite.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: medium

  Authorities are cited for the planting of gardens of Adonis; women only are mentioned by some sources, while another reference allows male or female planters.

  The passage cites the planting of gardens of Adonis and connects charms in hot countries with securing water for vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: medium

  After the autumnal equinox, Egyptians celebrated the nativity of the sun’s walking-sticks because the declining sun was imagined to need a staff for support.

  The passage describes an Egyptian celebration after the autumnal equinox in which the weakening sun is imagined as needing walking-sticks.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11730-11849 confidence: low

  A note on Sardinian custom says pots are kept in a dark warm place and children leap across the fire.

  A cited Sardinian note says children leap across the fire in connection with pots kept in a dark warm place.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11851-11982 confidence: high

  Firmicus says the Phrygians annually consecrated their queen’s love with mourning, claimed that one recently buried had revived, and explained Attis’ death and life through stored and annually renewed seeds.

  Firmicus is quoted as explaining death through collected and stored seeds and life through seeds cast and renewed in annual cycles.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11851-11982 confidence: high

  The Hilaria, resurrection, annual mourning, a claim that the buried figure revived, seed-cycle explanation, idol brought from burial, rejoicing, salvation from Hades, and a saved-god formula are cited and compared.

  The cited explanation equates death with collected or stored seeds and life with seeds sown or reborn annually.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11984-12134 confidence: high

  Firmicus Maternus is cited for an interpretation in which Osiris is seeds or crops, Isis earth, and Typhon heat; Eusebius is cited for Osiris as fertile power disappearing into earth in sowing and being consumed as food.

  Cited interpretations identify Osiris with seeds, crops, or fertile power and describe death and finding through storage, sowing, and renewed annual crop generation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11984-12134 confidence: high

  Firmicus reports an explanation in which Osiris is grain seeds, Isis earth, and Typhon heat; crop storage is called Osiris's death and renewed annual generation from earth his finding.

  The agricultural explanations identify Osiris with grain seeds or fruitful power; crop storage is called his death and renewed growth from the earth his finding.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12136-12265 confidence: medium

  The author says he takes Osiris to have been a vegetation god and points to popular beliefs connecting vegetation growth with phases of the moon.

  The author identifies Osiris as a vegetation god and relates his lunar associations to popular beliefs about plant growth and the phases of the moon.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12136-12265 confidence: high

  The author states that he takes Osiris to have been a god of vegetation and refers to a commonly believed intimate relation between vegetation growth and moon phases, citing ancient writers on agriculture.

  The author notes a commonly believed intimate relation between vegetation growth and the phases of the moon, after identifying Osiris as a vegetation god.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12267-12411 confidence: medium

  The festivals of Dionysus are described as biennial in many places; the note adds that they were probably formerly annual and that some Dionysian festivals were annual.

  The passage describes Dionysian festivals as biennial in many places, possibly formerly annual, and sometimes annual.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12267-12411 confidence: medium

  The note says Dionysus' festivals were biennial in many places, probably formerly annual in some cases, and that some Dionysian festivals were annual.

  Dionysian festivals are described as biennial or annual, a spring kid is mentioned, and the passage notes Mediterranean harvest timing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: high

  "Amongst the Wends the last sheaf, made into a puppet and called the Old Man, is hung in the hall till next year’s Old Man is brought in."

  The passage gives examples of a last sheaf made as the Old Man and kept until the next year's equivalent, and a Maiden kept until the next harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: medium

  Plutarch is cited for a Cyprian sacrifice in which one of the young men lay down and spoke and acted like women in childbirth.

  The Cyprian Ariadne note describes childbirth imitation, and the Minnitaree example explicitly describes a woman pretending to bring maize from her stomach to secure next year's crop.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: medium

  The note says Proserpine's annual descent in Greece appears at the Great Eleusinian Mysteries and Thesmophoria around autumn sowing, while in Sicily it seems to have been celebrated when corn was fully ripe in summer.

  The passage links Proserpine's annual descent with autumn sowing in Greece and with ripe corn in Sicily.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: medium

  "In some places it was customary to kneel down before the last sheaf, in others to kiss it."

  The passage notes kneeling before or kissing the last sheaf and also describes competition for the honor of cutting it.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: low

  Diodorus is cited for people at harvest placing the first cut ears of corn and beating themselves near the sheaf.

  The passage cites a custom of beating oneself near the first cut ears or sheaf and references ancient laments or songs associated with Linus, Bormos, and Lityerses.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: high

  Among the Wends the last sheaf is made into a puppet called the Old Man and hung in the hall until the next year’s Old Man is brought in; in Inverness and Sutherland the Maiden is kept until the next harvest.

  The last sheaf is personified as the Old Man or Maiden and preserved until the next agricultural cycle.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: medium

  A Cyprian worship of Ariadne may have involved a ceremony in which a young man lay down and imitated women in labour; the author notes Ariadne has been regarded as a vegetation goddess or spirit and cautions that the ceremony may have been vintage rather than harvest-related.

  The Ariadne ceremony includes imitation of childbirth, and the Minnitaree ceremony includes producing a maize stalk from the body to secure next year’s crop.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: high

  Proserpine’s annual descent is said to have occurred in Greece around autumn sowing at the Eleusinian Mysteries and Thesmophoria, while in Sicily it seems to have been celebrated when corn was fully ripe.

  Proserpine’s annual descent is tied to autumn sowing in Greece and the time when corn is ripe in Sicily.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: medium

  In some places people knelt before the last sheaf; in others they kissed it.

  The last sheaf is knelt before or kissed; first harvested ears are associated with self-beating near a sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12628-12766 confidence: low

  The story of Lityerses is cited from Sositheus and other sources, and Photius is noted as mentioning the sickle.

  The Lityerses story is cited in the harvest-comparative apparatus, and one source is noted as mentioning the sickle.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12768-12923 confidence: high

  Frazer notes that a little crop is sometimes left on the field for the spirit under various names: the Old Rye-woman, the Corn-mother, and the Little Wood-woman; examples include first ears thrown away for abundance and after-grass left in return for blessing.

  Multiple examples describe leaving, throwing away, or giving part of the crop to named beings, with stated aims of satisfying the Corn-mother, repaying blessing, or seeking kindness in the next year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12768-12923 confidence: medium

  In Russia, an unreaped patch is left and the ears are knotted together, called the plaiting of the beard of Volos; the patch is tabooed, and meddling with it is believed to make a person shrivel and twist like the ears.

  In Russia, unreaped corn is knotted and called the beard of Volos, and the patch is tabooed with danger attached to meddling with it.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12768-12923 confidence: high

  In a village of the Tilsit district, the last sheaf was left standing in the field for the Old Rye-woman.

  Multiple cited customs reserve a portion of the crop for named beings, sometimes explicitly in return for blessing or to secure kindness and abundance in the next year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12925-13120 confidence: low

  Frazer says he does not know when corn is reaped in Phrygia, but infers from its high upland character that harvest is probably later there than on Mediterranean coasts.

  The passage discusses harvest timing in Phrygia and month correspondences involving Lous, Ab, and Tammuz.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12925-13120 confidence: medium

  The author says he does not know when corn is reaped in Phrygia, but thinks harvest is probably later there than on Mediterranean coasts.

  The passage includes notes on Phrygian corn harvest timing and on the calendar correspondence of Lous and Tammuz.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 9057-9218 confidence: low

  The note says an Arician festival date of 13 August has been inferred from Martial, but the inference is not conclusive; Statius’s quoted lines describe the hottest season and Sirius burning the fields.

  The footnote discusses a possible Arician festival date and quotes Statius’s description of the hottest season and Sirius scorching fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 9057-9218 confidence: low

  The note says it has been inferred, not conclusively, that the Arician festival fell on August 13; the cited Statius lines describe the hottest sky and Sirius burning the fields.

  The passage reports an uncertain inference that the Arician festival was on August 13 and quotes a source describing intense heat and Sirius burning the fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 9858-10043 confidence: medium

  The Wotjaks of Russia, distressed by bad harvests, ascribed the calamity to Keremet’s wrath at being unmarried.

  Bad harvests are attributed to an unmarried god’s wrath, and the proposed remedy is a marriage to a kindly and fruitful earth-wife.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CONTENTS / DEDICATION. / WILLIAM ROBERTSON SMITH / PREFACE.; lines 119-211 confidence: medium

  The author discusses "popular festivals observed by European peasants in spring, at midsummer, and at harvest" and calls peasant customs evidence for "the primitive religion of the Aryans."

  The author explicitly refers to popular festivals observed by European peasants in spring, at midsummer, and at harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CONTENTS / DEDICATION. / WILLIAM ROBERTSON SMITH / PREFACE.; lines 119-211 confidence: medium

  The author justifies attention to European peasant festivals at spring, midsummer, and harvest, saying peasant superstitions and customs are the fullest and most trustworthy evidence for primitive Aryan religion, and that the primitive Aryan is not extinct.

  The passage explicitly names popular festivals in spring, midsummer, and harvest and treats them as evidence for primitive religion.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4750-4806 confidence: medium

  In Quilacare, a twelve-year feast honors an idol; the king’s reign lasts from jubilee to jubilee. At the feast he bathes, prays to the idol, mounts a decorated scaffolding, cuts off parts of his body with knives, cuts his throat, and the act is called sacrifice to the idol. A willing successor present at the rite is raised as king.

  Both Southern Indian examples are organized around a twelve-year jubilee or feast that marks the end of the ruler’s permitted term or the occasion for lethal challenge.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4808-4885 confidence: high

  The temporary king orders elephants to trample the “mountain of rice,” a bamboo scaffold surrounded by rice sheaves; people take rice home to secure a good harvest, and some is cooked and presented to monks.

  The temporary king orders elephants to trample the mountain of rice, and people take rice home to secure a good harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4808-4885 confidence: medium

  In Cambodia, the king annually abdicated for three days in Méac, performing no authority, not touching the seals, and not receiving revenues, while the temporary king Sdach Méac reigned.

  The Cambodian king abdicates annually for three days while a hereditary temporary king receives sovereignty and performs royal procession.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4808-4885 confidence: high

  On the third day King February orders elephants to trample the mountain of rice, a bamboo scaffold with rice sheaves; people take rice home for a good harvest, and some is cooked for the king and presented to monks.

  After elephants trample the mountain of rice, people take rice home to secure a good harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4887-4943 confidence: medium

  In Siam, a temporary king is appointed for three days while the real king remains shut in the palace; the temporary king’s agents confiscate market goods and ships.

  The Siamese rite occurs at a calendrical time, includes first seed, ploughing, crop-seed gathering, and oxen omens; the Upper Egyptian rite occurs at the Coptic solar new year when the Nile is high.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4887-4943 confidence: high

  The temporary king goes to a city field where a gilded plough and decorated oxen are prepared; he draws nine furrows while palace women scatter the first seed, and spectators collect the seed for crop abundance.

  The Siamese ceremony includes first ploughing, first seed of the season, seed gathered for crop abundance, and food omens concerning the following year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4887-4943 confidence: high

  After the oxen are unyoked, several foods are placed before them; whatever they eat first is treated as an omen for the following year, though interpretations differ.

  The oxen’s food choice predicts conditions in the following year, and the one-foot stance is treated as an omen for state stability or destruction.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4887-4943 confidence: medium

  In another three-day ceremony opposite the Temple of the Brahmans, the Lord of the Heavenly Hosts personates the king; Brahmans swing on dressed poles, dance, draw water from a copper caldron with buffalo horns, and sprinkle people for luck, peace, health, and prosperity.

  Brahmans sprinkle water on the people, which is said to bring good luck, peace, health, and prosperity.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4945-5006 confidence: high

  Cambodian trampling of the “mountain of rice” and Siamese opening of ploughing and sowing are described as charms for a plentiful harvest, with trampled rice or seed taken home to secure good crops.

  Temporary kings perform or are linked with trampling rice, opening ploughing and sowing, and actions believed to secure abundant crops.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4945-5006 confidence: medium

  The passage states that Cambodian and Siamese examples show supernatural royal functions transferred to temporary substitutes; the Siamese temporary king’s raised foot defeats evil spirits, while lowering it imperils the state.

  The Siamese mock king’s one-foot posture is interpreted as possibly intended to make crops grow high, and the old Prussian girl’s one-foot steadiness is an omen for flax success.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4945-5006 confidence: high

  The mock king’s one-foot stance is suggested as a crop-height charm; an old Prussian ceremony has the tallest girl stand on one foot with cakes, brandy, and bark, pray to Waizganthos, offer brandy and cakes, and serve as an omen for the flax crop.

  In the old Prussian ceremony, the girl prays to Waizganthos, pours brandy on the ground as an offering, and throws cakes to attendant sprites for the success of the flax crop.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4945-5006 confidence: high

  Frazer states that Cambodian and Siamese examples show transfer of divine or supernatural royal functions to temporary substitutes; the Siamese raised foot, Cambodian rice trampling, and Siamese ploughing/sowing are linked to spirits and harvest abundance.

  Cambodian and Siamese rites are described as charms to produce plentiful harvests, and the Old Prussian rite is explicitly directed toward flax growth and crop success.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 4945-5006 confidence: medium

  Frazer states that Cambodian and Siamese examples show transfer of divine or supernatural royal functions to temporary substitutes; the Siamese raised foot, Cambodian rice trampling, and Siamese ploughing/sowing are linked to spirits and harvest abundance.

  The Siamese mock king’s one-foot stance is linked to crop height by Frazer, and the Old Prussian girl’s success in remaining on one foot is treated as an omen for flax growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5008-5083 confidence: high

  Philo of Byblus is cited: in great danger a ruler gives his beloved son as ransom for the people; Cronus/Israel dresses Jeoud in royal robes and sacrifices him on an altar during war.

  The passage links sacrifice to war, siege, pestilence, drought, defeat, and in the Senjero example to the restoration and maintenance of regular seasons.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5008-5083 confidence: medium

  In Senjero, families must offer first-born sons because soothsayers linked sacrifice, a broken iron pillar, restored seasons, and annual human blood on the pillar base and throne.

  In the Senjero account, first-born sacrifice and annual human blood are connected with preventing a recurrence of seasonal confusion.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5135-5218 confidence: medium

  Frazer cites the Chitombé, whose life was tied to the world and who was slain by a successor when declining, and the King of Calicut, who could be attacked once every twelve years, as analogies for the King of the Wood.

  Frazer conjectures an older fixed-term killing of the King of the Wood and seeks support in periodic rural festivals involving tree-spirit representatives.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5135-5218 confidence: high

  Frazer says the conjecture about fixed-term killing would be supported by evidence for periodically killing human representatives of the tree-spirit in Northern European rural festivals.

  The passage identifies Northern European rural festivals as traces of periodically killing human representatives of the tree-spirit, including Whitsuntide and Whit-Monday examples.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5135-5218 confidence: high

  In Lower Bavaria, the Pfingstl is clad in leaves and flowers, accompanied by sword-bearing boys, drenched with water, led into a brook, and mock-beheaded by a boy on a bridge.

  The Pfingstl and the Wurmlingen figure are clothed in leaves, flowers, water-plants, or oak branches and then subjected to mock beheading or false-head execution.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5220-5303 confidence: medium

  In the Erzgebirge Shrovetide custom, two Wild Men in brushwood/moss and straw are led through streets, chased in the market-place, shot and stabbed, spurt blood from bladders, and are carried on boards to the alehouse with miners sounding tools.

  The Erzgebirge and Schluckenau customs involve disguised Wild Men being chased, shot or stabbed, and made to bleed by means of bladders; both occur at Shrovetide or in a Carnival context.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5220-5303 confidence: high

  Near Schluckenau, a Wild Man is chased, trips over a cord, is caught, and has a blood-filled bladder stabbed by an executioner; the next day a straw-man likeness is carried on a litter and thrown into a pool in a ceremony called burying the Carnival.

  After the Schluckenau Wild Man dies, a straw-man made to look like him is carried on a litter and thrown into a pool in a ceremony explicitly called burying the Carnival.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5220-5303 confidence: medium

  In Saxony and Thüringen, a Whitsuntide Wild Man in leaves or moss hides in the wood, is found and led captive, fired at with blank muskets, falls like dead, is bled by a doctor-lad, revives, and is taken by waggon through the village for gifts.

  Wild Men and Kings are repeatedly dressed in leaves, moss, brushwood, straw, bark, flowers, branches, ferns, garlands, or placed near May-trees during Whitsuntide or Shrovetide ceremonies.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5220-5303 confidence: high

  Saxony and Thüringen Whitsuntide ceremony: a leaf- or moss-covered Wild Man hides in the wood, is captured, shot at with blank muskets, falls as if dead, is bled by a doctor figure, revives, is bound on a wagon, and gifts are collected.

  Several annual Whitsuntide or Shrovetide examples feature a Wild Man covered in leaves, moss, brushwood, straw, or similar plant material who is chased, captured, shot, stabbed, or made to die.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5220-5303 confidence: medium

  Schluckenau Shrovetide custom: a Wild Man is chased, trips on a cord, is caught, and an executioner stabs a blood-filled bladder so he appears to die; the next day a straw-man resembling him is thrown into a pool in a ceremony called burying the Carnival.

  The Schluckenau custom places a straw-man made to look like the Wild Man on a litter and throws it into a pool in a ceremony called burying the Carnival.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5220-5303 confidence: medium

  Pilsen district Whit-Monday custom: a bark-dressed mounted King with a gilt-paper crown rides from a green arbour under May-trees, flees pursuit, remains King if uncaught, but if caught is beaten, dismounted, has his crown struck off by the executioner, sinks down, and is carried on a bier.

  In the Pilsen district, the King remains King for another year if pursuers fail to catch him, but if caught he is beaten, dismounted, and symbolically beheaded.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5305-5354 confidence: high

  The old representative is killed and the divine spirit is conveyed to a vigorous successor; killing the god's human incarnation is described as a step toward revival or resurrection in a better form.

  The passage states that the representative of the tree-spirit is killed in spring and that this killing is associated with revival or resurrection in a younger, more vigorous form to promote vegetation growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5305-5354 confidence: high

  The passage applies the explanation to the annual spring killing of the tree-spirit representative: winter decay is interpreted as the spirit growing old and weak, and slaying plus revival in younger form is said to promote vegetation growth.

  The passage presents winter decay as the vegetation spirit's weakness or aging and spring slaying and revivification as a way to renew that spirit and quicken growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5305-5354 confidence: high

  The killing of the god's human incarnation is described as "a necessary step to his revival or resurrection in a better form."

  The passage describes killing the representative of the tree-spirit in spring as linked to revival or resurrection in a younger and more vigorous form, promoting vegetation growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5305-5354 confidence: high

  The Pfingstl is drenched with water and wades up to the middle into a brook; these actions are identified as rain-charms.

  The drenching of the Pfingstl and wading into the brook are explicitly called rain-charms.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5397-5472 confidence: medium

  Frazer gives examples of sacrifice performed on images: the Calica Puran prescribes images of lion, tiger, or man; Gonds sacrifice straw-men; Bhagats behead a clothed wooden man before Mahádeo while asking for rain and harvest.

  The Bhagats prayer links the beheading of a wooden human image to requests for rain and plentiful harvest, and Frazer connects slain gods with corn or human representatives of corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5474-5552 confidence: high

  Frazer introduces European peasant spring customs called “Burying the Carnival” and “Driving or carrying out Death,” says simulated death of a divine or supernatural being is a leading feature, and gives their usual calendrical settings and regional distribution.

  The passage explicitly describes spring observances in which simulated death is central, then gives examples of Carnival or related representatives being condemned, beheaded, hanged, buried, or thrown into water.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5474-5552 confidence: high

  Frazer says two kindred sets of European peasant spring observances have the simulated death of a divine or supernatural being as a leading feature: “Burying the Carnival” and “Driving or carrying out Death,” chiefly known on German and Slavonic ground.

  The passage explicitly says the leading feature of the customs is the simulated death of a divine or supernatural being in spring observances.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5474-5552 confidence: high

  Near Tübingen on Shrove Tuesday, a straw-man called the Shrovetide Bear is made with blood-like elements at the neck, formally condemned, beheaded, laid in a coffin, and buried in the churchyard on Ash Wednesday; Frazer calls this similar to a Bohemian form.

  Several examples describe Carnival, Shrovetide Bear, or Fool figures being condemned, beheaded, hanged, placed in coffins or on biers, and buried.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5474-5552 confidence: medium

  Esthonians make a straw figure called metsik or wood-spirit, dress it as male one year and female the next, carry it across the village boundary with joyful cries, fasten it to a tree in the wood, and believe the ceremony protects against misfortune.

  The metsik wood-spirit straw figure is carried across the village boundary, fastened to a tree, and believed to protect against misfortune.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5554-5653 confidence: high

  Carrying out Death is said to present much the same features as Burying the Carnival; the Death figure is more often drowned or burned than buried, and the rite is generally followed or accompanied by bringing in Summer, Spring, or Life.

  The passage repeatedly pairs carrying Death out with bringing Summer, Spring, New Year, or Life into the village.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5554-5653 confidence: high

  In Bohemia, children take a straw-man representing Death to the end of the village, burn it, and sing that Death is carried out, the new Summer is carried in, and green corn is welcomed.

  Songs welcome green corn and green grass, and the Tabor song asks holy Marketa to give a good year for wheat and rye after Death is carried away and Summer is brought.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5554-5653 confidence: high

  The ceremony of carrying out Death is said to resemble burying the Carnival; the Death figure is usually drowned or burned, and the rite is commonly paired with bringing in Summer, Spring, or Life.

  The repeated ritual action is to carry, drive, or throw Death out of the village, often with songs explicitly stating that Death leaves and Spring, Summer, Life, or the New Year enters.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5554-5653 confidence: high

  The ceremony of carrying out Death is said to resemble burying the Carnival; the Death figure is usually drowned or burned, and the rite is commonly paired with bringing in Summer, Spring, or Life.

  Songs and descriptions pair the removal of Death with the arrival of Summer, Spring, Life, the New Year, green corn, green grass, and a hoped-for good grain year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: high

  Italy and Spain observe “sawing the Old Woman”; Palermo stages a cart procession, scaffold, mock executioners, blood bladder at the neck, and feigned death.

  Multiple customs center on cutting, mock-cutting, or speaking of cutting an Old Woman or Old Wife during Mid-Lent or the Fourth Sunday in Lent.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: high

  Frazer frames the following rites as enacting the return of Spring, Summer, or Life after Death’s expulsion; in Bohemia Death is buried and girls carry a decorated green-crowned tree with a doll, singing that Death was carried out and Summer is carried in.

  Death figures are buried, thrown into water, torn up, burned and rolled downhill, or carried over village boundaries.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: high

  Frazer frames the following rites as enacting the return of Spring, Summer, or Life after Death’s expulsion; in Bohemia Death is buried and girls carry a decorated green-crowned tree with a doll, singing that Death was carried out and Summer is carried in.

  Bohemian and Silesian songs and actions explicitly pair the removal of Death with bringing Summer, May, flowers, or a decorated green tree into the village.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: high

  In Upper Lusatia, a straw-and-rags Death figure dressed with a bride’s veil and death-house shirt is carried, pelted, thrown into water or across a boundary, followed by green branches; neighboring youths may throw it back.

  Upper Lusatian participants carry Death out of the village and throw it into water or over the boundary of another village; neighboring youths may throw it back to avoid having Death among them.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: medium

  Frazer frames the following rites as enacting the return of Spring, Summer, or Life after Death’s expulsion; in Bohemia Death is buried and girls carry a decorated green-crowned tree with a doll, singing that Death was carried out and Summer is carried in.

  After Death is removed, participants carry decorated trees or green branches, and songs name Summer, May, and flowers.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: high

  In Bohemia, after Death is buried, girls bring in a young decorated tree and sing: 'We carried Death out of the village, / We are carrying Summer into the village.'

  The passage explicitly frames several ceremonies as carrying Death out and bringing Summer, May, flowers, green trees, or branches back into the village.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5655-5744 confidence: high

  In Bohemia, after Death is buried, girls bring in a young decorated tree and sing: 'We carried Death out of the village, / We are carrying Summer into the village.'

  After Death is expelled, participants bring in or set up a young tree or fir-tree decorated with ribbons, egg-shells, and cloth as Summer or the returning season.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5746-5781 confidence: medium

  Death is represented by a puppet thrown away; Summer or Life by branches or trees brought back; sometimes the image of Death itself is described as gaining life-potency and becoming an instrument of revival.

  The passage explicitly contrasts Death with Summer or Life and describes ceremonies tied to revival, fruit-eating, and public bathing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5746-5781 confidence: high

  Frazer states that Death is represented by a puppet that is thrown away, while Summer or Life is represented by branches or trees brought back; he adds that sometimes the Death image itself seems to gain life potency and become an instrument of revival.

  Death is personified as a puppet or effigy that is carried away, destroyed, stripped, or drowned, with the result described as expelling Death or unwholesomeness.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5746-5781 confidence: medium

  In parts of Lusatia, women in mourning make a straw Death puppet with a white shirt, broom, and scythe, carry it to the village boundary while boys throw stones, tear it apart, then cut a fine tree, hang the shirt on it, and carry it home singing.

  In Lusatia the Death puppet’s shirt is hung on a tree brought home; in Transylvania the Death figure’s clothes and ornaments are transferred to a living girl who is processed through the village.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5783-5836 confidence: high

  After the Death figure is destroyed, a tree is brought home as equivalent to trees or branches representing Summer or Life; the shirt worn by the Death effigy is transferred to the tree, indicating revivification in a new form.

  The tree or branches are identified with Summer or Life and with reviving spring vegetation after Death has been thrown away or destroyed.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5783-5836 confidence: high

  A tree brought home after Death's destruction is equated with trees or branches representing Summer or Life; Death's shirt is transferred to the tree, indicating revivification in a new form.

  The destroyed Death is followed by representatives of Summer or Life and by rites intended to revive spring vegetation and improve crops.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: high

  Frazer argues that if the May-tree embodies the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation, then the Summer-tree does also; since the Summer-tree can be a revivification of the effigy of Death, the Death effigy can likewise embody that spirit.

  The passage explicitly frames the expulsion of Death and bringing in of Summer as, in some cases, a form of the death and resuscitation of the spirit of vegetation in spring.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: high

  Trees or branches are brought into the village after the destruction of Death; the bearers say they bring Summer, and a doll attached to the Summer-tree is a duplicate representative of Summer, comparable to a May-tree and May Lady.

  May-trees and Summer-trees are brought in at calendrical moments, adorned, planted or carried, and treated as representatives of May, Summer, or vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: medium

  Trees or branches are brought into the village after the destruction of Death; the bearers say they bring Summer, and a doll attached to the Summer-tree is a duplicate representative of Summer, comparable to a May-tree and May Lady.

  The passage describes the destruction or expulsion of Death, the bringing in of Summer afterward, and the burial and resurrection of Carnival as analogous expressions of renewal.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: medium

  Fragments of the Death effigy are believed to vivify and fertilise vegetable and animal life; the effigy may be made of birch twigs, a beech branch, a threshed corn-sheaf, or hemp, and may be hung on a little tree and carried by girls collecting money.

  Fragments of the effigy of Death are believed to vivify and fertilise animal and vegetable life, and burial of the Carnival representative under a dung-heap is explained through comparable quickening influence.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: medium

  The passage cites Mannhardt’s analogy of Death as a name for the ripe corn spirit: the last sheaf can be called the Dead One, children are warned that Death sits in the corn, and in a Saxon Transylvanian maize-harvest game a child covered with maize leaves represents Death.

  The passage gives harvest examples where the last sheaf is called the Dead One, Death is located in the corn, and Death is represented by a child covered in maize leaves.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: high

  Trees or branches are brought into the village after the destruction of Death; bearers say they are bringing Summer, and a doll may be attached to the Summer-tree.

  The passage describes May-tree and Summer-tree customs in which trees or branches are brought into the village as May or Summer and are interpreted as embodiments of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: high

  Frazer infers that the Summer-tree and, in some cases, the effigy called Death embody the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation; fragments of Death are believed to fertilise vegetable and animal life.

  Frazer explicitly connects the expulsion of Death and bringing in of Summer with the death and resuscitation of the spirit of vegetation in spring.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: medium

  Frazer infers that the Summer-tree and, in some cases, the effigy called Death embody the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation; fragments of Death are believed to fertilise vegetable and animal life.

  Fragments of the effigy of Death are said to exercise vivifying and fertilising influence on vegetable and animal life.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: medium

  Among Esthonians, a Shrove Tuesday straw figure is called Metsik, the Wood-spirit; it is fixed to a tree in the wood for a year and petitioned with prayers and offerings to protect herds; it may be made of sheaves of corn.

  The Esthonian Metsik is called the Wood-spirit, fixed in a tree, and petitioned with offerings to protect herds.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5838-5917 confidence: medium

  Frazer argues that names such as Carnival, Death, and Summer are later substitutions for concrete vegetation beings; he cites Mannhardt on Death as dying winter vegetation and notes harvest examples where the last sheaf is called the Dead One or a child covered with maize leaves represents Death.

  The passage says the last sheaf, associated with the corn spirit, may be called the Dead One and that Death may be represented in maize leaves during harvest play.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5919-6011 confidence: high

  Russian ceremonies like “Burying the Carnival” and “Carrying out Death” are said to be named for Kostrubonko, Kostroma, Kupalo, Lada, and Yarilo and to occur in spring and at midsummer.

  The passage repeatedly describes funerals or burials for Kostrubonko, Kostroma, Lada, and Yarilo, with Kupalo also treated as a ritual figure carried and disposed of at midsummer.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5919-6011 confidence: medium

  Frazer suggests midsummer rites may mark the summer’s decline after the solstice and serve as magic ceremonies to stay decline or ensure revival of plant life.

  The author proposes that midsummer rites occur when days begin to shorten and that ceremonies aim to stay decline or ensure the revival of plant life.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5919-6011 confidence: medium

  On Midsummer Eve, a straw Kupalo figure is dressed and placed near a ribboned tree named Marena; a bonfire is jumped over in couples, and the next day the tree and figure are stripped and thrown into a stream.

  The Kupalo rite includes young men and maidens jumping over a bonfire in couples while carrying the figure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5919-6011 confidence: medium

  Frazer states that Russian spring and midsummer funeral-like ceremonies are celebrated under names of mythic figures such as Kostrubonko, Kostroma, Kupalo, Lada, and Yarilo.

  Multiple rites involve funeral, burial, destruction, or disposal of figures that Frazer interprets as vegetation spirits, often at spring or midsummer seasonal points.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5919-6011 confidence: high

  On Midsummer Eve, a straw Kupalo figure is dressed and crowned, set near a decorated tree called Marena, carried while couples jump over a bonfire, and later stripped and thrown with the tree into a stream.

  At Midsummer Eve, young men and maidens jump over a bonfire in couples while carrying the Kupalo figure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 5919-6011 confidence: high

  In the Murom district, Kostroma is a straw figure in women's clothes and flowers, carried to water, attacked and defended, then stripped, torn, trampled, and flung into the stream while defenders feign mourning.

  Yarilo and Kostroma rites include coffins, graves, dirges, weeping, or feigned mourning, sometimes followed by games and dances.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: medium

  The passage describes funeral, lamentation, and mourning attire for a dead vegetation spirit, alongside glee, assault with sticks and stones, taunts, curses, fear of the effigy, hurried return after discarding it, and a death omen for houses it looks into.

  The passage links spring and midsummer rites with the death and sometimes revival of vegetation, funeral lamentation, expulsion of Death, and mourning for a dead vegetation spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: high

  At Königshain, villagers go with straw torches to Todtenstein and return singing, “We have driven out Death, we are bringing back Summer.”

  Königshain villagers use torches and sing that Death is driven out and Summer brought back; Albanian young people cast torches into a river in a rite said by some to drive out winter.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: high

  The Kânagrâ Ralî Ka melâ is a spring rite of young girls: they gather dûb grass and flowers, build a heap, place two three-pronged branches over it, have clay images of Siva and Pârvatî made on the branch points, divide into two parties, marry the images, and hold a feast.

  The Kânagrâ rite constructs images of Siva and Pârvatî over grass and flowers and marries them in spring; Frazer compares this to European vernal spirit marriages.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: medium

  At the next Sankrânt the girls take the images to the riverside, throw them into a deep pool, and weep over the place as though performing funeral obsequies; boys sometimes retrieve and wave the images; the fair is said to secure a good husband.

  Girls throw the Siva and Pârvatî images into a deep pool and weep as at funeral obsequies; Frazer treats this as parallel to European water-disposal of the dead vegetation spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: medium

  At the next Sankrânt the girls take the images to the riverside, throw them into a deep pool, and weep over the place as though performing funeral obsequies; boys sometimes retrieve and wave the images; the fair is said to secure a good husband.

  The object of the fair is said to be securing a good husband, and Frazer explains this through the fertilising influence attributed to the vegetation spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: medium

  Frazer says vegetation death and sometimes revival appear in spring and midsummer ceremonies, but notes funeral, lamentation, mourning attire, glee, assault on the effigy, taunts, curses, and dread of the effigy.

  The passage frames the ceremonies as representing the death of vegetation and, in some cases, its revival in spring or midsummer rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: high

  At Königshain near Görlitz, villagers went with straw torches to Todtenstein, lit them, and returned singing that they had driven out Death and were bringing back Summer.

  The Silesian rite explicitly sings of driving out Death and bringing back Summer, and the Albanian rite is said by some to drive out winter or Kore.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: medium

  The girls divide into parties for Siva and Pârvatî, marry the images in the usual way without omitting any part of the ceremony, and hold a feast paid for by parental contributions.

  The Ralî rite marries images of Siva and Pârvatî, and Frazer compares this to European rites of the King and Queen of May, May Bride, and May Bridegroom.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6013-6097 confidence: high

  At the next Sankrânt, the girls take the images to the riverside, throw them into a deep pool, and weep as if performing funeral obsequies; boys sometimes dive after the images and wave them about while the girls cry. The fair is said to secure a good husband.

  The Ralî images are thrown into a deep pool and mourned, and Frazer compares this to European customs of throwing the dead vegetation spirit into water and lamenting over it.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6100-6145 confidence: high

  Egypt and Western Asia are said to have widely celebrated the death and resurrection of vegetation; Osiris, Adonis, Thammuz, Attis, and Dionysus are named as deities of vegetation decay and revival whose rites parallel European spring and midsummer customs.

  The passage explicitly frames the named deities as representing vegetation decay and revival; Adonis is mourned as dead and in some places revived the next day.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6100-6145 confidence: medium

  The Byblus celebration is linked to spring discoloration of the river Adonis, when red earth from mountains tinges the river and sea blood-red; the stain is believed to be Adonis's blood from his boar wound on Mount Lebanon.

  The spring reddening of the river and sea is believed to be Adonis's blood, and the red anemone is said to have sprung from his blood; these natural signs help date the festival to spring.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6100-6145 confidence: high

  Egyptians, Syrians, Babylonians, Phrygians, and Greeks are said to represent decay and revival of vegetation under names including Osiris, Adonis, Thammuz, Attis, and Dionysus, with rites called substantially similar and paralleled in European peasant customs.

  The passage explicitly frames Adonis or Thammuz and other deities as representing the decay and revival of vegetation, and describes annual mourning followed by revival rites or belief in renewed life.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: high

  The passage says Alexandrian, Indian, and European ceremonies resemble one another: two plant-associated divinities are married in effigy, mourned, and thrown into water; the author connects this with Adonis' death and resurrection as vegetation decay and revival.

  Adonis is described through death and resurrection, lower-world absence and upper-world return, and the seasonal disappearance and reappearance of vegetation and corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: medium

  The passage says Alexandrian, Indian, and European ceremonies resemble one another: two plant-associated divinities are married in effigy, mourned, and thrown into water; the author connects this with Adonis' death and resurrection as vegetation decay and revival.

  The passage describes the marriage of two divinities in effigy, surrounded by fresh plants, followed by mourning and water disposal.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: high

  The passage says Alexandrian, Indian, and European ceremonies resemble one another: two plant-associated divinities are married in effigy, mourned, and thrown into water; the author connects this with Adonis' death and resurrection as vegetation decay and revival.

  Effigies or images connected with Adonis or analogous divinities are mourned and thrown into water, the sea, or springs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: high

  The gardens of Adonis are pots or baskets of earth planted with wheat, barley, lettuces, fennel, and flowers, tended for eight days; the plants grow and wither quickly and are thrown with dead Adonis images into the sea or springs.

  The gardens of Adonis consist of planted pots or baskets that grow quickly, wither quickly, and are discarded with the dead god's images.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: medium

  A tenth-century Arabic account of Harran rites describes the July Tâ-uz festival: women bewail the god because his lord slew him, ground his bones in a mill, and scattered them; women avoid mill-ground foods. Frazer compares this to Burns's John Barleycorn.

  Tâ-uz is mourned because his lord slew him, ground his bones in a mill, and scattered them; festival diet avoids mill-ground food, and the author compares the image to John Barleycorn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: high

  The passage says Adonis spends half or a third of the year in the lower world and the rest in the upper world, and Frazer interprets this as vegetation or corn buried in earth and reappearing above ground.

  The passage explicitly interprets the death and resurrection of Adonis as representing vegetation’s decay and revival, including the comparison to plants buried below and reappearing above ground.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: medium

  Frazer says Alexandrian and Indian ceremonies both celebrate the marriage of two plant-surrounded divinities in effigy, then mourn the effigies and throw them into water; he compares them to European spring and midsummer customs.

  The passage describes the marriage of two plant-surrounded divinities in effigy, followed by mourning and disposal in water.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: medium

  The passage says Adonis spends half or a third of the year in the lower world and the rest in the upper world, and Frazer interprets this as vegetation or corn buried in earth and reappearing above ground.

  Adonis is said to spend part of each year in the lower world and the rest in the upper world, which the passage connects to buried and reappearing vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: medium

  A tenth-century Arabic account of Harran rites says women bewail Thammuz/Tâ-uz because his lord slew him, ground his bones in a mill, and scattered them to the wind; the women avoid mill-ground food and eat steeped wheat, vetches, dates, raisins, and similar foods.

  Thammuz is mourned after being slain, ground in a mill, and scattered; the passage identifies this as evidence for a corn-spirit character and compares it to John Barleycorn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6147-6234 confidence: high

  The gardens of Adonis are baskets or pots of earth planted with wheat, barley, lettuces, fennel, and flowers, tended for eight days mainly by women; the plants grow and wither rapidly and are thrown with dead Adonis images into sea or springs.

  The gardens of Adonis are small planted containers that grow rapidly, wither rapidly, and are disposed of with dead images of Adonis in water.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6236-6295 confidence: high

  Adonis ceremonies are described as charms of sympathetic magic: rapid wheat and barley growth encourages crops, and throwing gardens/images into water secures fertilising rain.

  The passage repeatedly links sprinkling, drenching, ducking, or casting objects into water with desired rain, crop growth, and harvest increase.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6236-6295 confidence: medium

  Adonis ceremonies are described as charms of sympathetic magic: rapid wheat and barley growth encourages crops, and throwing gardens/images into water secures fertilising rain.

  The passage connects Adonis water-casting with the resurrection of the god and revival of vegetation, and describes Thammuz as dead and restored to life by water.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6236-6295 confidence: medium

  Adonis ceremonies are described as charms of sympathetic magic: rapid wheat and barley growth encourages crops, and throwing gardens/images into water secures fertilising rain.

  Adonis gardens and images, European Death and Carnival effigies, and the probable Thammuz effigy are all associated with water rites tied to vegetation revival or rain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6236-6295 confidence: high

  Adonis ceremonies are described as charms for growth and revival of vegetation through sympathetic magic, in which mimicking desired effects helps produce them.

  The passage repeatedly links sprinkling, throwing, pouring, drenching, and ducking with the intended procurement of rain and agricultural growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: high

  The passage states that gardens of Adonis are essentially charms to promote vegetation, especially crops, and belong to the same class as spring and midsummer European folk-customs.

  The passage treats gardens of Adonis, Bengal barley blades, and Sardinian pots of wheat and barley as rapidly grown vegetation connected with crop or seasonal rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: medium

  Among Oraons and Mundas at rice-planting time, young people cut a young Karma tree or branch, return with dancing, singing, and drums, and plant it in the village dancing-ground.

  At rice-planting time the Karma tree is brought into the village, honoured, offered sacrifice, presented with barley, and interpreted as fostering rice growth through a tree-spirit or crop-responsible grove deity.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: medium

  The Karma tree is finally taken away and thrown into a stream or tank.

  The Karma tree is thrown into a stream or tank, and the author explicitly interprets this action as a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: medium

  The passage distinguishes the Bengal custom from Greek Adonis rites: in Bengal the tree-spirit appears as a tree, while in Adonis worship he appears anthropomorphically as a dead man, with vegetable nature indicated by the gardens.

  The passage says Adonis appears anthropomorphically as a dead man while his vegetable nature is shown by gardens of Adonis; it also compares Sardinian pot images to images of Adonis.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: high

  The head-man’s daughters cultivate pale barley blades in moist sandy soil mixed with turmeric and place some of the plants reverentially before the Karma tree.

  The passage explicitly frames gardens of Adonis and related customs as charms to promote vegetation, especially crops, and describes rapidly sprouted barley or grain used ritually.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: medium

  “Finally, the Karma tree is taken away and thrown into a stream or tank.”

  The Karma tree is thrown into a stream or tank, and the passage directly interprets this action as a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6297-6380 confidence: high

  In Sardinia, a young man asks a girl to be his comare; later she prepares a cork-bark pot with earth, wheat, and barley, waters it, and by Midsummer Eve it is called Erme or Nenneri.

  The Sardinian custom links sprouted wheat and barley pots with St. John’s Eve and St. John’s Day midsummer procession, eating, singing, and dancing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: high

  Sardinian midsummer custom is linked to European midsummer bonfires where people dance and leap; Swedish and Bohemian examples include May-poles or Midsummer-trees, with the Bohemian tree burned in the bonfire.

  The passage repeatedly links midsummer bonfires, May-poles or Midsummer-trees, German fire-leaping, and crop-growth intentions with vegetation rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: medium

  Sardinian midsummer custom is linked to European midsummer bonfires where people dance and leap; Swedish and Bohemian examples include May-poles or Midsummer-trees, with the Bohemian tree burned in the bonfire.

  Vegetation representatives appear as a tree, straw effigy, or plant bundle; the passage describes burning, fire-crossing, and water-casting of such representatives.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: medium

  The Sardinian Gossips or Sweethearts of St. John are said probably to correspond to Lord and Lady or King and Queen of May; in Blekinge a Midsummer Bride chooses a bridegroom and they are temporarily regarded as man and wife.

  The passage says Midsummer pairs, like May pairs and paired divine images, probably represent the spirit of vegetation in its reproductive capacity.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: medium

  In Prussia, servants gather St. John’s wort; plants assigned to persons foretell sickness or death if they do not bloom, while the rest are bundled on a pole at the gate or harvest entry place, called Kupole, and accompanied by crop prayer.

  The Prussian Kupole bundle is placed where harvest corn will be brought in, and the author reads it as a plant-formed representative of a vegetation deity connected with crop prayers.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: low

  The passage says this supports interpreting Death, analogous to Kupalo and Yarilo, as a personification of vegetation, especially vegetation dying or dead in winter, and notes that similar plants form both gardens of Adonis and the deity image.

  The passage concludes that the figure called Death is analogous to Kupalo and Yarilo and originally personified vegetation dying or dead in winter.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: high

  A midsummer custom once widespread in Europe includes a great bonfire around which people dance and over which they leap.

  The passage repeatedly connects midsummer bonfires, leaping over fire, burning or carrying plant representatives, and prayers or intentions for crop growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: high

  Kupalo is represented in duplicate as Midsummer-tree and straw effigy, compared with Adonis represented by image and garden; the duplicate representatives are finally cast into water.

  Kupalo is described as represented in tree and straw forms, and Kupole as a plant-formed representative whose position and associated prayers signify influence over vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: medium

  The Sardinian Gossips or Sweethearts of St. John probably correspond to the Lord and Lady or King and Queen of May.

  Frazer interprets midsummer and May pairs, including the Swedish Midsummer Bride and bridegroom, as representatives of the spirit of vegetation in its reproductive capacity.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: high

  The passage says gardens of Adonis, like May-trees or May-boughs, may be supposed to bring good luck; after this belief fades, omens may still be drawn from them for family or individual fortune.

  The passage describes grain, St. John’s plants, and St. John’s wort blooming, fading, or sprouting well or badly as omens for marriage, love, luck, sickness, and death.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6382-6464 confidence: medium

  The passage says the analogy to Kupalo and Yarilo supports the conclusion that Death was originally a personification of vegetation, especially vegetation dying or dead in winter.

  The passage concludes that the figure called Death was originally a personification of vegetation, especially vegetation as dying or dead in winter.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 confidence: medium

  At Easter, Sicilian women sow wheat, lentils, and canary-seed in plates, keep and water them in darkness, tie the shoots with red ribbons, and place them on Good Friday sepulchres with effigies of the dead Christ.

  Sprouting seed plates are placed on Good Friday sepulchres and compared to gardens of Adonis placed on the dead god's grave.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 confidence: high

  Attis is introduced as to Phrygia what Adonis was to Syria; he is described as a vegetation god whose death and resurrection were annually mourned and rejoiced over in spring, and whose rites and legends were sometimes identified with Adonis's.

  Attis is described as a vegetation god whose death and resurrection were annually mourned and rejoiced over at a spring festival.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 confidence: medium

  The Roman festival closed with a procession to the brook Almo, where Cybele's bullock-cart, her image, and sacred objects were bathed; after returning from the water, the cart and oxen were strewn with fresh spring flowers.

  The festival closes with a procession to the brook Almo in which Cybele's cart, her image, and other sacred objects are bathed, followed by spring flowers on the returning cart and oxen.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 confidence: high

  At Easter, Sicilian women sow wheat, lentils, and canary-seed in plates kept dark and watered; the shoots are tied with red ribbons and placed on Good Friday sepulchres with effigies of the dead Christ.

  Seeds are rapidly sprouted and placed on sepulchres or graves associated with dead sacred figures.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 confidence: high

  “Like Adonis, he appears to have been a god of vegetation, and his death and resurrection were annually mourned and rejoiced over at a festival in spring.” The passage adds that their legends and rites were so similar that ancients sometimes identified them.

  Attis is explicitly described as a vegetation god whose death and resurrection are ritually mourned and rejoiced over at a spring festival.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519 confidence: medium

  The Roman festival closed with procession to the brook Almo, where Cybele’s cart, image, and sacred objects were bathed; on return, the cart and oxen were strewn with fresh spring flowers.

  The festival closes with procession to water, bathing of Cybele’s cart, image, and sacred objects, and return adorned with spring flowers.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6521-6595 confidence: high

  The author assumes the effigy was attached after Attis’s mimic death and burial, reads this as revival in tree-form, and says the effigy was kept for a year and then burned, with comparisons to May-pole and corn-spirit effigies.

  Attis’s death and resurrection are linked with revival in tree-form and with grain being reaped, stored, and sown again.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6521-6595 confidence: medium

  The author assumes the effigy was attached after Attis’s mimic death and burial, reads this as revival in tree-form, and says the effigy was kept for a year and then burned, with comparisons to May-pole and corn-spirit effigies.

  The effigy is kept for a year, burned, and interpreted as part of maintaining the vegetation spirit in fresh life before replacement.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6521-6595 confidence: low

  Inscriptions show the high priest of Cybele at Pessinus and Rome was called Attis; the author conjectures he played the legendary Attis at the festival and that his arm-bloodletting imitated Attis’s self-inflicted death under the pine-tree.

  The high priest called Attis draws blood, is conjectured to imitate Attis’s death, and is further conjectured to preserve a former annual killing of the god’s representative.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6521-6595 confidence: low

  Osiris is introduced as possibly a vegetation personification with annual death and resurrection, but the passage stresses the heterogeneous complexity of his character and the scanty evidence; he is said to be analogous to Adonis and Attis if this view is sustained.

  Osiris is presented as possibly one of the vegetation personifications whose annual death and resurrection were celebrated in many lands.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6521-6595 confidence: high

  Attis is linked to tree-spirits and corn growth, called very fruitful and a reaped ear of corn, and his death and resurrection are interpreted through grain cut, stored, and sown again.

  Attis' sufferings, death, and resurrection are interpreted through the cycle of grain cut, stored, and sown; Osiris is introduced as a possible analogous vegetation figure with annual death and resurrection.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6521-6595 confidence: medium

  The effigy attached to the tree is kept for a year and then burned; the passage compares this with May-pole and corn-spirit effigy customs and interprets it as maintaining vegetation life.

  The effigy is preserved for a year and burned, and the passage compares this with annual replacement of corn-spirit effigies.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6597-6671 confidence: high

  Annual rites for Osiris’ death and burial include five days’ mourning, earth-ploughing, search for the mangled body, rejoicing at discovery, solemn burial, and lamentations put in the mouths of Isis and Nephthys; Brugsch says they “vividly recall the dirges chanted at the Adonis’ rites over the dead god.”

  Annual rites celebrate Osiris’ death and burial with mourning, earth-ploughing, search, discovery, rejoicing, burial, and lamentations.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6597-6671 confidence: medium

  Annual rites include five days of mourning, earth-ploughing, search for the mangled body, rejoicing at discovery, burial, and lamentations attributed to Isis and Nephthys; Brugsch says these lamentations "vividly recall the dirges chanted at the Adonis’ rites over the dead god."

  Annual rites occur when Nile waters are sinking and field labor begins, and include mourning, search, burial, rejoicing, pillar erection, and water-and-mould image making.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: medium

  “In all three cases we see a god whose untimely and violent death is mourned by a loving goddess and annually celebrated by their worshippers.”

  The passage explicitly groups Osiris, Adonis, and Attis as gods whose untimely violent deaths are mourned by loving goddesses and annually celebrated by worshippers.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: high

  Osiris is described as a vegetation deity who taught the use of corn, whose annual festival began with ploughing, and who introduced vine cultivation.

  Osiris is described as a vegetation deity, associated with corn, ploughing, vine cultivation, crop, harvest, and personification of corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: high

  At Philae, Osiris' dead body is represented with corn stalks springing from it while a priest waters them; the inscription calls him Osiris of the mysteries who springs from returning waters.

  The Philae representation shows corn stalks springing from the dead body of Osiris, watered by a priest, with an inscription saying he springs from returning waters.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: medium

  The legend says Osiris' mangled remains were scattered across the land; another story says Isis placed his severed limbs on a corn-sieve.

  Frazer suggests that the legend of Osiris' scattered mangled remains may express sowing or winnowing of grain, with support from the story of Isis placing his limbs on a corn-sieve.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: medium

  Frazer suggests a possible custom of slaying a human representative of the corn-spirit and distributing flesh or ashes over fields; he compares a European figure of “Death” torn and buried in fields for crop growth.

  The passage describes or conjectures human victims' flesh or ashes being distributed over fields to fertilize them, cites European fragments buried for crops, and reports Egyptian ashes scattered with winnowing-fans.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: medium

  Frazer conjectures that the Egyptian sacrifices promoted crop growth and that red-haired victims may have been selected to represent the spirit of golden grain.

  Frazer argues that when a god is represented by a living person, the representative may be selected for resemblance; he applies this to red-haired victims representing golden grain and compares Mexican maize-stage sacrifices.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: high

  “In all three cases we see a god whose untimely and violent death is mourned by a loving goddess and annually celebrated by their worshippers.”

  The passage explicitly groups Osiris, Adonis, and Attis as gods whose violent deaths are mourned and annually commemorated, and then identifies Osiris with vegetation, corn, crop, and harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: high

  In a chamber at Philae, Osiris’s dead body is represented with corn stalks springing from it while a priest waters the stalks from a pitcher.

  The Philae image shows the dead body of Osiris with corn stalks springing from it and being watered.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: medium

  The legend of Osiris’s mangled remains scattered through the land is interpreted as possibly expressing sowing or winnowing; another story says Isis placed his severed limbs on a corn-sieve.

  The passage links scattered Osiris remains, severed limbs on a corn-sieve, torn fragments of Death buried in fields, and burned human victims whose ashes are scattered for crop fertility.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: medium

  Manetho is cited for Egyptians burning red-haired men and scattering their ashes with winnowing-fans; sacrificed oxen also had to be red, and Frazer conjectures that red-haired victims represented golden grain.

  Frazer conjectures that red-haired victims were selected to represent golden grain and compares this with age-graded Mexican sacrifices corresponding to maize growth stages.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6673-6723 confidence: high

  The passage says ancient Mexicans conceived maize as a personal being passing from seed-time to harvest and sacrificed newborns, older children, and old men at corresponding crop stages.

  The passage says ancient Mexicans conceived maize as a personal being passing through life between seed-time and harvest, with sacrifices matched to stages of growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: medium

  Osiris is described as corn-spirit and tree-spirit. A pine-tree is cut, hollowed, and used to make an Osiris image placed in the hollow; the image is kept one year and then burned like the Attis image attached to a pine-tree.

  The image of Osiris made from the tree is kept for a year and then burned, and the passage relates the rite to an annual Osiris festival and to an Attis tree-image rite.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: medium

  The passage lists Osirian tree associations: pine-cone offerings, cedar sprung from Osiris, sycamore and tamarisk as his trees, inscriptions saying he resides in them, Nut represented in a sycamore, a tamarisk overshadowing his coffer, and two men pouring water on a tamarisk at Philae.

  Osiris is shown as a corpse with ears of corn sprouting from him; cedar is said to spring from him, and the text connects tree verdure with earth verdure at his grave.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: high

  The original meaning of Isis is said to be difficult to determine; she is called many-named, thousand-named, and myriad-named, and the passage notes uncertainty about the natural phenomena originally referred to by her character.

  Isis is credited with the discovery of wheat and barley, honored with grain processions, invoked at harvest, and described with epithets of green crop, bread, corn-field, fruits, ears of corn, and wheat-field.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: high

  Isis is associated with grain: wheat and barley are attributed to her discovery, stalks are carried at her festivals, first harvest stalks are lamented by reapers calling on her, and inscriptions or Greek texts call her creatress of green crop, mistress of bread, corn-field, giver of fruits, mother of ears of corn, and queen of the wheat-field; Greeks identify her with Demeter.

  At harvest-time the first stalks are laid down while reapers beat their breasts, lament, and call upon Isis.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: medium

  Osiris is presented as corn-spirit and tree-spirit; a pine is cut, hollowed, used to make an Osiris image, the image is placed in the tree hollow, kept for a year, and burned like the Attis image attached to a pine-tree.

  The Osiris image is kept for a year and burned; Osiris is shown as a corpse with ears of corn sprouting from him; the rites are annual and tied to vegetation imagery.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: medium

  Wheat and barley are attributed to Isis; stalks are carried in procession at her festivals; after first cutting at harvest, Egyptian reapers lay down the stalks, beat their breasts, lament, and call upon Isis.

  Isis is credited with wheat and barley, receives grain processions and harvest laments, and is described with epithets such as green crop, mistress of bread, corn-field, mother of ears of corn, and queen of the wheat-field.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6725-6799 confidence: medium

  At Philae a tamarisk is depicted with two men pouring water on it near material about Osiris's grave; Osiris appears as a corpse with ears of corn sprouting, is called 'the one in the tree' and 'the solitary one in the acacia,' and appears as a mummy covered with tree or plants.

  Osiris's worshippers are forbidden to injure fruit-trees and stop up wells, and a tamarisk associated with Osiris is shown being watered.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6876-6955 confidence: medium

  Amenhôtep IV sought to replace old gods with the great living disc of the sun; hymns call this deity sole, creator of heaven and living beings, giver of growth, and lord of time.

  The sun-disc is praised as sole deity, maker of living beings, giver of plant and animal vitality, and bringer of years, months, days, and hours.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6876-6955 confidence: medium

  Frazer says solar and other divine identifications confuse the search for original divine character and states that he relies on ritual, myth, and monument representations to interpret Osiris as a vegetation deity.

  Frazer explicitly says he relies on ritual, myth, and monument evidence to interpret Osiris as a deity of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 confidence: high

  The passage identifies annual vegetation growth and decay as another natural phenomenon suited to the conception of death and resurrection.

  The passage explicitly argues that annual vegetation growth and decay better explains Osiris's death and resurrection than daily sunset and sunrise, and that related rites share the mimic death and revival of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 confidence: high

  Ancient opinion is said to have classed together the worship and myths of Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Dionysus, and Demeter as religions of essentially the same type.

  The passage says ancient opinion grouped Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Dionysus, and Demeter as essentially the same type, and treats their rites as comparable through vegetation death and revival.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 confidence: medium

  Dionysus is described as patron of cultivated trees; prayers were offered for tree growth; fruit-growers set tree-stump images in orchards; he discovered tree-fruits including apples and figs and was spoken of as doing husbandman's work.

  Dionysus is described as patron of cultivated trees, prayed to for tree growth, discoverer of tree-fruits, and bearer of fruiting and flowering titles.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 confidence: high

  The passage states that annual growth and decay of vegetation is another natural phenomenon to which death and resurrection can be applied and that folk-custom has represented it so.

  The passage explicitly interprets the essence of the compared rites as mimic death and revival of vegetation, tied to annual growth and decay.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 confidence: medium

  Some writers identify Osiris with the sun because the myth of death and resurrection seems to fit daily solar appearance and disappearance; the passage objects that this does not explain annual ceremony or tearing in pieces.

  The passage discusses Osiris's death and annual ceremony and compares it with similar rites for Adonis, Attis, Dionysus, and Demeter.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 6957-7045 confidence: high

  Dionysus is described as patron of cultivated trees; prayers asked him to make trees grow; fruit-growers set up his image as a natural tree-stump in orchards.

  The passage says prayers were offered to Dionysus to make trees grow and that fruit-growers set up his image in orchards.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7047-7107 confidence: high

  The Lydians celebrated Dionysus's advent in spring, and the passage explains that vegetation deities imagined to spend part of each year underground naturally become gods of the lower world or of the dead; Dionysus and Osiris are named.

  The passage connects Dionysus's spring advent with the broader pattern of vegetation deities spending part of each year underground and becoming associated with the lower world.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7047-7107 confidence: high

  Dionysus is introduced as a vegetation god believed to have died violently, been brought to life again, and had his sufferings, death, and resurrection enacted in rites.

  The passage repeatedly states that Dionysus dies violently, is restored or resurrected in variant myths, and is associated with spring and vegetation deities.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7047-7107 confidence: medium

  Pomegranates are said to have sprung from Dionysus’s blood, compared with anemones from Adonis’s blood and violets from Attis’s blood.

  Pomegranates are said to spring from the blood of Dionysus.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: high

  Demeter searches land and sea, learns Proserpine's fate from the Sun, prevents seed from growing, and human starvation is averted when Zeus sends for Proserpine from the nether world.

  Demeter keeps seed hidden and prevents growth, threatening human starvation until Proserpine is fetched back.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: high

  An agreement assigns Proserpine to spend a third, or in another account a half, of each year with Pluto underground and to come forth in spring to dwell above with Demeter and the gods.

  Proserpine spends part of each year underground and returns in spring; the passage calls this annual death and resurrection, descent and ascension.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: high

  The passage reports Mannhardt's argument that Demeter's name may derive from a Cretan word for barley, making Demeter the Barley-mother or Corn-mother.

  The passage lists many European folk expressions and beliefs in which corn, rye, peas, flax, or grain fields are personified as mother or old-woman figures.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: medium

  In a Styria village account, the Corn-mother appears as a white-dressed female puppet made from the last sheaf, fertilises corn-fields by passing through them, and withers a farmer's corn if angry.

  The Styria example describes the Corn-mother as a female puppet made from the last sheaf of corn and dressed in white.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: high

  Frazer identifies the Demeter-Proserpine myth with Aphrodite-Adonis, Cybele-Attis, and Isis-Osiris, and says Demeter mourns Proserpine, who personifies vegetation, especially corn; Demeter and Proserpine are described as a mythical reduplication of one natural phenomenon.

  Proserpine is taken by Pluto from the upper world to the subterranean world and is identified with vegetation and corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: high

  Frazer identifies the Demeter-Proserpine myth with Aphrodite-Adonis, Cybele-Attis, and Isis-Osiris, and says Demeter mourns Proserpine, who personifies vegetation, especially corn; Demeter and Proserpine are described as a mythical reduplication of one natural phenomenon.

  Demeter mourns and withholds seed growth, threatening human starvation until Proserpine is restored.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: high

  An agreement assigns Proserpine part of each year underground with Pluto and part above with Demeter and the gods; Frazer calls this annual death and resurrection, descent and ascension, represented in rites.

  Proserpine's yearly time underground and spring return are explicitly called annual death and resurrection, descent and ascension.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7183-7267 confidence: medium

  Frazer reports Mannhardt's argument that Demeter derives from a Cretan word for barley and means Barley-mother or Corn-mother; Crete is described as an ancient seat of Demeter's worship.

  Demeter is explained as Corn-mother, and European folk traditions personify crops as mothers who inhabit, guard, fertilise, or wither fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: high

  The Styrian wreath is dedicated in church; on Easter Eve a seven-year-old girl rubs grain out of it and scatters it among young corn, and at Christmas its straw is placed in the manger to make cattle thrive. The passage interprets this as the Corn-mother’s fertilising power and influence over animal life.

  Seed or grain from the Corn-mother’s wreath is scattered among young corn or mixed with seed-corn in spring, and straw from the wreath is placed in a manger to make cattle thrive.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: medium

  Near Danzig, the last ears are made into a doll called the Corn-mother or Old Woman and brought home; in Holstein, the last sheaf is dressed in women’s clothes, called the Corn-mother, carried home, and drenched with water, which the passage calls a rain-charm.

  In Holstein, the dressed last sheaf called the Corn-mother is drenched with water, which the passage identifies as a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: high

  The Corn-mother is said to be present in the last handful of corn left standing; cutting it catches, drives away, or kills her, and the last sheaf may be carried home and honored as divine.

  Across the examples, the final sheaf or stalks are named and treated as Corn-mother, crop-specific mother, Harvest-mother, Great Mother, Mother-sheaf, or Ceres.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: medium

  The Corn-mother is said to be present in the last handful of corn left standing; cutting it catches, drives away, or kills her, and the last sheaf may be carried home and honored as divine.

  The passage describes the final handful as caught, driven away, or killed; Hadeln reapers beat the last sheaf to drive out the Corn-mother, and the Auxerre Ceres puppet is dismantled and burned.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: high

  In Bruck in Styria, the last sheaf is made into a woman, its ears form a wreath, the Corn-mother is carried or displayed, the last thresher is called her son, and grain or straw from the wreath is used for young corn and cattle.

  Grain from the Corn-mother wreath is scattered among young corn or mixed with seed-corn, and wreath straw is placed in a manger to make cattle thrive.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: high

  In Bruck in Styria, the last sheaf is made into a woman, its ears form a wreath, the Corn-mother is carried or displayed, the last thresher is called her son, and grain or straw from the wreath is used for young corn and cattle.

  The Corn-mother or Ceres figure is placed at the center of harvest supper, dance, or evening dancing, and reapers dance around or with it.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7269-7349 confidence: medium

  Near Danzig the last ears become a doll called Corn-mother or Old Woman; in Holstein the last sheaf is dressed as a woman, called Corn-mother, carried home, and drenched with water, identified as a rain-charm.

  In Holstein, the dressed Corn-mother sheaf is drenched with water, which the passage identifies as a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: high

  The last sheaf is called Grandmother or Granny in several examples; it may be adorned, gained by a woman binder, sought by servants, linked to next-year marriage omens, or cut by reapers throwing sickles at it near Belfast.

  Across the cited customs, the final sheaf is repeatedly named as Grandmother, Granny, Old Woman, Old Man, Old Rye-woman, Carlin, or related figures and may be dressed or shaped as a person.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: high

  The Old Woman sheaf is often made unusually large or heavy, sometimes with a stone or with many sheaves tied together; at Itzgrund this is intended to secure a good crop next year, and the passage calls the practice a sympathetic-magic charm for a large, heavy future crop.

  The Old Woman sheaf is made larger or heavier than other sheaves, and the passage explicitly describes this as a sympathetic-magic charm to secure a large and heavy crop in the following year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: high

  The last sheaf is called Grandmother or Granny in several places; it may be adorned, shaped as human, contested by servants, connected with marriage omens, or cut by reapers throwing sickles.

  The final sheaf is repeatedly named Grandmother, Granny, Old Woman, Old Rye-woman, Old Barley-woman, Old Wheat-woman, Carlin, or related terms and is often shaped or dressed as a woman.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: high

  The last sheaf is often called Old Woman or Old Man, dressed as a woman or in human attire, assigned to the cutter, binder, holder, or laggard, carried on the last wagon, mocked, and in one case drenched with water together with the woman binder.

  The person who cuts, binds, or gets the last sheaf may be called by the same name as the sheaf, sit beside it on the last wagon, or be tied into the sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: medium

  The passage states that Mannhardt saw the same-named person and last sheaf as identified, representing the corn-spirit caught in the last sheaf; it also describes tying or wrapping the cutter or binder into the last sheaf and compares this to branch- or leaf-wrapped tree-spirit figures.

  The passage explicitly states that the person and sheaf represent the corn-spirit caught in the last sheaf, with duplicate representation by human being and sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: high

  The Old Woman sheaf is often made large, thick, heavy, or stone-weighted; at Itzgrund it is made large to secure a good crop next year, which the passage describes as sympathetic magic.

  The Old Woman sheaf is made unusually large or heavy, and the passage says this is done as a charm by sympathetic magic to secure a large and heavy crop the following year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: medium

  The last sheaf is called Grandmother or Granny in several places; it may be adorned, shaped as human, contested by servants, connected with marriage omens, or cut by reapers throwing sickles.

  The Belfast and Antrim examples describe reapers throwing sickles at the last standing or plaited corn, with the successful cutter receiving or keeping it.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7351-7432 confidence: medium

  In Scotland the last-corn female figure may be called Carlin, Maiden, or Witch according to timing and luck; in County Antrim the last stalks are plaited, blindfolded reapers throw sickles, and the successful cutter places the bunch over his door.

  In Scotland the last corn figure is called Carlin if cut after Hallowmas, Maiden if cut before Hallowmas, and Witch if cut after sunset, the last being associated with bad luck.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: high

  Poland and Bohemia: the last sheaf is called Baba or Old Woman, may be made as a female figure with straw hat, carried on the last harvest-waggon, delivered with a garland by two girls, linked to a belief about the last binder having a child, and tied with a green branch on top.

  Across the passage the last sheaf is named or formed as Baba, Boba, Corn-queen, Corn-mother, Harvest-woman, or Harvest Queen.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: high

  Harvesters may say the last-binding woman has or is the Baba; she makes a corn puppet, the cutter or binder may be called Baba, a Harvest-woman doll is made from the last sheaf and adorned with ribbons, and the oldest reaper dances with the doll and farmer's wife.

  The woman or person who binds or cuts the last sheaf may be called Baba or receive related Old Woman crop names, and in one case is wrapped in the sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: high

  Poland and Bohemia: the last sheaf is called Baba or Old Woman, may be made as a female figure with straw hat, carried on the last harvest-waggon, delivered with a garland by two girls, linked to a belief about the last binder having a child, and tied with a green branch on top.

  Several variants carry the last-sheaf figure on a harvest-waggon or through the village and include dancing with the doll or figure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: medium

  Cracow district: people say the Grandfather or Baba sits in the last sheaf depending on whether a man or woman binds it; the woman may be wrapped in the sheaf, carried home, drenched with water, remain until the dance ends, and keep the name Baba for a year.

  Cracow and Lithuanian figures are drenched with water, and the Bulgarian Corn-queen or Corn-mother may be thrown into the river to secure rain and dew.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: medium

  Russia and Bulgaria: the last sheaf may be shaped and dressed as a woman and carried with dance and song; Bulgarians make a Corn-queen or Corn-mother doll, dress it in a woman's shirt, carry it round the village, and throw it into a river for rain and dew or burn it and strew the ashes on fields.

  One Bulgarian variant burns the last-sheaf doll and strews its ashes on the fields, with Frazer glossing the action as fertilizing them.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: high

  Poland: the last sheaf is called Baba, the Old Woman; the Baba is said to sit in it, and it may be made from twelve smaller sheaves.

  Across the surveyed customs, the final sheaf of the harvest is repeatedly named or fashioned as Baba, Boba, Harvest-woman, Corn-queen, Corn-mother, or Harvest Queen.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: high

  Harvesters call the last binder Baba; she makes a corn puppet, sometimes female or male, decorated with clothes, flowers, or ribbons. A Harvest-woman doll is made from the last sheaf, and the oldest reaper dances with it and with the farmer’s wife.

  The person who binds or cuts the last sheaf or stalks may be called Baba or an Old Rye-woman or Old Potato-woman, and in Cracow a woman binder is physically wrapped in the sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: medium

  Cracow district: if a man binds the last sheaf they say the Grandfather is in it; if a woman binds it they say the Baba is in it. The woman is wrapped in the sheaf, carried home, drenched with water, remains until the dance ends, and keeps the name Baba for a year.

  The Boba or Baba may be drenched with water, and the Bulgarian Corn-queen or Corn-mother is thrown into a river to secure rain and dew or burned with ashes strewn on fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: medium

  Russia and Bulgaria: the Russian last sheaf may be shaped and dressed as a woman and carried with dance and song. Bulgarians make a Corn-queen or Corn-mother doll from the last sheaf, carry it round the village, then throw it into a river for rain and dew or burn it and scatter the ashes on fields.

  The Bulgarian last-sheaf doll is explicitly called Corn-queen or Corn-mother, and Northern European examples are called Harvest Queen and linked by observers with Ceres.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7434-7491 confidence: high

  Harvesters call the last binder Baba; she makes a corn puppet, sometimes female or male, decorated with clothes, flowers, or ribbons. A Harvest-woman doll is made from the last sheaf, and the oldest reaper dances with it and with the farmer’s wife.

  The Harvest-woman doll is danced with by the oldest reaper, and the Lithuanian Boba is danced with by everyone after being carried and drenched.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: high

  Customs are described on the threshing-floor; the corn-spirit flees reapers, takes refuge in the barn, appears in the last sheaf, and may perish under the flail or flee to neighbouring unthreshed corn.

  The passage repeatedly locates the corn-spirit in the last sheaf or last corn at threshing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: high

  The last corn is called Mother-corn or Old Woman; the person giving the last flail stroke may be called Old Woman, wrapped in straw or given straw to carry, and carted through the village.

  The last corn or its representative is named Mother-corn, Old Woman, Baba, Old Corn-woman, or Corn-woman, and in one case the last sheaf is made into female shape.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: medium

  Customs are described on the threshing-floor; the corn-spirit flees reapers, takes refuge in the barn, appears in the last sheaf, and may perish under the flail or flee to neighbouring unthreshed corn.

  The corn-spirit may perish under the flail or flee to unthreshed corn; some customs move the last-thresher or female-shaped sheaf to a neighbouring farm that has not finished threshing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: high

  The customs are practiced on the threshing-floor; the corn-spirit flees before reapers, takes refuge in the barn, appears in the last sheaf, and may perish under the flail or flee to a neighboring farm’s unthreshed corn.

  The passage repeatedly connects the last sheaf or last corn of threshing with the corn-spirit or with names such as Mother-corn, Old Woman, and Corn-woman.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: high

  The last corn threshed is called Mother-corn or Old Woman; sometimes the last person to strike with the flail is called Old Woman, wrapped in straw or given straw on the back, and carted through the village with laughter.

  The last-stroke thresher, stranger woman, and farmer’s wife are each treated as or said to represent the corn-spirit or Old Woman figure associated with the last corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: medium

  The customs are practiced on the threshing-floor; the corn-spirit flees before reapers, takes refuge in the barn, appears in the last sheaf, and may perish under the flail or flee to a neighboring farm’s unthreshed corn.

  The corn-spirit may perish under blows of the flail, and the farmer’s wife is handled in a graphic imitation of threshing and winnowing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7493-7525 confidence: medium

  The customs are practiced on the threshing-floor; the corn-spirit flees before reapers, takes refuge in the barn, appears in the last sheaf, and may perish under the flail or flee to a neighboring farm’s unthreshed corn.

  The corn-spirit may flee to still-unthreshed corn of a neighboring farm, and the last sheaf or the straw-wrapped thresher may be taken to a neighbor who has not finished threshing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: high

  The passage contrasts mature corn-spirit names with cases where the corn-spirit is young or childlike, including a Polish formula saying the cutter of the last handful has cut the navel-string.

  The passage describes the corn-spirit as a child separated by the sickle, a navel-string being cut, and several last-sheaf figures named or enacted as children and babies.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: high

  In Kent, the Ivy Girl is a human-shaped figure of good corn, dressed and adorned by women and brought home with the last load of corn.

  Multiple customs name or shape the last handful or sheaf as Ivy Girl, Maiden, Maidenhead, Head, or clyack sheaf, dress it in female form, and preserve it after harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: high

  The passage describes Bride, Oats-bride, and Wheat-bride names for the last sheaf and binder, and German or Silesian customs with straw-dressed Oats-wife/Oats-man or Oats-bride/Oats-bridegroom figures, dancing, plucking stalks, and a wedding procession with harvest crown and attendants.

  The passage states that the names Bride, Oats-bride, and Wheat-bride can be worked out by representing the productive powers of vegetation as bride and bridegroom.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: medium

  On Gareloch farms, the last corn may be called the Maiden, Maidenhead, or Head; it is plaited, cut, ribboned, hung in the kitchen, kept with dates, and in one variant its grain is later given to poultry.

  The Maiden or clyack sheaf is kept until a later calendrical moment and then fed or divided among cattle, a mare in foal, an old cow, or poultry, with one custom explicitly stating the aim of making cattle thrive.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit may be imagined as young or a child separated from its mother by the sickle; in Poland, the cutter of the last handful is told he has cut the navel-string.

  The passage repeatedly connects the last sheaf or last handful with a young corn-spirit named as Child, Harvest Child, Corn Baby, Maiden, Bride, or related figures.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: high

  In North Germany the last sheaf may be called Child or Harvest Child; in northern England the Corn Baby or Kern Baby is cut by the prettiest girl, brought home with music, displayed at supper, and kept for the year; the cutter is Harvest Queen.

  The Corn Baby, Ivy Girl, Maiden, and related sheaf figures are dressed, carried home, displayed, and kept for the rest of the year or until a later seasonal marker.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: medium

  In northern Scotland and Aberdeenshire, the Maiden or clyack sheaf is kept until Christmas or New Year and then divided among cattle or given to a mare in foal or the oldest cow.

  In northern Scotland and Aberdeenshire, the Maiden or clyack sheaf is kept until Christmas or New Year and then given to cattle, a mare in foal, or the oldest cow, with one account saying this makes cattle thrive.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7527-7592 confidence: medium

  The names Bride, Oats-bride, and Wheat-bride are sometimes applied in Germany and Scotland to the last sheaf and to the woman who binds it.

  The passage says the productive powers of vegetation are represented as bride and bridegroom, including straw-dressed Oats-bride/Oats-bridegroom figures and the Silesian wedding-like procession for the last-sheaf binder.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: high

  Harvest customs are compared to spring customs: tree-spirit is represented by tree and person; corn-spirit by last sheaf and by the person who cuts, binds, or threshes it; naming, wrapping, and Mother/Maiden cutting rules show equivalence.

  The passage repeatedly states that tree-spirit and corn-spirit are represented both by vegetation objects and by human participants.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: high

  Harvest customs are compared to spring customs: tree-spirit is represented by tree and person; corn-spirit by last sheaf and by the person who cuts, binds, or threshes it; naming, wrapping, and Mother/Maiden cutting rules show equivalence.

  The last sheaf is described as the place where the corn-spirit is regularly supposed to be present and as the object used in fertility rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit is credited with fertilising influence over vegetation, cattle, and women; examples include scattering last-sheaf grain among spring corn, giving last-sheaf straw to cattle at Christmas, delivering a pregnant-shaped Mother-sheaf to the farmer’s wife, and linking the last-sheaf binder or recipient with childbirth or marriage next year.

  The passage says rites are magical rather than propitiatory and gives examples involving grain, cattle, pregnancy, rain, and crop heaviness.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: medium

  European peasant spring and harvest customs are described as performed by ordinary people in outdoor and domestic work settings; their beings are general spirits such as Barley-mother, Old Woman, and Maiden; examples include throwing the Corn-mother into a river for rain and dew, making the Old Woman heavy for a heavy crop, strewing last-sheaf grain among young crops, and giving the last sheaf to cattle.

  The passage cites throwing the Corn-mother into the river in order to secure rain and dew for the crops.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: high

  Harvest customs are described as analogous to spring customs: tree-spirit is represented by tree and person; corn-spirit by last sheaf and the person who cuts, binds, or threshes it; equivalence is marked by names, wrapping, and Mother/Maiden cutting rules.

  The passage describes the tree-spirit as represented by tree and person and the corn-spirit as represented by last sheaf and human harvester.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit’s fertilizing influence is shown by scattering grain from the last sheaf among young corn, giving last-sheaf straw to cattle, delivering a pregnant Mother-sheaf to the farmer’s wife, and beliefs about childbirth or marriage after binding or receiving the last sheaf.

  The last sheaf is treated as containing the corn-spirit, and its grain or straw is applied to young crops, cattle, women, childbirth, and marriage expectations.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: high

  The rites are described as magical rather than propitiatory, acting through physical sympathy or resemblance between rite and intended effect rather than sacrifice, prayer, or praise.

  The passage states that rites are magical rather than propitiatory and gives examples involving river immersion for rain and dew, making the Old Woman heavy for a heavy crop, and using last-sheaf materials for crops and cattle.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7594-7681 confidence: medium

  The passage compares Mexican maize rites with European customs, saying human beings varied with the age of the maize and were probably representatives of the corn-spirit rather than victims offered to it.

  Frazer compares European customs with Mexican maize rites in which human beings used to promote maize growth varied with the maize’s age and were probably representatives of the corn-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: high

  The custom of keeping a puppet representing the corn-spirit until the next harvest is described as a charm maintaining the spirit’s life and activity through the year.

  The passage repeatedly describes a puppet, dressed maize, or sheaf preserved through the agricultural cycle to maintain or quicken crop life.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: medium

  Acosta’s Peruvian account describes fruitful maize placed in a Pirua with ceremonies and night watching, dressed in rich garments, venerated as mother of the maize, asked about its strength, and burned and renewed if it cannot last until next year.

  The Mother of the Maize is burned or put to death if her strength fails and is replaced by a fresh Mother of the Maize to prevent the maize from languishing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: high

  Zapotec priests, nobles, and people select the finest maize sheaf, carry it to a flower-adorned temple altar, sacrifice to the harvest god, wrap and keep it until seed-time, then return it to the field, place it in a subterranean chamber, sacrifice to field gods, cover it with earth, and begin sowing.

  The Zapotec finest sheaf is wrapped, buried in the maize field from seed-time to near harvest, then disinterred and distributed as talismanic grain to quicken maize growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: high

  In the Punjaub, the largest cotton plant is sprinkled with buttermilk and rice-water, bound with cotton from other plants, called mother-cotton, saluted, and addressed with prayers that other plants may resemble it in productive richness.

  The Punjaub rite selects the largest cotton plant, names it mother-cotton, and prays that the other plants may resemble it in richness of produce.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: high

  Frazer says the worshipped object was probably the dressed maize bunch; another source describes divine plant mothers, including Zara-mama, whose figures were made of plant material, dressed in women's clothes, worshipped, and believed to give birth to much maize.

  The passage describes maize and cotton mothers whose preservation or ritual treatment is linked to crop increase, birth, or abundant production.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: high

  Keeping the puppet, representative of the corn-spirit, until the next harvest is described as a charm to maintain the corn-spirit's life and activity throughout the year.

  The corn-spirit puppet and Zapotec finest sheaf are preserved across the agricultural year to maintain or quicken crop growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: medium

  Zapotec priests and community members selected the finest sheaf, placed it on a flowered temple altar, wrapped and kept it until seed-time, buried it in the field, later disinterred it, and distributed its grain as talismans; Frazer states the intention was to quicken maize growth.

  The Zapotec sheaf is buried in a field from seed-time toward harvest and later disinterred, with its grain kept as talismans; Frazer says the purpose was to quicken the maize's growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7683-7765 confidence: medium

  Zapotec priests and community members selected the finest sheaf, placed it on a flowered temple altar, wrapped and kept it until seed-time, buried it in the field, later disinterred it, and distributed its grain as talismans; Frazer states the intention was to quicken maize growth.

  The Zapotecs select the largest and finest sheaf, and in the Punjaub the largest cotton plant is selected and prayed to as a model for the richness of the other plants.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7767-7813 confidence: high

  Frazer introduces comparison with European peasant harvest customs and states that Dyaks of Northern Borneo hold a harvest feast to secure the soul of the rice; one mode has the priest catch it as grains in white cloth.

  The Dyak feast secures the rice soul to prevent decay, while the Karen formula calls back the rice-kelah when a field does not flourish.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7767-7813 confidence: high

  At sowing time, some of the rice soul is planted with other seeds and is said to be propagated and communicated.

  At sowing time, some of the rice soul is planted with other seeds and is said to be propagated and communicated.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7767-7813 confidence: high

  Frazer states that the European bride-and-bridegroom corn-spirit custom is paralleled in Java, where prepared rice ears are called the Rice-bride and Rice-bridegroom, receive a wedding feast and barn bridal chamber, are accompanied by sheaves as guests, and are not to be disturbed for forty days.

  In Java, adorned ears of rice are named Rice-bride and Rice-bridegroom, receive a wedding feast, and are installed in a bridal chamber before the harvest is fully housed.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7767-7813 confidence: medium

  The passage says Dyaks of Northern Borneo hold a harvest feast whose object is to secure the soul of the rice so the farm produce will not rot and decay.

  The Dyak rice soul is secured at harvest and later planted with other seeds at sowing time to propagate and communicate it.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: high

  Demeter and Proserpine are said probably to have grown from simple harvest beliefs and practices and to have been represented by rude dolls of yellow sheaves; Kore is noted as the Maiden title of Proserpine.

  The passage repeatedly describes corn represented through Corn-mothers, Maidens, and dolls made from sheaves or ripe corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: high

  The Breton mother-sheaf is a large figure made from the last sheaf with a small corn-doll inside, representing both Corn-mother and unborn Corn-daughter.

  The current year’s ripe corn is described as mother, while the seed or child represents next year’s corn; Proserpine of one year may become Demeter of the next.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: medium

  The story says Iasion begat Plutus by Demeter on a thrice-ploughed field and is compared with a West Prussian mock birth on the harvest field.

  The West Prussian mock birth is a charm for next year’s crop, and other customs are said to mimic procreation on fields to impart fertility.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: high

  Proserpine’s descent into the lower world is interpreted as seed-sowing, her spring reappearance as sprouting young corn, and this year’s Proserpine as next year’s Demeter.

  Proserpine’s descent is interpreted as seed-sowing and her return as sprouting; the myth is tied to annual disappearance and reappearance from the ground.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: medium

  The reformed myth assigns Proserpine to autumn-sown and spring-sprouting corn, while Demeter laments and rejoices; two immortals replace the annual succession, one disappearing and returning, the other weeping and rejoicing.

  Demeter is assigned the role of mother who laments the corn’s annual disappearance underground and rejoices at its spring reappearance.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: high

  Frazer compares Greek Demeter and Proserpine with the German Corn-mother and the Balquhidder harvest Maiden, suggesting that the Greek figures grew from harvest beliefs and were once represented by sheaf dolls.

  The passage treats Demeter, the Corn-mother, Proserpine, and the harvest Maiden as personifications of corn at different stages or ritual forms.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: medium

  The passage says Iasion begot Plutus, meaning wealth or abundance, by Demeter on a thrice-ploughed field, and compares this with a West Prussian mock birth in which the mother is the Corn-mother and the child is the Corn-baby, a crop charm for the next year.

  The West Prussian ritual mother and child are described as Corn-mother and Corn-baby, with the whole ceremony functioning as a charm for next year’s crop.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: medium

  The passage says Iasion begot Plutus, meaning wealth or abundance, by Demeter on a thrice-ploughed field, and compares this with a West Prussian mock birth in which the mother is the Corn-mother and the child is the Corn-baby, a crop charm for the next year.

  The passage says spring and harvest customs may perform or mimic procreation on fields to impart fertility to them, and relates this to the story of Demeter, Iasion, and Plutus.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: high

  The passage explains the Prussian mother as ripe corn and the child as next year’s corn, then interprets Demeter as this year’s ripe corn and Proserpine as seed-corn sown in autumn and returning in spring; Proserpine’s descent is read as sowing and her return as sprouting.

  Proserpine’s descent into the lower world is interpreted as sowing seed, and her reappearance in spring as the sprouting of young corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7815-7896 confidence: medium

  The passage describes a Breton mother-sheaf, made from the last sheaf with a small corn-doll inside, as representing both the Corn-mother and the unborn Corn-daughter.

  The passage explains the corn of this year giving rise to next year’s corn, with Proserpine of one year becoming Demeter of the next in an earlier form of the myth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7898-7979 confidence: high

  The passage says the Corn-mother and harvest Maiden are prototypes of Demeter and Proserpine; it identifies Proserpine’s death and resurrection as central and links it with Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Dionysus, and rustic rites among reapers and vine-dressers.

  The passage identifies Proserpine’s death and resurrection as central and connects the same annual divine death-and-resurrection conception with vegetation worships.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7898-7979 confidence: medium

  The passage says the Corn-mother and harvest Maiden are prototypes of Demeter and Proserpine; it identifies Proserpine’s death and resurrection as central and links it with Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Dionysus, and rustic rites among reapers and vine-dressers.

  The passage asks whether annual divine death and resurrection originated in rustic rites among reapers and vine-dressers and notes resemblances between ancient harvest or vintage customs and national rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7898-7979 confidence: medium

  "in the Corn-mother and harvest Maiden of Northern Europe we have the prototypes of Demeter and Proserpine."

  The passage presents Corn-mother and harvest Maiden figures as harvest prototypes for Demeter and Proserpine.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7898-7979 confidence: high

  The passage states that Proserpine's death and resurrection, combined with her vegetation-deity nature, links her myth with the cults of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, and Dionysus, and raises the question of annual divine death and resurrection arising from rustic rites among reapers and vine-dressers.

  The passage explicitly identifies Proserpine's death and resurrection and links the incident with vegetation cults of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, and Dionysus.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7898-7979 confidence: medium

  The passage states that Proserpine's death and resurrection, combined with her vegetation-deity nature, links her myth with the cults of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, and Dionysus, and raises the question of annual divine death and resurrection arising from rustic rites among reapers and vine-dressers.

  The passage asks whether annual death and resurrection of a god may originate in rustic rites among reapers and vine-dressers and points to harvest and vintage customs in Egypt, Syria, and Phrygia.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  Egyptian reapers lament the first sheaf and invoke Isis; Greeks call the cry Maneros and explain it as a lament for an agricultural youth; Frazer connects it with mââ-ne-hra, “come thou back,” and interprets it as a dirge and return-prayer for the corn-spirit in the first cut corn.

  The Egyptian first-sheaf cry is interpreted as a dirge for the corn-spirit's death under the sickle and a prayer for its return.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: high

  Egyptian reapers lament the first sheaf and invoke Isis; Greeks call the cry Maneros and explain it as a lament for an agricultural youth; Frazer connects it with mââ-ne-hra, “come thou back,” and interprets it as a dirge and return-prayer for the corn-spirit in the first cut corn.

  Maneros, Linus/Ailinus, Bormus/Borimus, and Lityerses are all presented as named songs attached to harvest or vintage contexts and to youth figures who die, vanish, or are mourned.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  Egyptian reapers lament the first sheaf and invoke Isis; Greeks call the cry Maneros and explain it as a lament for an agricultural youth; Frazer connects it with mââ-ne-hra, “come thou back,” and interprets it as a dirge and return-prayer for the corn-spirit in the first cut corn.

  The first cut corn is inferred to contain the corn-spirit; Java's first rice ears represent the Corn-bride and Corn-bridegroom; the Russian first sheaf is specially preserved and its grain added to seed-corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  Frazer proposes that the Lityerses stories may describe a Phrygian harvest custom in which strangers were regarded as corn-spirit embodiments, seized by reapers, wrapped in sheaves, beheaded, and thrown into water as a rain-charm; he gives as grounds resemblance to European harvest customs and human killings for field fertility.

  Frazer proposes that strangers passing the harvest field were treated as embodiments of the corn-spirit, seized, bound in sheaves, beheaded, and cast into water as a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  The formula mââ-ne-hra is translated as “come thou back” and is said to occur in Egyptian writings, including the dirge of Isis in the Book of the Dead.

  Frazer interprets the first-sheaf cry as a dirge for the death of the corn-spirit and a prayer for its return.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  Frazer supposes that the cry over cut corn was a dirge for the death of the corn-spirit, identified as Isis or Osiris, and a prayer for return; the first corn cut is said to contain the corn-spirit and to die under the sickle.

  The passage associates the first sheaf or first ears with the presence of the corn-spirit, grain-representatives, and seed saved for the following year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  The Greeks named the Egyptian reapers’ cry Maneros and explained it by a story in which Maneros, only son of the first Egyptian king, invented agriculture and died untimely, causing popular lament.

  Maneros, Linus, and Bormus are each connected with plaintive harvest or vintage songs and stories of death, dismemberment, or disappearance.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 7981-8057 confidence: medium

  Lityerses, a son of Midas, gives strangers food and drink, compels them to reap, wraps them in a sheaf, beheads them with a sickle, and carries away their bodies wrapped in corn stalks.

  Frazer proposes that strangers in the Lityerses story were regarded as embodiments of the corn-spirit, wrapped in sheaves, beheaded, and thrown into water as a fertility or rain charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  Frazer states that these examples illustrate contests among harvesters and that the person last at reaping, binding, or threshing is regarded as representative of the corn-spirit, an idea more fully expressed by binding the person in corn-stalks.

  The passage explicitly identifies the person last at reaping, binding, or threshing as the representative of the corn-spirit within harvest customs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  Near Danzig, women binders race after the cry “Seize the Old Man”; the last woman carries the last sheaf made like a man to the farmer, the Old Man is given food, people dance around or with him, and the woman is called Old Man until the next harvest.

  The Danzig and Kloxin examples describe the last sheaf or corn bundle as the Old Man, shaped into a human form and treated as a personified object.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  General European pattern: the person cutting, binding, or threshing the last sheaf may be bound in the sheaf, carried about, beaten, drenched with water, thrown on a dunghill, ridiculed, or expected to suffer misfortune; workers therefore race to avoid being last.

  The passage repeatedly describes reapers, binders, or threshers racing to avoid the distinction and consequences of completing the last harvest task.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  Near Danzig, women binders race after the cry “Seize the Old Man”; the last woman carries the last sheaf made like a man to the farmer, the Old Man is given food, people dance around or with him, and the woman is called Old Man until the next harvest.

  The Old Man is placed at table, given food, and danced around or with in the Danzig and Aschbach examples.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  At Kloxin near Stettin, the woman who binds the last sheaf is told she has the Old Man; the Old Man is a decorated corn bundle in human form, carried on a rake or horse with music to the village and delivered to the farmer with a speech asking for a present.

  At Kloxin, the decorated Old Man is brought with music from the field into the village, accompanied by a speech saying he can no longer remain or hide in the field.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  The woman who bound the last sheaf is called the Old Man until the next harvest and is mocked with the cry, “Here comes the Old Man.”

  The passage states that the last person at reaping, binding, or threshing is regarded as the representative of the corn-spirit, with customs occurring at harvest and lasting in name until the next harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  The Danzig woman who binds the last sheaf carries the Old Man, defined as the last sheaf made in human form, to the farmhouse and says, “Here I bring you the Old Man.”

  Several examples identify the Old Man with the last sheaf or a decorated bundle of corn shaped like a human figure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: high

  The passage says the last cutter, binder, or thresher is often bound in the last sheaf, carried, beaten, drenched, ridiculed, or expected to suffer misfortune, causing workers to hurry to avoid being last.

  The passage describes competition among harvest workers to avoid finishing last and receiving the Old Man designation or burden.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8059-8121 confidence: medium

  The Danzig woman who binds the last sheaf carries the Old Man, defined as the last sheaf made in human form, to the farmhouse and says, “Here I bring you the Old Man.”

  The Old Man is carried to the farmhouse or brought into the village, and the Kloxin speech says he can no longer stay or hide in the field.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8124-8182 confidence: high

  “In all these cases the idea is that the spirit of the corn—the Old Man of vegetation—is driven out of the corn last cut or last threshed, and lives in the barn during the winter.” The passage adds that at sowing-time he returns to the fields as animating force among sprouting corn.

  The passage states that the corn-spirit is driven out of the last cut or threshed corn, lives in the barn during winter, and returns at sowing to animate sprouting corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8124-8182 confidence: high

  Around Stettin, the woman placing the last sheaf on the wagon is called the Old Man, swathed in corn-stalks, decked with flowers and straw headgear, carries the harvest-crown to the squire, utters good wishes, and chooses a dance partner.

  Multiple customs attach a named persona such as Old Man, Harvest-man, or Oats-man to the person who handles the last sheaf, last ears, or last threshing stroke, and the author links this to the Old Man of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8124-8182 confidence: high

  In villages around Stettin, the woman who places the last sheaf on the wagon is called the Old Man, wrapped in corn-stalks, decorated with flowers and straw headgear, and carries the harvest-crown to the squire.

  The passage repeatedly describes a person linked to the last sheaf, last ears, or last threshing stroke being named as an Old Man or similar harvest figure and wrapped in grain or straw.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8124-8182 confidence: medium

  “the spirit of the corn—the Old Man of vegetation—is driven out of the corn last cut or last threshed, and lives in the barn during the winter”; at sowing-time it returns to the fields.

  Frazer explicitly states that the corn spirit is driven from the last cut or threshed corn, lives in the barn during winter, and returns to the fields at sowing-time.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8124-8182 confidence: medium

  At Udvarhely, Dingelstedt, Nördlingen, and parts of Oberpfalz, a person linked to harvest or threshing is encased in corn-stalks or straw, crowned, brought home or carried, rolled, drenched, or transferred to a neighbor.

  The passage reports that encased harvest figures in Transylvania and Dingelstedt are soused or drenched with water after being brought home or to the farmyard.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  Frazer introduces the second point of comparison with the Lityerses story and states that 'the corn-spirit is often believed to be killed at reaping or threshing'; examples include the Old Hay-man and Corn-man/Oats-man/Wheat-man.

  The passage repeatedly describes harvest customs in which the corn-spirit or named crop personifications are said to be killed by the last cut or final threshing stroke.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  In Lothringen and Lithuania, the last corn is associated with an Old Woman, Boba, or Old Rye-woman; the cutter is said to behead or kill her, may receive water over his head, and may bring trouble on himself.

  The last handful, stalks, bundle, or sheaf is where the Old Woman, Boba, Old Rye-woman, or Old Man is located or represented.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  Frazer turns to cases where the corn-spirit is represented by a stranger passing the harvest-field, as in the Lityerses tale, or by a first-time visitor; German reapers or threshers bind such persons with corn-stalk rope until a forfeit is paid.

  Strangers and first-time visitors are caught, bound in crop material, compelled to pay, and in one case identified with the Old Man or corn-spirit embodiment.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  In Lothringen and Lithuania, the last corn is associated with an Old Woman, Boba, or Old Rye-woman; the cutter is said to behead or kill her, may receive water over his head, and may bring trouble on himself.

  The passage states that drenching or throwing the corn-spirit representative into a stream is a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  Frazer introduces a comparison between the Lityerses story and European harvest customs, stating that the corn-spirit is often believed to be killed at reaping or threshing.

  The passage repeatedly describes the corn-spirit as killed at reaping or threshing, especially through the last stalks, last sheaf, or final threshing stroke.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  In Lothringen and Lithuania, the last corn is associated with an Old Woman, Boba, or Old Rye-woman; cutting the last handful may be described as cutting off the Boba’s head, and the cutter may receive water over his head or be said to bring trouble on himself.

  The last corn, last stalks, or last sheaf are treated as the location or embodiment of the Old Woman, Old Rye-woman, Old Man, or corn-spirit representative.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267 confidence: high

  In Lothringen and Lithuania, the last corn is associated with an Old Woman, Boba, or Old Rye-woman; cutting the last handful may be described as cutting off the Boba’s head, and the cutter may receive water over his head or be said to bring trouble on himself.

  The passage explicitly states that drenching or throwing the corn-spirit representative into a stream is a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8269-8337 confidence: high

  The passage says that, like Lityerses, modern reapers lay hold of a passing stranger and tie him in a sheaf; it adds that they do not behead him but their language and gestures indicate a desire to do so.

  Across harvest-field and threshing-floor examples, an outsider is stopped, bound with grain, ropes, or flails, and in the threshing context explicitly regarded as an embodiment of the corn-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8269-8337 confidence: high

  In Wermland, a stranger on the threshing-floor receives a flail around his neck and a straw rope around his body; a stranger woman receives a flail around her body and a corn-stalk wreath around her neck and is called Corn-woman and Corn-maiden.

  A stranger woman is marked with a flail and corn-stalk wreath and publicly identified as the Corn-woman and Corn-maiden.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8269-8337 confidence: high

  Frazer states that strangers on the threshing-floor are regarded as embodiments of the corn-spirit; at Wiedingharde, a stranger may have the arms of a threshing-flail put around his neck and pressed until he is nearly choked.

  The passage states that strangers on the threshing-floor are regarded as embodiments of the corn-spirit and describes a stranger woman being called Corn-woman or Corn-maiden.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8339-8394 confidence: high

  Harvest-field and threshing-floor customs regard a passing stranger as a personification of the corn or corn-spirit and make a show of treating him like corn by mowing, binding, and threshing.

  The passage states that a passing stranger in harvest and threshing customs is regarded as the corn-spirit and treated like the crop.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8339-8394 confidence: medium

  The passage explains that the spirit of corn and cultivated plants may be conceived as the owner of the plants, making harvest and gathering acts of spoliation that impoverish him.

  The plant spirit is described as owner of the crop, while harvesting and digging are described as spoliation; the stranger represents the robbed owner.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8339-8394 confidence: high

  Examples from several European places name the last sheaf, sheaf puppet, or binder with poor or beggar terms; the sheaf may be made larger, clothed, or carried home by an old woman.

  Multiple examples identify the last sheaf, sheaf puppet, or last-sheaf binder with poor or beggar names.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8339-8394 confidence: medium

  Modern European harvest customs treat the person who cuts, binds, or threshes the last corn as an embodiment of the corn-spirit by wrapping him in sheaves, mimically killing him with agricultural implements, and throwing him into water.

  The last-corn worker is described as the corn-spirit embodiment and is mimically killed with agricultural implements, wrapped in sheaves, and thrown into water.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8339-8394 confidence: medium

  In a Zealand madder-harvest custom, a stranger who taunts the workers may be chased, caught, brought back, buried up to at least the middle, mocked, and subjected to an excretion act before his face.

  In the Zealand madder custom, the captured stranger is buried in the earth and the passage explicitly compares this to madder-roots being in the ground.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8339-8394 confidence: high

  Examples name a remaining sheaf or last-sheaf figure as Poor Old Woman, Poor Woman, Beggar-man, Rye-beggar, or Beggar; some are puppets, enlarged sheaves, clothed sheaves, or carried by an old woman limping.

  Multiple regional examples name or shape the last sheaf as a poor woman, beggar, or similar figure at harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8396-8459 confidence: high

  Guayaquil people are said to sacrifice human blood and men's hearts when sowing fields.

  All examples connect human killing or offering with sowing, harvest, spring timing, crop thriving, or field fertility.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8396-8459 confidence: medium

  Warm flesh from the Pawnee victim is carried to a cornfield; blood is squeezed onto newly deposited corn grains until the seed is sprinkled and covered with earth.

  The Marimos explicitly describe the victim as serving as seed, and other examples place blood, flesh, or bodies directly into agricultural contexts.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8396-8459 confidence: medium

  At a Mexican harvest-festival first-fruits are offered to the sun; a criminal is crushed between stones, buried, and the rite is called the meeting of the stones.

  The Mexican first-fruits are offered to the sun, while the Pawnee sacrifice is attributed to an injunction from the Morning Star or its bird messenger.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8396-8459 confidence: high

  Indians of Guayaquil are reported to have sacrificed human blood and hearts when sowing fields.

  Multiple examples connect killing a human victim with sowing, harvest, first-fruits, spring equinox, or making crops thrive.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8396-8459 confidence: medium

  After the Sioux girl’s death, the chief sacrificer ate her heart; warm flesh was put in baskets and blood from it was squeezed onto newly deposited corn grains before they were covered with earth.

  The Marimos victim is explicitly described as serving as seed, and other cases place victim blood, flesh, burial, or ashes in direct contact with fields or seed.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8396-8459 confidence: high

  Indians of Guayaquil are reported to have sacrificed human blood and hearts when sowing fields.

  The examples are keyed to sowing, harvest, first-fruits, spring, March, the spring equinox, sowing and reaping.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8461-8513 confidence: high

  The Khonds or Kandhs are described as offering human sacrifices to the Earth Goddess Tari Pennu or Bera Pennu to ensure crops, immunity from disease and accidents, and deep red turmeric through bloodshed.

  The passage states that human sacrifices were offered to the Earth Goddess to ensure good crops and that the ritual prayer asked for crops, seasons, and health.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8461-8513 confidence: high

  Sacrifices were offered by tribes, branches, or villages at festivals and extraordinary occasions, and were arranged so each family head could obtain a shred of flesh for his fields near crop-laying time.

  Family heads were enabled to procure a shred of the victim's flesh for their fields near the time the chief crop was laid down.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8461-8513 confidence: high

  Human sacrifices were offered by tribes, divisions, or villages at periodic festivals and extraordinary occasions; periodic rites let heads of families obtain a shred of flesh for fields near the time the chief crop was laid down.

  The passage says sacrifices occurred at periodical festivals and were arranged so that flesh could be obtained for fields about the time the chief crop was laid down.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8515-8575 confidence: medium

  In one district the victim is slowly killed by fire on a sloping stage; tears are associated with a more abundant rain supply, and the body is cut to pieces the next day.

  In the fire-killing variant, the passage states that the more tears the victim shed, the more abundant the rain supply would be.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8515-8575 confidence: high

  Other reported killing methods include dragging the victim through fields in Chinna Kimedy while flesh is cut away, fastening him to a revolving wooden elephant, and exposing him on a sloping stage to fire and hot brands so that his tears would correspond to abundant rain.

  The victim's flesh is buried in fields or offered to the Earth Goddess, ashes are spread on fields and mixed with new corn, and the passage links the victim's tears with rain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8515-8575 confidence: high

  Other reported killing methods include dragging the victim through fields in Chinna Kimedy while flesh is cut away, fastening him to a revolving wooden elephant, and exposing him on a sloping stage to fire and hot brands so that his tears would correspond to abundant rain.

  The fire-death scene states that the more tears the victim shed, the more abundant the rain would be.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: high

  Khond Meriahs are described as victims offered to the Earth Goddess; flesh and ashes are placed in fields, granaries, and new corn and interpreted as having direct fertilizing power.

  The passage repeatedly describes victim flesh, ashes, blood, or other bodily substances as applied to fields, granaries, seed, or corn to fertilize crops.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: medium

  The Meriah is said by cited authorities to be regarded as more than mortal and treated with reverence close to adoration; Frazer concludes he appears divine and may have represented an Earth or vegetation deity.

  The passage explicitly describes a custom of killing the representative of a god and identifies victims with corn or the corn-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: high

  The passage links the Meriah's blood with turmeric redness, tears with rain, water poured on buried flesh with a rain-charm, and hair or spittle with personal supernatural virtue.

  The Meriah's tears are linked with rain, water is poured on buried flesh, and Frazer parallels this with European water rites for the corn-spirit's representative.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: high

  The passage describes victim-corn identification through physical correspondence: young or old Mexican victims for young or ripe corn, a short fat Marimo victim as seed, fattened Pawnee victims, and killing or grinding victims like corn.

  Victim age, stature, and fatness are described as corresponding to the age, height, or desired fullness of the corn crop.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: high

  The Meriah is described as partly offered to the Earth Goddess, while flesh and ashes are buried in fields, scattered over fields, placed on granaries, or mixed with new corn, implying direct crop-fertilizing power.

  The passage repeatedly links the victim’s body, blood, ashes, or other substances with crop growth, seed, fields, and harvest customs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: medium

  The passage associates Meriah blood with turmeric redness, tears with rain, water poured on buried flesh with a rain-charm, hair and spittle with special virtue, and reports reverence suggesting the Meriah was viewed as more than mortal or divine.

  The author explicitly proposes a custom of killing the representative of a god and connects victims with the corn or corn-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8577-8662 confidence: high

  The passage associates Meriah blood with turmeric redness, tears with rain, water poured on buried flesh with a rain-charm, hair and spittle with special virtue, and reports reverence suggesting the Meriah was viewed as more than mortal or divine.

  The passage calls the Khond pouring of water on buried flesh and parallel European water customs rain-charms.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: high

  Frazer argues that human beings have been killed to promote crop growth; the Lityerses story and European harvest customs indicate that the victim represented the corn-spirit and was annually killed on the harvest-field, with an analogous tree-spirit custom in Europe.

  The passage explicitly links killing human beings with promoting crop growth and applies this to Phrygian and European harvest contexts.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: high

  Frazer argues that human beings have been killed to promote crop growth; the Lityerses story and European harvest customs indicate that the victim represented the corn-spirit and was annually killed on the harvest-field, with an analogous tree-spirit custom in Europe.

  The slain person, stranger, or final harvester is treated as the corn-spirit or its manifestation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: high

  One version makes Lityerses' victims defeated reapers; Frazer supposes they may have been wrapped in corn-sheaves and beheaded. European harvest customs include contests to avoid being last and mimic killing of the last thresher.

  The final reaper, binder, or thresher is singled out because the corn-spirit is imagined to leave the last corn and enter the nearest person.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: medium

  Frazer argues that human beings have been killed to promote crop growth; the Lityerses story and European harvest customs indicate that the victim represented the corn-spirit and was annually killed on the harvest-field, with an analogous tree-spirit custom in Europe.

  The passage explicitly compares independent proofs for annual slaying of corn-spirit and tree-spirit representatives in Europe.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: high

  Frazer says human beings have been killed to promote crop growth; he argues that the Lityerses story and European harvest customs indicate that a representative of the corn-spirit was annually killed on the harvest-field in Phrygia and Europe.

  The representative of the corn-spirit is described as annually killed on the harvest-field, with variants involving strangers, last harvesters, masters, and Lityerses.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: high

  European harvest customs include contests to avoid being last, rough handling of the last reaper, and a pretence of killing the person who gives the last stroke at threshing.

  The last reaper, binder, or thresher is treated as the corn-spirit after the spirit is expelled from the last corn, sheaf, or grain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8664-8744 confidence: medium

  Frazer says human beings have been killed to promote crop growth; he argues that the Lityerses story and European harvest customs indicate that a representative of the corn-spirit was annually killed on the harvest-field in Phrygia and Europe.

  The killing of a corn-spirit representative is tied to making crops flourish and to annual harvest customs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: high

  At Pessinus the high-priest appears to have been annually slain as Attis; Attis is called a vegetation god and “a reaped ear of corn,” and may be thought of as a corn-spirit embodiment compared with Lityerses.

  Attis and Lityerses are described as vegetation spirits or deities whose personal representatives were annually slain; the Bormus song is read as a lament for the slain corn-spirit and a call for return next year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: medium

  Villages may have procured a human victim as representative of the corn-spirit, possibly from priestly kingly families, or each village or farm may have doomed a stranger or the harvester of the last sheaf.

  The passage describes a human victim or last-sheaf harvester as representative of the corn-spirit and links Bormus to binding a farmer in a corn-sheaf and throwing him into water.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: medium

  European folk-custom is invoked to warn that the same people may have two vegetation deities with separate representatives slain at different seasons: a tree-spirit in spring and a corn-spirit in autumn.

  The passage contrasts spring tree-spirit rites with autumn corn-spirit rites and applies this seasonal distinction to Attis and Lityerses.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: medium

  Bormus is described as similar to Lityerses; his death or disappearance was annually mourned by reapers, he was a king's son or wealthy man's son, and he disappeared fetching water, with one version saying water nymphs carried him off.

  Bormus's death or disappearance is annually mourned, and the reapers' call may be a prayer that the corn-spirit return in fresh vigour the next year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: high

  At Pessinus, the high-priest appears to have been annually slain in the character of Attis, a vegetation god; Attis is described as a reaped ear of corn and possibly identical with Lityerses as a corn-spirit embodiment.

  Attis and Lityerses are treated as vegetation figures whose personal representatives were annually slain, with seasonal distinction between spring and harvest rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: medium

  Attis and Lityerses are described as parallel vegetation spirits or deities whose personal representatives were annually slain; Attis became a state religion, while Lityerses remained a rustic Phrygian harvest-field rite, possibly involving a human victim for the corn-spirit.

  The passage links the corn-spirit to human victims, strangers, farmers, and the harvester connected with the last sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8746-8810 confidence: medium

  Frazer says the Bithynian Bormus resembles Lityerses: Bormus, a king's son or son of a wealthy distinguished man, was annually mourned by reapers after his death or disappearance; he disappeared while fetching water and in one version was carried off by water nymphs.

  The reapers' song for Bormus is interpreted as lamentation over the corn-spirit's death and a prayer for return in renewed vigor next year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8812-8848 confidence: high

  Linus is probably sung by Phoenician reapers; Herodotus compares it to the Maneros song, an Egyptian reapers' lament over cut corn; Linus is identified with Adonis, a possible corn-deity; the lament is over the dead corn-spirit.

  The Linus, Maneros, and Adonis laments are placed in harvest contexts and described as laments over cut corn or the dead corn-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8812-8848 confidence: medium

  Analogy suggests that in Phoenicia the slain corn-spirit or dead Adonis may have been represented by a human victim; the Harrân legend says Thammuz, identified with Adonis, was slain by a cruel lord, his bones ground in a mill and scattered to the wind.

  The passage suggests that the Phoenician slain corn-spirit or dead Adonis may formerly have been represented by a human victim and compares this with harvest victim customs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8812-8848 confidence: medium

  Analogy suggests that in Phoenicia the slain corn-spirit or dead Adonis may have been represented by a human victim; the Harrân legend says Thammuz, identified with Adonis, was slain by a cruel lord, his bones ground in a mill and scattered to the wind.

  Thammuz's bones are ground and scattered in the Harrân legend; a Mexican harvest victim is crushed between stones; and ashes of victims in India and Africa are scattered over fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8812-8848 confidence: high

  Frazer says the Linus song was probably sung by Phoenician reapers because Herodotus compares it to the Maneros song, described as an Egyptian reapers' lament over cut corn.

  The passage connects Linus, Maneros, and Adonis laments with reapers, cut corn, harvest, and the dead corn-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8812-8848 confidence: medium

  The Harrân legend says Thammuz, identified with Adonis, was slain by his cruel lord, who ground his bones in a mill and scattered them to the wind.

  The Harrân legend describes Thammuz's bones ground in a mill and scattered, and Frazer compares this with crushed harvest victims and ashes scattered over fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: medium

  “the slain corn-spirit—the dead Osiris—was represented by a human victim, whom the reapers slew on the harvest-field, mourning his death in a dirge”

  The passage says dead Osiris, as corn-spirit, was represented by a human victim killed at harvest, mourned, and prayed to revive and return the following year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: high

  Busiris is described as an Egyptian king who sacrificed strangers to Zeus; after nine years of barrenness a Cyprian seer prescribed annual human sacrifice, and Hercules, while being dragged to the altar, broke free and killed Busiris and his son.

  The Busiris legend explains annual human sacrifice as a remedy for barrenness and as preventing recurrence of infertility and crop failure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: medium

  Busiris is explained as _pe-Asar_, “the house of Osiris”; sacrifices were said to occur at Osiris’s grave, and the victims were red-haired men whose ashes were scattered with winnowing-fans.

  Red-haired victims’ ashes are scattered with winnowing-fans; Frazer says the victim or part of him was burned and ashes scattered over fields to fertilise them.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: low

  Osiris’s body fragments are said to have been scattered and buried by Isis; Frazer says this may recall dividing a human victim and burying pieces in fields like the Khonds, or may express seed scattering mythically, as with Thammuz.

  The passage treats Osiris’s scattered and buried body fragments as possibly recalling divided victim pieces buried in fields, or as a mythical expression for seed scattering.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: medium

  The body of Osiris enclosed in a coffer and thrown by Typhon into the Nile is interpreted as possibly pointing to throwing a victim or body part into the Nile as a rain or Nile-rise charm; Phrygian and Khond parallels are cited.

  The coffered body of Osiris thrown into the Nile is interpreted as perhaps pointing to a rain or Nile-rise charm; an effigy may later have been thrown into the Nile or watered, with sprouting corn stalks shown on a monument.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: medium

  Frazer explains the annual victim as a red-haired stranger representing Osiris and ripe corn, slain at harvest, mourned by reapers, prayed to revive and return, then burned and scattered over fields to fertilise them.

  The red-haired victim is said to suit ripe corn; the passage also compares red-haired puppies for ruddy crops and a golden ring to make corn yellow.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: high

  The slain corn-spirit, the dead Osiris, is said to be represented by a human victim whom reapers kill in the harvest-field and mourn in a dirge called Maneros by the Greeks.

  The passage describes an annual human victim representing Osiris or the corn-spirit, killed at harvest or sacrificed to prevent crop failure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: high

  The slain corn-spirit, the dead Osiris, is said to be represented by a human victim whom reapers kill in the harvest-field and mourn in a dirge called Maneros by the Greeks.

  The reapers mourn the slain corn-spirit and pray that it revive and return with renewed vigour in the next year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: high

  Busiris is explained as pe-Asar, the house of Osiris, containing Osiris's grave; human sacrifices are said to occur at his grave, with red-haired male victims whose ashes are scattered by winnowing-fans.

  The passage describes burning the victim, scattering ashes over fields, and compares this to dividing and burying body pieces in fields.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: medium

  The story of Osiris's body fragments scattered and buried by Isis is interpreted as possibly remembering a Khond-like custom of dividing and burying a human victim in fields; alternatively it may express scattering seed, like a similar Thammuz story.

  Frazer suggests that the scattered fragments of Osiris's body may reflect a custom of burying human victim pieces or may mythically express scattering seed.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8850-8929 confidence: medium

  The coffered body of Osiris thrown by Typhon into the Nile is interpreted as possibly pointing to throwing a victim or effigy into water as a rain or Nile-rise charm; parallels include Phrygian victims thrown into a river, Khond watering of buried flesh, Adonis's effigy thrown into the sea, and a priest pouring water over Osiris as corn sprouts from him with an inscription about returning waters.

  The passage interprets throwing Osiris's body, a portion of it, or an effigy into the Nile, or pouring water over an effigy, as a rain or irrigation charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8931-9013 confidence: medium

  Frazer says Egyptian reapers’ cry sounded year after year, announced the death of the corn-spirit, and resembled cries heard in Western Asian harvest-fields.

  The passage describes year-by-year harvest-field cries that announce the death of the corn-spirit and compares similar cries across Egypt and Western Asia.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8931-9013 confidence: high

  In Devonshire, after wheat cutting, a selected bundle of best ears called “the neck” is held at the centre of a circle; participants stoop, raise hats and the neck, and cry “the neck” and “wee yen/way yen” three times.

  The Devonshire ceremony selects the best ears as “the neck,” raises it in the field, carries it to the farmhouse, and may keep it there for years; a related report mentions the spirit of harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8931-9013 confidence: medium

  “the death of the corn-spirit, the rustic prototype of Osiris” is announced by Egyptian reapers’ cries, according to Frazer.

  The passage explicitly says the harvest cry announces the death of the corn-spirit and links this figure with Osiris.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8931-9013 confidence: high

  In north Devon, after wheat cutting, a knowledgeable person selects a small bundle of the best ears, ties and arranges it, and it is called “the neck” of wheat.

  The Devonshire “neck” is made from selected wheat ears after the field is cut, raised during the ceremony, carried to the farmhouse, and preserved there; the Cornish parallel also involves the last sheaf.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8931-9013 confidence: high

  The passage says similar harvest cries were heard in Western Asia and that Greeks noted and compared these cries across peoples and regions.

  The passage repeatedly describes groups of reapers uttering prolonged cries in concert, with Devon participants raising themselves, hats, and the wheat bundle three times.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 8931-9013 confidence: high

  The passage says “the neck” is generally hung up in the farmhouse and sometimes remains for two or three years.

  The passage states that “the neck” is hung in the farmhouse and may remain there for two or three years.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: high

  A dialogue announces getting the “neck”; the Devonshire and Cornish last bunch of ears is identified as the neck of the corn-spirit, beheaded when cut down.

  The passage states that the corn-spirit is conceived in human or animal form and that the final standing corn is part of its body.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: medium

  In Shropshire, the last handful is called the “neck” or “gander’s neck,” plaited, cut by thrown sickles, and kept by the farmer’s wife for good luck until the next harvest.

  In Shropshire, the “neck” is taken to the farmer’s wife and kept in the house for good luck until the next harvest comes round.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: high

  Devonshire and Cornish customs treat a particular bunch of ears, generally the last standing, as the neck of the corn-spirit, which is beheaded when the bunch is cut down.

  The passage explicitly says the corn-spirit is conceived in human or animal form and the last standing corn is part of its body.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: medium

  Devonshire and Cornish customs treat a particular bunch of ears, generally the last standing, as the neck of the corn-spirit, which is beheaded when the bunch is cut down.

  The last corn is called a neck or animal body part and the cutting of it is described as beheading or severing that part.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: high

  In Shropshire the last handful is called the neck or gander's neck, plaited, cut by thrown sickles, and then taken to the farmer's wife to keep for good luck until the next harvest.

  The Shropshire neck is kept in the house for good luck until the next harvest comes round.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: medium

  Frazer identifies the Devonshire drenching of the person who brings in the neck as a rain-charm and compares it with pouring water on an image of Osiris or on a person representing him.

  Frazer identifies the drenching of the neck-carrier with water as a rain-charm and compares it to water poured on an Osiris image or representative.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.; lines 9014-9054 confidence: medium

  In Germany reapers sometimes cry Waul, Wol, or Wôld when cutting the last corn; some call the last standing patch Waul-rye, insert a flower-decked stick in it, fasten ears to the stick, remove hats, and cry Waul three times.

  German reapers cry Waul, Wol, or Wôld when cutting the last corn, sometimes with hats removed and the last patch decorated.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1211-1272 confidence: medium

  Where the Dalai Lama is born, trees and plants put forth green leaves; flowers bloom and springs rise at his bidding; his presence diffuses blessings, and his palace stands high with gilded cupolas shining for miles.

  At the Dalai Lama's birthplace, trees and plants put forth leaves, flowers bloom, springs rise, and blessings are diffused.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1274-1317 confidence: medium

  The Waganda believe a Lake Nyanza god sometimes dwells in a man or woman; the incarnate god is feared, consulted as an oracle, and can inflict or heal sickness, withhold rain, and cause famine; large presents are made when advice is sought.

  Sacred figures are linked to withholding rain and causing famine, sending rain to gardens, affecting crop growth, and drawing dugong and turtle to be taken.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1319-1362 confidence: high

  Among the Antaymours of Madagascar, the king is responsible for crop growth and every misfortune affecting the people.

  Multiple rulers or priestly figures are described as responsible for rain, weather, crops, health, fish, food growth, or the course of nature.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1319-1362 confidence: high

  In parts of West Africa, if prayers and offerings to the king fail to bring rain, subjects bind him with ropes and take him by force to his forefathers’ grave to obtain rain from them.

  Kings or priests are bound, beaten, insulted, accused, or deposed when rain, food, harvests, health, fish, or crops fail.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1319-1362 confidence: high

  During a multi-year famine in the time of Swedish king Domalde, chiefs at Upsala decide he is the cause of scarcity and must be sacrificed for good seasons; they slay him and smear his blood on the gods’ altars.

  Domalde, Olaf, Koch, and Niuē kings are killed or sacrificed in response to famine, pestilence, scarcity, or failed crops.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1319-1362 confidence: medium

  In ancient Egypt, divine beasts are compared with divine kings as responsible for nature; priests secretly threaten sacred animals during pestilence and calamities after drought, and slay them if the evil continues.

  The passage explicitly compares divine beasts in ancient Egypt with divine kings, saying sacred animals were responsible for nature and were threatened or slain when calamities after drought did not abate.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1319-1362 confidence: high

  Among the Antaymours of Madagascar, the king is responsible for crop growth and every misfortune that befalls the people.

  The passage repeatedly links kings or priest-kings to crop growth, rain, weather, harvest, food, and good seasons.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1319-1362 confidence: high

  During a long famine under Swedish king Domalde, chiefs decided he caused the scarcity, slew him for good seasons, and smeared his blood on the gods’ altars.

  Domalde, Olaf, Koch, and Niuē kings are killed or explicitly sacrificed in relation to famine, good crops, scarcity, or pestilence.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1364-1444 confidence: high

  Mexican kings swear to make sun, rain, rivers, and earth fruitful; the Chinese emperor is held responsible for severe drought and offers prayers and sacrifices to heaven as high priest.

  Mexican kings swear to regulate sun, rain, rivers, and fruitfulness; the Chinese emperor is blamed for drought; the Egyptian king is linked to crops, harvest, and corn.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1364-1444 confidence: high

  Mexican kings at accession swore to make the sun shine, clouds give rain, rivers flow, and the earth produce abundant fruits.

  Mexican kings swear to secure sun, rain, rivers, and fruits; Chinese emperors bear blame for drought; Egyptian kings share blame for crop failure and receive harvest-giving titles.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1446-1526 confidence: high

  Namvulu Vumu is described as dwelling on a hill at Bomma, the mouth of the Congo, and as King of the Rain and Storm.

  Multiple offices are described as kings or king-like figures credited with causing rain at the proper season or during drought.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1446-1526 confidence: medium

  Some Upper Nile tribes acknowledge Kings of the Rain, Mata Kodou, credited with giving rain in the rainy season; householders offer a cow for rain, people demand rain if none falls, and if the sky remains cloudless they rip open the king's belly where storms are believed to be kept. A Bari Rain King makes rain by sprinkling water from a hand-bell.

  An Upper Nile Rain King may be killed if rain does not fall, and an Alfai may be stoned to death if drought arises.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1446-1526 confidence: high

  Some Upper Nile tribes acknowledge Kings of the Rain, Mata Kodou, credited with giving rain in the rainy season; householders offer a cow for rain, people demand rain if none falls, and if the sky remains cloudless they rip open the king's belly where storms are believed to be kept. A Bari Rain King makes rain by sprinkling water from a hand-bell.

  Householders offer a cow to a Rain King, people bring tribute to the Alfai, the King of Cambodia exchanges presents with the Kings of Fire and Water, and animals are sacrificed to the sacred sword for rain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1446-1526 confidence: high

  Namvulu Vumu dwells on a hill at Bomma and is called King of the Rain and Storm.

  Multiple figures called kings or king-like authorities are credited with rain, storm, or elemental powers tied to public welfare and seasonal need.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1446-1526 confidence: high

  Before the rains, householders go to the King of the Rain and offer a cow so that he may make rain fall soon.

  Householders offer a cow for rain, the Alfai receives tribute, and animal sacrifices are offered to the sword for rain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1607-1683 confidence: high

  Clove-trees in blossom in the Moluccas are treated like pregnant women with noise, fire, light, and covered heads avoided; Javanese and Orissa rice is also treated as pregnant.

  Blossoming clove-trees and rice are treated as pregnant, with noise, fire, and other disturbances avoided to protect fruit or grain production.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1607-1683 confidence: medium

  Clove-trees in blossom in the Moluccas are treated like pregnant women, with prohibitions on noise, fire, light, and covered heads; Javanese and Orissan rice is also treated as pregnant.

  Clove-trees and rice are described as pregnant, with prohibitions or ceremonies meant to prevent fruit drop or crop failure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1755-1830 confidence: high

  Tree-spirits make crops grow: Mundari grove deities are responsible for crops; people of the Gold Coast sacrifice at tall trees linked to the fruits of the earth; Swedish peasants place leafy branches in furrows for abundant crops.

  Grove deities, tall trees, leafy branches, Harvest-May, and eiresione are described as ensuring crops, fruits, or the growth of corn through a life-giving virtue.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1755-1830 confidence: high

  The Harvest-May is a decorated branch or tree brought from the harvest-field and kept for a year; Mannhardt interprets it as embodying the vegetation spirit. The Greek eiresione is an olive or laurel branch with ribbons and fruits, carried in procession and kept over a door for a year.

  The Harvest-May and eiresione are preserved for one year to foster crops and replaced when their virtue is exhausted.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1755-1830 confidence: medium

  Some Dyaks of Sarawak preserve roots of a bulbous plant with rice and plant them with seed-rice because rice is believed not to grow unless such a plant is in the field.

  Some Dyaks preserve and replant roots of a flowering plant because rice is believed not to grow without the plant in the field.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1755-1830 confidence: high

  The German and French Harvest-May is a decorated branch or tree brought from the harvest field and kept for a year; Frazer compares it with the ancient Greek eiresione and says both preserve life-giving virtue for crops until replaced.

  The Harvest-May and eiresione are kept for a year to foster crop growth, then replaced when their virtue is considered exhausted.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: high

  Lhoosai harvest festival: chief and people fell a large tree, carry it into the village, set it up, offer sacrifice, pour spirits and rice over it, and end with feast and dance by unmarried men and girls.

  The passage repeatedly describes trees, branches, or cedar sprigs as fostering crop growth, protecting corn, or fertilising seed at harvest and sowing times.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: high

  Lhoosai harvest festival: chief and people fell a large tree, carry it into the village, set it up, offer sacrifice, pour spirits and rice over it, and end with feast and dance by unmarried men and girls.

  The Lhoosai cut and set up a harvest tree; Bechuanas carry hack-thorn branches when corn is ripe; Gilgit youths bring a cedar branch to the village; Wends set up an oak-tree in the village.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: high

  The Gilgit Chili cedar is said to multiply herds and bless women with offspring; three purified unmarried youths go to the cedar mountain with wine, oil, bread, and fruit.

  The Gilgit cedar is said to bless women and multiply herds; household speech says the cedar spray brings children, food, and cattle; the song credits the Dread Fairy King with wife, sons, and children; European May-trees and boughs are associated with milk and cattle.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: medium

  The wife bakes cakes, drives goats to the Chili stone, pelts them while invoking the Chili, and omens are drawn from their direction; a five-day song addresses the Dread Fairy King and credits him with wife, sons, right ways, and many children.

  Gilgit goats are driven to the Chili stone for omens about future kids, and Wends drive cattle around an oak-tree to make them thrive; Frazer also explicitly states that the cedar’s influence is meant to be imparted to goats.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: medium

  At Gilgit wheat-sowing, wheat from the Raja’s granary is mixed with Chili cedar sprigs, exposed to smoke from a cedar bonfire, and partly baked into a cake for the ploughman.

  At Gilgit wheat-sowing, seed is held over smoke from a cedar bonfire, and part of it is baked into a cake on the same fire for the ploughman.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: medium

  At a Lhoosai harvest festival in South-East India, the chief and people fell a large tree, bring it into the village, set it up, offer sacrifice, pour spirits and rice over it, and end with a feast and dance by unmarried men and girls.

  Several rites occur at harvest, wheat-sowing, May-day, or July and involve a tree, branch, or bough brought into a village, household, stable, or central place.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: high

  Among the Bechuanas the hack-thorn is very sacred; when corn is ripe men bring home branches to repair the cattle-yard. Frazer also reports South-East African restrictions on cutting timber while corn is green, lest crops be harmed by blight, hail, or frost.

  The passage explicitly states that trees are credited with fostering crop growth; examples include seed wheat mixed with cedar sprigs and smoked over cedar fire.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1832-1924 confidence: high

  Among the Bechuanas the hack-thorn is very sacred; when corn is ripe men bring home branches to repair the cattle-yard. Frazer also reports South-East African restrictions on cutting timber while corn is green, lest crops be harmed by blight, hail, or frost.

  Hack-thorn branches are used in the cattle-yard; goats are brought to the Chili stone for kid omens; May-trees, green boughs, and an oak rite are linked with milk or cattle thriving.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 confidence: high

  Frazer generalizes May-tree and May-pole customs: people cut a tree or branches in the woods, bring them to village or houses amid rejoicing, intending to bring home blessings that the tree-spirit can bestow.

  Frazer states that spring or early summer tree and branch customs bring home blessings that the tree-spirit can bestow, and gives multiple May examples.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 confidence: high

  Frazer explains May-tree and May-pole customs as widespread because people cut trees or branches from woods in spring, early summer, or Midsummer and bring them to villages or houses to receive blessings in the tree-spirit's power.

  Frazer states that May-tree and related customs involve cutting trees or branches from the woods and bringing them to villages and houses in spring, early summer, or Midsummer.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1926-2010 confidence: high

  Sir Henry Piers reports that on May-eve every family in Westmeath sets a green bush with yellow flowers before the door, or tall slender trees where timber is plentiful.

  May-eve and May Day customs place green bushes, boughs, trees, or garlands at household thresholds, doors, porches, and windows.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 confidence: high

  Essex little girls carry garlands with white-dressed dolls while singing on May 1; Seven Oaks children carry boughs and floral hoop garlands house to house while begging for pence.

  The passage repeatedly describes May Day or Whitsuntide customs in which groups carry garlands, boughs, birches, birch twigs, crowns, or May-trees through villages or from house to house.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 confidence: medium

  Essex little girls carry garlands with white-dressed dolls while singing on May 1; Seven Oaks children carry boughs and floral hoop garlands house to house while begging for pence.

  Several examples pair seasonal songs or greenery with gifts such as pence, money, drink, eggs, or bacon; households may receive boughs, planted branches, crowns, twigs, or sung blessings.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 confidence: medium

  Russian villagers cut and dress a young birch-tree, feast, bring it home with dance and song, set it up as an honoured guest, visit it, and on Whitsunday throw it and their garlands into a stream.

  Frazer interprets the Russian immersion of the dressed birch-tree as probably a rain-charm, and the Swedish May songs are prayers for fine weather, plentiful harvest, and blessings.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 confidence: high

  At Saffron Walden and Debden on May 1, little girls go door to door singing and carrying garlands; a white-dressed doll is usually placed in each garland.

  Multiple customs occur on May Day, May Eve, the first Sunday of May, or Whitsuntide and involve carrying garlands, boughs, May-trees, birch twigs, crowns, or decorated birch-trees.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 confidence: medium

  After a feast the dressed birch is carried home with dance and song, set up in a house as an honored guest, visited, then on Whitsunday taken to a stream and thrown into the water with garlands after it.

  The dressed birch-tree is thrown into a stream with garlands, and Frazer states this is most probably a rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2013-2063 confidence: high

  In Vosges villages on the first Sunday of May, young girls sing in praise of May from house to house, mention bread and meal, fasten a green bough to the door if given money, and utter a negative wish if refused.

  Swedish May songs are described as prayers for fine weather, plentiful harvest, and worldly and spiritual blessings; Vosges songs praise May and mention bread and meal that come in May.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  Sweden is identified as observing these ceremonies chiefly at midsummer; on St. John's Eve houses are cleaned and decorated with green boughs and flowers, young fir-trees are raised, and arbours are built.

  The passage repeatedly describes May-poles or May-trees raised at midsummer, St. John's Eve, May Day, or Whitsuntide, with decorations and communal gathering.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  Bonfires are lit on hills, and people dance around them and jump over them.

  Swedish celebrants dance around and jump over bonfires, while Bohemian couples leap across glowing embers after the midsummer-tree fire.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  Singed garlands are kept in the house through the year, burned during thunderstorms, and given to cattle when sick or calving; charred embers are placed in fields, meadows, and on roofs to protect house and field.

  Singed garlands and charred embers from the Bohemian fire are preserved and used during storms, for cattle sickness or calving, and to protect fields, meadows, roofs, house, and field.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  The passage turns to the village May-tree or May-pole on May Day and notes the question of renewal; in England the May-pole was usually permanent in later times but was sometimes renewed annually.

  The passage highlights renewal of the village May-tree, including Cornish cutting and public erection of an elm and fresh trees felled and set up annually in parts of Germany and Austria.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  In Sweden at midsummer/St. John’s Eve, houses are cleansed and decorated with green boughs and flowers; fir-trees and arbours are raised; Stockholm holds a leaf-market selling decorated May-poles.

  The passage repeatedly describes May Day, midsummer, St. John’s Eve, or Whitsuntide customs centered on a raised and decorated tree or pole.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  Bonfires are lit on hills in Sweden, and people dance around them and jump over them.

  Swedish participants dance around and jump over bonfires, while Bohemian couples leap across glowing embers three times.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  In parts of Bohemia, a May-pole or midsummer-tree is erected on St. John’s Eve; lads fetch a tall fir or pine and set it up on a height, girls deck it with garlands and red ribbons, combustibles are piled around it, and the whole is set on fire after dark.

  In the Bohemian example, a decorated fir or pine is set up, surrounded by combustibles, and burned after dark.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  Singed garlands are kept all year, burned during thunderstorms, or given to sick or calving cattle; charred bonfire embers are placed in fields, meadows, and on roofs to protect house and field from bad weather and injury.

  Singed garlands and charred embers from the midsummer bonfire are kept or placed to protect households, cattle, fields, meadows, and roofs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2065-2121 confidence: high

  Frazer turns to May Day May-trees, notes that English May-poles were often permanent but sometimes annually renewed, and cites a Cornish custom of cutting down a tall elm on May Eve, bringing it to town, erecting it publicly, and dressing it with garlands or streamers.

  The passage explicitly discusses renewal of the village May-tree and gives Cornish, German, and Austrian examples of fresh trees being felled or set up.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: high

  The passage says a new May-tree was likely set up yearly to bring in the spring vegetation spirit; later, permanent May-trees or May-poles were decorated with fresh flowers to appear green and living.

  The May-tree is renewed annually to bring in the newly awakened spring vegetation spirit, and its renewal is said to preserve fertilising vegetation power through the year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: high

  In Bohemia, young people throw a puppet called Death into water; girls cut a young tree, fasten a white-clothed woman-like puppet to it, go house to house, and sing: “We carry Death out of the village, / We bring Summer into the village.”

  The Bohemian song says Death is carried out and Summer brought in, and the passage identifies Summer as the returning or reviving vegetation spirit in spring.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: medium

  The old May-tree is sometimes burned at the end of the year; examples include Prague May-tree pieces burned on the hearth, Württemberg Palm Sunday bushes burnt after a year, and possibly the Greek eiresione.

  The passage states that the old May-tree is sometimes burned at the end of the year and gives examples involving Prague May-tree pieces, Württemberg Palm Sunday bushes, and possibly the Greek eiresione.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: medium

  In Bohemia, young people throw a puppet called Death into water; girls cut a young tree, fasten a white-clothed woman-like puppet to it, go house to house, and sing: “We carry Death out of the village, / We bring Summer into the village.”

  The passage describes house-to-house or door-to-door collection with a tree-and-puppet pair, the Lady of the May doll with May-pole imitations, and the Little May Rose carrying a decorated small May-tree.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: high

  The passage says a new May-tree was originally set up yearly to bring in spring vegetation’s fructifying spirit; later permanent May-poles were decorated with flowers, garlands, and leafy tops to look like green trees.

  The May-tree is renewed or greened so that it may carry the newly awakened fructifying spirit of vegetation through the year.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: high

  The passage turns from tree-spirit immanent in the tree to tree-spirit conceived as detached from the tree and represented in human form, including living men or women.

  The passage describes tree or bough and person, doll, or puppet placed together as equivalent representations of the tree-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: high

  In Bohemia, young people throw a puppet called Death into water; girls cut a young tree, fasten to it a white-clothed woman-like puppet, and sing: “We carry Death out of the village, / We bring Summer into the village.”

  The Bohemian song states that Death is carried out of the village and Summer is brought in, after a Death puppet is thrown into water and a tree with white puppet is carried.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2123-2195 confidence: medium

  Examples are given of old May-tree pieces placed behind holy pictures and later burned, Palm Sunday bushes left for a year and burned, and the Greek eiresione perhaps burned at year’s end.

  Several examples describe May-tree pieces, Palm Sunday bushes, or possibly the eiresione being kept for a year and then burned.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: medium

  A May song threatens non-givers with losses of fowls, vines, nuts, and corn; Frazer says May children with green boughs bring plenty and good luck to houses and expect payment.

  May children with green boughs bring plenty and good luck to houses, collect money, and the song connects household gifts with the year’s produce.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  In Russian Lithuania on 1 May, villagers set up a green tree, choose and crown the prettiest girl, swathe her in birch branches, place her beside the May-tree, and dance, sing, and shout to May.

  Several May or spring customs pair a decorated tree with a crowned, leaf-wrapped, straw-covered, or birch-clad human figure such as the crowned girl, Father May, Walber, and Green George.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  In Carinthia, a decorated felled tree is carried in procession with Green George, a young man in birch branches; an effigy or the actor himself is put into water to ensure rain, and crowned cattle are driven with a song about Green George feeding the herds.

  Green George or his effigy is put into water to ensure rain, and the Oraon priest is drenched with water after distributing sál flowers; Frazer identifies both as rain-charms.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  The Oraons hold a spring festival during sál blossom, because they think the marriage of earth is then celebrated; villagers and priest go to the Sarna sacred grove of Sarna Burhi, who is thought to influence rain, and the priest sacrifices five fowls before sál flowers are gathered.

  The Oraons hold the festival while sál trees blossom because they think the marriage of earth is celebrated then and sál flowers are necessary for the ceremony.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  The Oraons hold a spring festival during sál blossom, because they think the marriage of earth is then celebrated; villagers and priest go to the Sarna sacred grove of Sarna Burhi, who is thought to influence rain, and the priest sacrifices five fowls before sál flowers are gathered.

  At the Sarna sacred grove, where Sarna Burhi is thought to dwell and influence rain, the priest sacrifices five fowls before flowers are gathered.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: medium

  The priest carries sál flowers house to house; women wash his feet, kneel, dance with him, receive flowers over the door and in their hair, and then pour water over him; feasting and all-night dancing follow.

  The priest carries sál flowers house to house, receives ritual honors and water, and is interpreted as equivalent to the flowering-tree goddess, dispensing rain and fruitfulness.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  In Russian Lithuania on May 1, a green tree is set up, the prettiest girl is crowned and swathed in birch branches, and people dance, sing, and shout beside the May-tree.

  The passage repeatedly pairs a decorated tree with a leaf-, branch-, straw-, or flower-bearing human figure and explicitly calls this a double representation of the spirit of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  May singers threaten non-givers with loss of produce and livestock; children with green boughs bring plenty and good luck to houses and expect payment.

  May singers collect gifts while being credited with bringing plenty and good luck, and the Oraon priest carries flowers door to door to bestow fruitfulness.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: high

  At the close, an effigy of Green George is thrown into water, or the actor himself is ducked in a river or pond to ensure rain for green fields and meadows.

  Green George is ducked to ensure rain, and Frazer identifies the drenching of the Oraon priest as a comparable rain-charm.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2198-2268 confidence: medium

  The Oraons have a spring festival while sál trees are blossoming, because they think the marriage of earth is then celebrated and sál flowers are needed.

  The Oraon spring festival occurs when sál trees bloom, is associated with the marriage of earth, and involves offerings to Sarna Burhi, a goddess of the grove linked with rain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2270-2325 confidence: high

  Frazer quotes Mannhardt's conclusion that spring processions often represent the vegetation spirit by the May-tree and also by a man or girl dressed in leaves or flowers; the same spirit appears in the first spring flower, the May-rose, and the Walber as giver of harvest.

  The passage repeatedly presents May-trees, boughs, flowers, and leaf- or flower-clad people as representations of the vegetation spirit at spring and Whitsuntide.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2270-2325 confidence: high

  The representative of the divinity is said to benefit fowls, fruit trees, and crops; the mummer is treated as an actual representative; attendants ask for gifts such as eggs and bacon; people believed the god of growth was present unseen in the bough and brought to each house to bless it.

  The representative of the divinity is carried in processions and is said to benefit fowls, fruit trees, and crops and to bring blessing to each house.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2270-2325 confidence: medium

  Names such as May, Father May, May Lady, and Queen of the May are said to show the vegetation spirit blended with personification of the season.

  Names such as May, Father May, May Lady, and Queen of the May are said to show a blending of vegetation spirit with personified season.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2270-2325 confidence: high

  Mannhardt is cited for the conclusion that spring processions represent the spirit of vegetation by the May-tree and by a man or girl dressed in green leaves or flowers; the same spirit animates the tree, inferior plants, the first spring flower, the May-rose, and the Walber as giver of harvest.

  The passage describes spring, May, and Whitsuntide processions in which a tree, bough, flower, or adorned person represents the spirit of vegetation and is carried through houses or villages.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2270-2325 confidence: high

  Mannhardt is cited for the conclusion that spring processions represent the spirit of vegetation by the May-tree and by a man or girl dressed in green leaves or flowers; the same spirit animates the tree, inferior plants, the first spring flower, the May-rose, and the Walber as giver of harvest.

  The passage repeatedly describes girls, boys, mummers, and little girls dressed in leaves or flowers as representatives of the vegetation spirit or seasonal figure.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2270-2325 confidence: high

  Door-to-door processions with May-trees or May-boughs, called bringing the May or summer, are described as having sacramental significance: the god of growth is believed present unseen in the bough and brought to each house to bless it; names such as May, Father May, May Lady, and Queen of the May personify the season.

  Names such as May, Father May, May Lady, Queen of the May, and Whitsuntide Flower are presented as seasonal personifications associated with vegetation powers.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2328-2376 confidence: high

  In Ruhla, children choose a playmate as Little Leaf Man, cover him with branches, lead him house to house while singing and dancing, ask for food gifts, sprinkle him with water, and feast.

  Several examples describe a person covered or enclosed with greenery and led, danced, or processed at spring, May Day, Whitsuntide, or Midsummer; Frazer explicitly interprets the figure as a representative of the spirit of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2328-2376 confidence: medium

  In Ruhla, children choose a playmate as Little Leaf Man, cover him with branches, lead him house to house while singing and dancing, ask for food gifts, sprinkle him with water, and feast.

  The processions visit houses and receive food or money; Frazer describes the visit of the vegetation representative as recompensed by a present.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2328-2376 confidence: medium

  Frazer says the leaf-clad representative of vegetation is often known as king or queen, such as May King, Whitsuntide King, or Queen of May, and cites Mannhardt's interpretation of such titles as implying a wide creative ruling power.

  Frazer says the leaf-clad representative of vegetation is often called king or queen, such as May King, Whitsuntide King, or Queen of May, and relates the titles to a ruling creative power in vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2328-2376 confidence: low

  In Ruhla, children choose a playmate as Little Leaf Man, cover him with branches, lead him house to house while singing and dancing, ask for food gifts, sprinkle him with water, and feast.

  In the Ruhla custom, the Leaf Man is sprinkled with water after the house-to-house procession.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2328-2376 confidence: high

  At Ruhla, when trees turn green in spring, children choose a playmate as the Little Leaf Man and cover him in branches until only his shoes show, with sight holes and two children to lead him.

  The passage repeatedly describes persons enclosed in leaves or green branches during spring, May Day, Whitsuntide, or Midsummer, and Frazer explicitly identifies the leaf-clad person as representing the spirit of vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2328-2376 confidence: high

  At Ruhla, when trees turn green in spring, children choose a playmate as the Little Leaf Man and cover him in branches until only his shoes show, with sight holes and two children to lead him.

  The customs occur when trees turn green or bud, on May Day, at Whitsuntide, or on Midsummer Day, and include processional movement through village space.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2378-2441 confidence: high

  Near Salzwedel, a Whitsuntide May-tree is set up; boys race to it and the first becomes king, wears a flower garland, carries a May-bush, sweeps dew, sings good-luck wishes at houses, refers to a black cow giving white milk and a black hen laying white eggs, and asks for gifts such as eggs and bacon.

  Multiple Whitsuntide customs involve a May King, Grass King, or ceremonial king associated with May-trees, leafy coverings, green branches, flowers, village processions, and seasonal timing.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2378-2441 confidence: high

  At Grossvargula, a Grass King encased in a poplar-branch pyramid with a branch-and-flower crown rides in procession, receives beer with companions, is stripped under seven lindens, has the crown handed to the Mayor, and has branches placed in flax fields to make the flax grow tall; Frazer notes the fertilising influence ascribed to a tree-spirit representative.

  At Grossvargula, branches from the Grass King's green casing are placed in flax fields specifically to make the flax grow tall, and Frazer identifies this as fertilising influence ascribed to a tree-spirit representative.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2378-2441 confidence: high

  Near Salzwedel a May-tree is set up at Whitsuntide; boys race to it, the first is king, wears a flower garland, carries a May-bush, sweeps dew, sings good-luck songs at houses, and asks for eggs, bacon, and other gifts.

  Multiple customs center on a king figure associated with May-time or Whitsuntide, greenery, flowers, bark, branches, and processions.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2378-2441 confidence: medium

  At Grossvargula, a Grass King in a poplar-branch pyramid and branch-and-flower crown rides in procession; afterward he is stripped under seven lindens, the crown is given to the Mayor, and the branches are put in flax fields to make flax grow tall. Frazer says this shows fertilising influence ascribed to the tree-spirit representative.

  The Grass King’s leafy covering is stripped and the branches are placed in flax fields to make flax grow tall; Frazer explicitly says a fertilising influence is ascribed to the representative of the tree-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: high

  Frazer says the spring spirit of vegetation is often represented by a queen, then describes Bohemian, German Hungarian, Irish, French, and English Queen or May Queen customs involving flowers, processions, singing, gifts, and May or Whitsuntide settings.

  The passage explicitly says spring vegetation spirit is often represented by a queen and gives multiple May, Lent, and Whitsuntide examples involving flower-crowned queens.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  Frazer says the vegetation spirit is sometimes represented by a king and queen, lord and lady, or bridegroom and bride, relates this to tree-spirit representation and married trees, and gives Bohemian, Grenoble, Headington, and Saxon examples of paired seasonal figures.

  The passage says vegetation spirit may be represented by king and queen, lord and lady, or bridegroom and bride, and gives processional or enthroned examples of such pairs.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  Frazer says the vegetation spirit is sometimes represented by a king and queen, lord and lady, or bridegroom and bride, relates this to tree-spirit representation and married trees, and gives Bohemian, Grenoble, Headington, and Saxon examples of paired seasonal figures.

  The passage directly relates anthropomorphic representations of the vegetation spirit to vegetable representations of the tree-spirit and to trees being married to each other.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  Near Briançon on May Day, a young man deserted by his sweetheart is wrapped in green leaves, feigns sleep, is awakened by a girl who likes him, receives her arm and a flag, leads dancing with her, and is called the bridegroom of May; his leaf garment becomes a nosegay with flowers.

  The Briançon custom features a young man wrapped in green leaves, feigning sleep, and being awakened by a girl on May Day; the Russian custom includes a parallel feigned sleeper awakened and kissed in a Whitsuntide-season birch-wood rite.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  In the Nerechta district before Whitsunday, girls in a birch wood bind a stately birch, make a branch wreath, kiss through it, enact a sleeper being awakened and kissed, make garlands, throw them into water, and read their fate from the floating garlands; Frazer says the sleeper was probably once a lad.

  Russian girls read their fate from garlands floating on water, and Slovenes judge the next harvest from the height of flames when a straw puppet is burned.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  Near Briançon on May Day, a young man deserted by his sweetheart is wrapped in green leaves, feigns sleep, is awakened by a girl who likes him, receives her arm and a flag, leads dancing with her, and is called the bridegroom of May; his leaf garment becomes a nosegay with flowers.

  The passage identifies French and Russian customs as involving a forsaken bridegroom and presents the Slovene female masker as a corresponding forsaken bride.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: high

  Frazer contrasts the preceding forsaken bridegroom customs with a Slovene Shrove Tuesday custom in which a straw puppet is dragged through the village, thrown into water or burned, harvest abundance is judged from flame height, and a female masker follows as a forsaken bride.

  The Slovene Shrove Tuesday custom drags a straw puppet through the village, throws it into water or burns it, and uses the flames as an omen for the next harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: high

  The spring vegetation spirit is said to be represented by a queen; examples include flower-crowned Queens or May Queens in Bohemia, German Hungary, Ireland, France, and England, with processions, songs, blessings, and presents.

  The passage explicitly identifies queens, kings and queens, lords and ladies, and bridal pairs as representations of the spring vegetation spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  The vegetation spirit is also represented by king and queen, lord and lady, or bridegroom and bride; Frazer states a parallel with vegetable representations of the tree-spirit, since trees are sometimes married to each other.

  The passage repeatedly links May or Whitsuntide customs with bridegrooms, brides, kings, queens, lords, ladies, kissing, dancing, marriage expectations, and married trees.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: medium

  Near Briançon on May Day, a deserted young man is wrapped in green leaves, feigns sleep, is awakened by a girl who would marry him, dances with her, and is called the bridegroom of May; his leaf garment is made into a flowered nosegay.

  The Briançon and Russian customs include a sleeper in a spring setting who is awakened by a female participant, with the Briançon figure called the bridegroom of May.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2443-2524 confidence: high

  Among the Slovenes of Oberkrain on Shrove Tuesday, a straw puppet is dragged through the village, thrown into water or burned, flame height is used to judge the next harvest, and a female masker follows as a forsaken bride.

  The Slovenian straw puppet is thrown into water or burned, and flame height is used to judge the abundance of the next harvest.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: medium

  The author says the forsaken sleeper’s awakening probably represents spring vegetation revival, declares the roles of sleeper and waking girl uncertain, and notes the Oraon marriage of earth in spring when the sál-tree blossoms while rejecting a firm mapping to European ceremonies.

  The author says the awakening of the forsaken sleeper probably represents the revival of vegetation in spring.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: medium

  The author says the forsaken sleeper’s awakening probably represents spring vegetation revival, declares the roles of sleeper and waking girl uncertain, and notes the Oraon marriage of earth in spring when the sál-tree blossoms while rejecting a firm mapping to European ceremonies.

  The passage mentions the Oraon marriage of earth in spring and says European customs imply the marriage of the spirit of vegetation by naming a human representative “the Bride.”

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: high

  Hebridean Candlemas custom: mistress and servants dress a sheaf of oats in women’s clothing, place it in a basket with a wooden club as Brüd’s bed, welcome Brüd three times, and inspect ashes in the morning for a club impression as a crop and prosperity omen.

  Brüd or Bridget is welcomed to a prepared bed around Candlemas, and an ash impression of the club is read as a good crop and prosperous-year omen.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: high

  The author says the vegetation spirit’s spring marriage is often implied through a human “Bride.” Examples include Altmark May Bride processions with a May-tree and gift song, Westphalian Whitsuntide Bride egg-asking, and Bresse la Mariée preceded by a green May-tree.

  May Bride, Whitsuntide Bride, and la Mariée processions feature bridal or floral girls led door to door, with songs asking for presents or eggs and, in Altmark, linking gifts with yearly abundance.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: high

  The author says the vegetation spirit’s spring marriage is often implied through a human “Bride.” Examples include Altmark May Bride processions with a May-tree and gift song, Westphalian Whitsuntide Bride egg-asking, and Bresse la Mariée preceded by a green May-tree.

  The author explicitly describes these as ways the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation is represented in European peasant customs, including May-trees and green or flower-covered figures.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: high

  The passage says the awakening of the forsaken sleeper probably represents spring vegetation revival, but asks whether the sleeper is winter forest or earth and whether the girl is verdure or sunshine, concluding that the evidence cannot answer.

  The passage explicitly connects the awakening of the sleeper and the described customs with revival of vegetation in spring.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: medium

  The Oraons of Bengal celebrate the marriage of earth in springtime when the sál-tree is in blossom, but Frazer says this does not prove equivalent European roles.

  The passage mentions the Oraon marriage of earth and says European customs imply the marriage of the spirit of vegetation by naming a human representative the Bride and dressing her in wedding attire.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: medium

  In some Altmark villages at Whitsuntide, boys carry a May-tree or lead a boy covered in leaves and flowers, while girls lead a May Bride dressed as a bride with a nosegay; she sings for gifts and links giving with household abundance.

  Frazer says the customs show ways the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation is represented, including May-tree processions, leaf-covered boys, and bride-named girls.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2526-2600 confidence: high

  In the Hebrides on Candlemas, mistress and servants dress a sheaf of oats in women’s apparel, place it in a basket with a wooden club, call it Brüd’s bed, welcome Brüd three times, and later inspect ashes for the club’s impression as an omen of crop and prosperity.

  The Hebridean Candlemas custom interprets the presence or absence of Brüd’s club impression in ashes as an omen of a good crop and prosperous year or the contrary.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2602-2647 confidence: medium

  Frazer says the festival closely resembles European spring and midsummer festivals, including a Russian Whitsuntide custom in which villagers fell a birch, dress it in woman's clothes, bring it back with dance and song, and throw it into water on the third day.

  Frazer explicitly compares the Daedala to European spring and midsummer practices of felling, dressing, adorning, immersing, or burning trees, poles, and bushes.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2602-2647 confidence: medium

  At the Little Daedala, the Boeotians of Plataea go to an ancient oak forest, place boiled meat for birds, follow a raven to an oak, cut it down, make a bride-dressed image from the wood, place it on a bullock-cart with a bridesmaid, and process it to the river Asopus and back with piping and dancing.

  The image is carried to the river Asopus in the Little Daedala, and accumulated images are later carried to the river and Mount Cithaeron in the Great Daedala.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2602-2647 confidence: high

  Frazer says the festival resembles European spring and midsummer festivals, including a Russian Whitsuntide custom where villagers fell a birch, dress it in women's clothes, carry it with dance and song, and throw it into water on the third day.

  Frazer explicitly compares the Boeotian festival with Russian, Bohemian, Pyrenean, Angoulême, Cornish, and Dublin customs involving felled trees or bushes used in spring or midsummer rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: high

  The Boeotian festival is said to represent the marriage of vegetation powers in spring or midsummer; a tree dressed as a woman represents the May-pole and May-queen together.

  Multiple ritual marriages are interpreted as representations intended to promote vegetation growth and productivity in spring or midsummer.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: high

  The passage explains such ceremonies as sympathetic magic: dramatic representation of vegetation revival, awakening, or May marriage is believed to help produce growth and productivity.

  The passage states that spring and midsummer festivals dramatically represent desired events such as awakening, vegetation revival, and increased productivity, and that representation is believed to help produce them.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: medium

  The passage explains such ceremonies as sympathetic magic: dramatic representation of vegetation revival, awakening, or May marriage is believed to help produce growth and productivity.

  The passage uses awakening a sleeper as a model for vegetation revival and applies a similar pattern to Ariadne, who is sleeping, awakened, and wedded by Dionysus.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: medium

  The Daedala story of Hera’s quarrel with Zeus and retirement is tentatively read as crop failure and famine; Demeter’s anger after Proserpine’s loss is compared, and the festival is inferred to avert crop disaster by representing divine marriage.

  Hera’s sullen retirement is interpreted as crop failure, and Demeter’s anger and seclusion after Proserpine’s loss are said to produce disastrous effects.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: high

  The Boeotian festival is said to represent the marriage of vegetation powers in spring or midsummer; a tree dressed as a woman represents the May-pole and May-queen together.

  A tree dressed as a woman is said to stand for the May-pole and May-queen together in a vegetation-marriage ceremony.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: high

  The Boeotian festival is said to represent the spring or midsummer marriage of vegetation powers; a tree dressed as a woman in Boeotian and Russian ceremonies is compared to the English May-pole and May-queen combined.

  The passage repeatedly treats ritual marriages of vegetation powers, Zeus and Hera, Dionysus and the Athenian Queen, and Dionysus and Ariadne as spring rites connected with fertility or vegetation.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: medium

  The passage says these ceremonies were magical charms, not merely spectacles; dramatic representation of spring awakening or May marriage is believed to quicken vegetation or make powers more productive through sympathetic magic.

  The passage describes a sleeper awakened as a representation intended to quicken spring growth, and later relates Ariadne’s awakening by Dionysus to a spring ceremony.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: high

  The Boeotian festival is said to represent the spring or midsummer marriage of vegetation powers; a tree dressed as a woman in Boeotian and Russian ceremonies is compared to the English May-pole and May-queen combined.

  A tree dressed as a woman is said to stand for the May-pole and May-queen in one in spring or midsummer rites.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2649-2713 confidence: medium

  The Daedala story of Hera’s quarrel with Zeus and retirement is interpreted as possible crop failure; Demeter’s anger and seclusion after Proserpine’s loss are cited as a parallel, and festival myth is used to infer a rite meant to avert famine through divine marriage drama.

  Hera’s quarrel and retirement and Demeter’s anger and seclusion are both connected in the passage to bad seasons, crop failure, or other agricultural disasters.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 confidence: medium

  The passage says living tree-spirit embodiments are often called kings and gives examples such as the Gilgit sacred cedar and the Finnish Tapio with royal woodland titles.

  The King of the Wood is compared with the May King, Grass King, and similar Northern European figures and is said to be deemed a living incarnation of the tree-spirit.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 confidence: medium

  Diana's Arician attributes are described: groves as sanctuaries, association with Silvanus, help in childbirth, patronage of wild animals, possible protection of domestic cattle, and comparison with Tapio and Samogitian woodland beliefs.

  Diana and the King of the Wood are connected with childbirth, animal protection, rain, sunshine, crop growth, and multiplication of flocks and herds.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 confidence: high

  Frazer states that European folk-custom shows a tree-spirit often represented by a living person regarded as its embodiment and possessed of fertilising powers.

  The passage states that tree-spirits are often represented by living persons and provisionally identifies the King of the Wood as such an incarnation, comparable to the May King and related figures.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 2715-2793 confidence: medium

  The sacred spring and perpetual fire in the Arician grove are treated as possible traces of forest-god powers to make rain fall and sun shine; Virbius, Diana’s companion at Nemi, was by some believed to be the sun.

  The passage attributes to the tree-spirit or its living incarnation powers to send rain and sunshine, grow crops, aid childbirth, and multiply flocks and herds.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 355-440 confidence: medium

  Fire was prominent in Diana's ritual: festival torches lit the grove, hearth rites were observed, women brought vowed torches, and the title Vesta suggests perpetual holy fire.

  The annual festival occurs at the hottest time of year and involves torches, domestic hearth observance, votive torches, and likely perpetual holy fire.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 442-515 confidence: medium

  Kings are described as priests, intercessors, and sometimes gods able to bless subjects with rain, sunshine, and crops.

  Kings and gods are expected to provide rain, sunshine, fine weather, and abundant crops in due season.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 442-515 confidence: high

  Ancient kings are described as commonly priests and often gods, able to bestow blessings such as rain, sunshine, and crop growth on subjects and worshippers.

  Kings are described as priests and gods expected to bring rain, sunshine, and crop growth.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 567-645 confidence: medium

  In a Serbian drought rite, a girl clothed in grass, herbs, and flowers is called the Dodola and goes through the village with girls; she dances before houses, girls sing around her, a housewife pours water over her, and a song speaks of clouds wetting corn and vine.

  The Dodola is clothed in vegetation, dances through the village during drought, is drenched with water, and is accompanied by a song about clouds wetting corn and vine.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 567-645 confidence: medium

  In drought, Servians strip a girl, cover her entirely with grass, herbs, and flowers, call her Dodola, and have her dance through the village while girls sing and a housewife pours water over her.

  The Dodola girl is covered with grass, herbs, and flowers, is doused with water, and is accompanied by a song linking the procession to clouds wetting corn and vine.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 648-703 confidence: high

  The passage identifies a leaf-dressed girl as a vegetation-spirit representative and water-drenching as rain imitation; it also describes Russian women throwing or soaking a passing stranger when rain is needed and notes that such a stranger may be taken for a god or spirit.

  The passage repeatedly presents drenching, bathing, wading, and splashing as rain-charms or imitations of rain.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 648-703 confidence: medium

  The passage identifies a leaf-dressed girl as a vegetation-spirit representative and water-drenching as rain imitation; it also describes Russian women throwing or soaking a passing stranger when rain is needed and notes that such a stranger may be taken for a god or spirit.

  The leaf-dressed girl is said to represent the spirit of vegetation, and a passing stranger or human victim is described or suggested as a god or spirit representative.

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• The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 775-852 confidence: medium

  Frazer says sunshine-making can be the converse of rain-making: white or red pig for sunshine versus black pig for rain; some New Caledonians drench a skeleton for rain but burn it for sunshine.

  The passage states that white or red pigs are sacrificed for sunshine as black pigs are sacrificed for rain, and contrasts burning and drenching a skeleton for different weather outcomes.

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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 11967-12226 confidence: high

  “in Shropshire, where the corn-spirit is conceived in the form of a gander”

  The note explicitly links the corn-spirit to a gander form and places the associated expressions and feast names in a harvest context.

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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 11967-12226 confidence: medium

  The note says the penalty for overthrowing a harvest load used to be the loss of the goose at the harvest supper.

  The footnote reports harvest-supper names, Harvest Gosling and Inning Goose, alongside a goose-related harvest penalty.

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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 11967-12226 confidence: medium

  “in Shropshire, where the corn-spirit is conceived in the form of a gander”

  The note explicitly states that the corn-spirit is conceived as a gander in Shropshire and connects goose terminology with harvest acts and suppers.

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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 11967-12226 confidence: medium

  “the harvest supper was called the Harvest Gosling, or the Inning Goose”

  The passage says that some English harvest suppers were called the Harvest Gosling or the Inning Goose.

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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 12228-12382 confidence: medium

  A citation to L. Lloyd says that on Christmas night children sleep on a bed of Yule straw.

  The passage records children sleeping on Yule straw on Christmas night.

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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 12228-12382 confidence: medium

  The Bouphonia sacrifice is cited from classical sources; its date, 14 Skirophorion, is said to correspond with the close of threshing in Attica.

  The Bouphonia is called a sacrifice, dated to 14 Skirophorion, and correlated with the close of threshing in Attica.

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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 12228-12382 confidence: medium

  “On Christmas night children sleep on a bed of the Yule straw.”

  The note places children sleeping on Yule straw specifically on Christmas night.

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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 12384-12547 confidence: medium

  At spring and autumn festivals of Isis at Tithorea, geese and goats are thrown into the adyton, left until the next festival, and then their remains are removed and buried near the temple.

  Animals are left in the adyton until the following festival, after which their remains are removed and buried; the same timing is inferred for Thesmophoria pigs.

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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 12384-12547 confidence: high

  At Isis festivals at Tithorea, geese and goats were thrown into the adyton and left until the next festival, when remains were removed and buried; the passage says this supports the view that Thesmophoria pigs were similarly left in caverns until the next festival.

  The passage describes animals thrown into an adyton and left until the following festival, and compares this with pigs in Thesmophoria caverns.

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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 12549-12690 confidence: high

  In a note on the Zulu feast of first-fruits, a bull is killed; king and people drink its gall; men must kill it with naked hands; boys receive the flesh, may eat some and burn the rest; men may not taste it; the king breaks a green calabash to open the new year and permit eating seasonal fruits; early eating of new fruits leads to death or execution.

  The Zulu feast is explicitly described as a first-fruits feast; the king's final act opens the new year and grants permission to eat seasonal fruits, while eating new fruits beforehand leads to death or execution.

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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 12549-12690 confidence: high

  In a note on the Zulu feast of first-fruits, a bull is killed; king and people drink its gall; men must kill it with naked hands; boys receive the flesh, may eat some and burn the rest; men may not taste it; the king breaks a green calabash to open the new year and permit eating seasonal fruits; early eating of new fruits leads to death or execution.

  The king breaks a green calabash in public, signifying that he opens the new year and grants leave to eat seasonal fruits.

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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 12549-12690 confidence: medium

  A note lists descriptions of an American Indian ceremony and says a similar ceremony was observed by the Cherokees.

  The Cherokee ceremony uses green boughs, an arbour, and a bushy-topped shade-tree planted in the centre of the sacred square; the note connects it to a similar ceremony discussed nearby.

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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 12549-12690 confidence: medium

  A note contrasts Adair with Bartram, saying Bartram reports that old vessels were burned and new ones prepared for the festival.

  A source note says old vessels were burned and new ones prepared for the festival.

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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 12549-12690 confidence: high

  Zulu first-fruits feast: a bull is killed; its gall is drunk by king and people; the king breaks a green calabash to open the new year and allow eating seasonal fruits; premature eating brings death or execution.

  The Zulu ceremony is explicitly identified as a first-fruits feast, and the king's final act grants permission to eat the fruits of the season.

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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 12820-12959 confidence: medium

  The Itelmens of Kamchatka made a grass wolf figure at the close of the fishing season, kept it all year, and believed it wedded maidens and prevented twin births, which were considered unlucky.

  The grass wolf effigy is made at a seasonal boundary, kept for a year, believed to wed maidens, and believed to prevent twin births.

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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 12820-12959 confidence: medium

  The note says the image of the old Prussian god Curcho was annually renewed, followed by a cautionary reference to Mannhardt.

  The image of Curcho is described as annually renewed.

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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 12820-12959 confidence: low

  The note reports that the image of the old Prussian god Curcho was annually renewed, with a reference caution.

  The passage reports the annual renewal of the image of Curcho.

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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 12820-12959 confidence: low

  The writer does not expressly state that a serpent is killed annually, but the author says the statement implies it.

  The passage says the cited writer's statement implies that a serpent is killed annually.

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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 13163-13253 confidence: medium

  Karels of Finland kill an unshorn lamb on St. Olaf’s Day without a knife, roast it whole, avoid breaking bones, and deposit flesh for house-spirits, fields, and future May-tree birches.

  In the Karel lamb custom, portions of flesh are set aside for house-spirits, field, and birch-trees to be used as May-trees next year.

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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 13163-13253 confidence: medium

  Karels of Finland killed a lamb on St. Olaf’s Day without a knife, roasted it whole, broke none of its bones, and placed portions for house-spirits, on the field, and beside future May-trees.

  In the Karel St. Olaf’s Day lamb rite, portions of flesh are placed for house-spirits, on a field, and beside birch trees intended as next year’s May-trees.

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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 13255-13369 confidence: medium

  A note describes an Abghazian autumn sacrament: a white ox called Ogginn appears from a holy cave also called Ogginn; men are assembled and women are excluded.

  The Abghazian rite occurs in the middle of autumn; a white ox from a holy cave is killed and eaten, and the flesh is treated as sacred.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: medium

  Swedish 1 May custom: children rob magpies' nests of eggs and young, carry them in a basket house to house, sing a threat involving the magpie if no present is given, receive bacon, eggs, milk, and other items, and later feast.

  The Swedish 1 May custom combines bird tokens, house-to-house visiting, a sung threat, food gifts, and a feast; the note connects the pattern with spring bird-song customs in Greece.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: medium

  The note says the resemblance to ancient Greek swallow-song and crow-song customs is obvious; it adds that Greek singers probably carried dead birds or effigies, and that modern Greek children on 1 March sing spring songs while carrying a rotating wooden swallow.

  The passage says modern Greek children carry a rotating wooden swallow on 1 March while singing spring songs, and says ancient Greek bird-singers probably carried dead birds or effigies.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: medium

  A penitential text is cited for a Kalends of January custom in which persons go in animal form, wear animal skins, and assume beasts' heads.

  The passage includes Kalends of January animal skins and beasts' heads and a Bohemian Carnival figure dressed as a bear with straw and sometimes a bear mask.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: high

  At Bohemian Carnival, everyone should dance for flax, corn, and vegetables to grow well; higher leaps mean better crops. Women may put straw from the Shrovetide Bear into geese and fowl nests to make them lay well.

  The Bohemian Carnival note states that everyone should dance for flax, corn, and vegetables to grow well, and that higher leaps improve crops.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: medium

  Swedish 1 May custom: children rob magpies' nests of eggs and young, carry them in a basket house to house, sing a threat involving the magpie if no present is given, receive bacon, eggs, milk, and other items, and later feast.

  Both the Swedish children and the Bohemian Shrovetide Bear move from house to house and receive or collect food; the Bear also collects money.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: medium

  Footnote 436 compares the 'hunting of the wren' with a Swedish May custom in which children rob magpies’ nests, carry the eggs and young house to house, threaten poultry harm unless given presents, receive food gifts, and feast; it also notes resemblance to Greek swallow-song and crow-song customs and a modern Greek wooden-swallow spring-song custom.

  The Swedish and Greek bird customs involve children moving through a community with bird objects or effigies, singing, receiving gifts, and in one case marking spring or May.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: medium

  Footnote 437 cites sources for a custom and quotes a penitential passage referring to people at the Kalends of January going in the form of a stag or calf, wearing animal skins, and assuming animal heads.

  The passage cites people dressing in animal skins and heads at the Kalends of January and a Carnival performer wearing straw and sometimes a bear mask.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: high

  Footnote 439 describes Bohemian Carnival processions in which the Shrovetide Bear, a man wrapped in pea-straw and sometimes bear-masked, is led house to house, dances with women, collects food and money, and is connected with dancing for crop growth and straw placed in poultry nests for laying.

  The Bohemian Carnival note says dancing, especially on Shrove Tuesday, is necessary for flax, corn, and vegetables to grow well, and that higher leaping improves crops.

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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 13371-13494 confidence: high

  Footnote 439 describes Bohemian Carnival processions in which the Shrovetide Bear, a man wrapped in pea-straw and sometimes bear-masked, is led house to house, dances with women, collects food and money, and is connected with dancing for crop growth and straw placed in poultry nests for laying.

  Women place straw taken from the Shrovetide Bear’s wrapping into poultry nests because they believe it will make geese and fowls lay well.

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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 13618-13727 confidence: high

  “the devils being driven out upon the car”; the car may be “a bribe to induce them to go” and the case is grouped with “expulsions of demons” accompanying an agricultural festival.

  The passage groups or reports expulsions of devils, wicked souls, and the Sommervögel/Sunnenvögel at agricultural festivals, New Year/year-end, or St. Peter’s Day.

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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 13618-13727 confidence: medium

  Tavernier’s account is said to combine the expulsion of wicked souls at New Year with sacrifice to the honoured dead.

  The Tonqueen note states that expulsion of wicked souls at New Year is combined with sacrifice to the honoured dead.

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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 13618-13727 confidence: high

  In Westphalia on St. Peter’s Day, children go house to house knocking with hammers and singing rhymes bidding the Sommervögel to depart; presents are given at every house.

  The Westphalian ceremony uses knocking through houses or at doors to drive away the Sommervögel/Sunnenvögel, and omission is believed to cause vermin, sick cattle, and butterflies at milk-bowls.

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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 13618-13727 confidence: high

  The note says devils may be driven out upon a car, or the car and its contents may be a bribe to induce them to go; the case is taken with expulsions of demons accompanying an agricultural festival.

  The passage repeatedly describes expulsions of devils, wicked souls, demons, or the Süntevögel in agricultural, New Year, year-end, or fixed-date contexts.

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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 13618-13727 confidence: medium

  A Tonquin ceremony is discussed; Tavernier’s account combines the expulsion of wicked souls at New Year with sacrifice to the honoured dead.

  The passage mentions expulsion of wicked souls at New Year in Tonquin and discusses devil expulsion on the last day of the year in Siam, with comparison to Cambodia.

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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 13618-13727 confidence: high

  A Westphalian expulsion of evil drives out the Süntevögel, Sunnenvögel, or Sommervögel, identified as the butterfly; children knock on houses with hammers and sing for it to depart, or householders knock on doors through the rooms.

  The Westphalian rite uses knocking on houses or doors to drive away the Süntevögel, and omission is said to bring vermin, sick cattle, and butterflies at milk-bowls.

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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 13729-13864 confidence: medium

  In some East Indian islands, to obtain a rainy wind from the west, the village population divides into two parties and pulls at a long bamboo; the eastern end must pull harder to draw the wind from the west.

  Villagers pull on a bamboo so that the eastern side draws a rainy wind from the west.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: medium

  Dassera in Nepal occurs at the beginning of October, lasts ten days, and includes a general holiday among all classes.

  The note explicitly presents Dassera as an instance of annual demon-expulsion preceded by licence, with firing interpreted as the expulsion and the festival framed by holiday, prisoner release/removal, feasting, and gifts.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: medium

  Dassera in Nepal occurs at the beginning of October, lasts ten days, and includes a general holiday among all classes.

  The passage groups Dassera, Wasuahili New Year, and Ashantee new yam festival as periods of general licence tied to annual festivals or New Year/harvest timing.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: low

  The main cutting of rice crops is postponed until Dassera is over and begins throughout the valley the day afterward.

  Rice cutting is postponed until after Dassera, and the Ashantee annual new yam festival is cited as a time of general licence; the note also points to offerings of first fruits elsewhere in the volume.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: low

  A note says Lydus does not expressly state Mamurius Veturius was driven out but implies it by mentioning a legend that his mythical prototype was beaten with rods and expelled from the city.

  The Mamurius note mentions a legendary prototype beaten with rods and expelled from the city in connection with an implied expulsion.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: medium

  Dassera in Nepal occurs at the beginning of October, lasts ten days, includes a general holiday, purification of Kathmandu, court closure, prisoner removal, and jail-delivery.

  The note explicitly describes the Dassera example as an instance of annual demon-expulsion preceded by a time of licence, with festival licence and sunset firing interpreted as expulsion.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: high

  Dassera in Nepal occurs at the beginning of October, lasts ten days, includes a general holiday, purification of Kathmandu, court closure, prisoner removal, and jail-delivery.

  The passage groups Dassera, Wasuahili New Year, and the Ashantee new-yam festival as times of general licence.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: medium

  “The grand cutting of the rice-crops is always postponed till the Dassera is over” and starts the next day throughout the valley.

  The cutting of rice-crops is postponed until Dassera is over and begins the following day throughout the valley.

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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 13866-13971 confidence: medium

  A note on Joannes Lydus says Mamurius is connected with a legend in which his mythical prototype was beaten with rods and expelled from the city; the full name Mamurius Veturius is preserved by other authors.

  The Mamurius note reports a mythical prototype beaten with rods and expelled from the city in the context of an expulsion ceremony.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: high

  The Salii or dancing priests went through the city in March, “dancing, singing, and clashing their swords against their shields”; the passage says this may have routed evils or demons before transfer to Mamurius Veturius.

  The passage links Salii processions, expulsion of evils or demons, transfer to Mamurius Veturius, Iroquois transfer of sins to dogs, and year-turning expulsion of evils.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: high

  As priests of Mars, identified here as god of agriculture, the Salii probably had agricultural functions; they were named from their leaps, and dancing and leaping high are described as sympathetic charms for crop growth.

  The passage says dancing and leaping high are common sympathetic charms to make crops grow high and links this to the Salii, sowing seasons, and Morris Dancers' jumping with corn in their hats.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: medium

  In Calicut, when rice is sown, instruments sound and ten or twelve men clothed like devils rejoice with the players so that the devil may make the rice productive.

  In the Calicut example, rice sowing is accompanied by instruments and men clothed like devils so that the devil may make the rice productive.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: medium

  The Lord of Misrule from Christmas to Twelfth Night is described as a trace of year-end or new-year license and suspension of government connected with general expulsion of evils; its position before Plough Monday suggests Morris Dancer functions like those attributed to the Salii.

  The Lord of Misrule is described as a period of license and suspension of ordinary government at the end of the old year or beginning of the new, connected with expulsion of evils and immediately preceding Plough Monday.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: high

  “dancing and leaping high are common sympathetic charms to make the crops grow high.”

  The passage states that dancing and leaping high are common sympathetic charms to make crops grow high and relates this to Salii leaps and sowing seasons.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: high

  The passage states that in Western Africa tilling and sowing are sometimes accompanied by dances of armed men on the field.

  Western African field dances and Calicut rice-sowing music and devil-costumed performers are presented as acts accompanying sowing and intended, in the Calicut example, to make rice productive.

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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 13973-14055 confidence: medium

  The passage notes resemblance of the Salii to northern European sword-dancers; English Morris Dancers in the Plough Monday plough procession sometimes wore swords or corn in their hats, and wheat was shaken out by their jumping dance.

  The Lord of Misrule period is described as licence and suspended government at the old-year or new-year boundary, immediately preceding the Plough Monday Morris procession, which Frazer connects with expulsion of evils.

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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 14056-14185 confidence: medium

  Analogy is used to propose an earlier February/March Saturnalia; the passage links New Year expulsion of evils with preceding licence and compares Matronalia slave-feasting with Saturnalian slave-feasting.

  The passage explicitly links public New Year expulsion of evils with a preceding period of general licence such as Saturnalia.

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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 14056-14185 confidence: medium

  Analogy is used to propose an earlier February/March Saturnalia; the passage links New Year expulsion of evils with preceding licence and compares Matronalia slave-feasting with Saturnalian slave-feasting.

  Matronalia is compared to Saturnalia because household superiors feast slaves in both settings.

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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 14056-14185 confidence: high

  “at Rome, as in so many places, the public expulsion of evils at the New Year would be preceded by a period of general licence”

  The passage explicitly describes a public expulsion of evils at New Year preceded by general license, with Saturnalia as the Roman example under discussion.

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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 14056-14185 confidence: medium

  The Matronalia on 1 March is described as a possible trace of an earlier February or early March Saturnalia; at it, mistresses feasted slaves as masters did at Saturnalia.

  The Matronalia is described as a festival where mistresses feast slaves, compared with masters feasting slaves at Saturnalia.

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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 14432-14522 confidence: medium

  In Swedish Yule-night pilgrimage preparation, some people hide in a dark cellar for three days, others bury themselves in hay in silence and fasting until after sundown, and a man in this probation ought not to see fire.

  The Swedish custom says Yule-night pilgrimage teaches secret things and what will happen in the coming year, with preparatory seclusion, silence, fasting, and avoidance of fire.

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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 14432-14522 confidence: medium

  In parts of Aberdeenshire, the last bit of standing corn is sacred, not allowed to touch the ground, and placed on the lap of the “gueedman” as it is cut.

  The passage says the last bit of standing corn in parts of Aberdeenshire is very sacred, not allowed to touch the ground, and placed on the gueedman’s lap when cut.

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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 14524-14701 confidence: medium

  “For the custom of burning a tree in the midsummer bonfires, see vol. i. p. 79.”

  The passage refers to a custom of burning a tree in midsummer bonfires.

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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 14524-14701 confidence: medium

  “For the custom of burning a tree in the midsummer bonfires, see vol. i. p. 79.”

  The passage explicitly mentions a custom involving midsummer bonfires.

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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 14848-14990 confidence: medium

  Grimm asks whether Johannisfeuer recall Baldr's funeral fire; Frazer says this hint contains in germ the solution of the whole myth.

  Johannisfeuer are compared by Grimm, and endorsed by Frazer, with Baldr's funeral fire.

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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 15400-15519 confidence: high

  The Balder myth is said to involve throwing weapons and mistletoe at Balder and blind Hödur slaying him; this is compared to Irish reapers who kill the corn-spirit in the last sheaf by throwing sickles while blindfolded.

  The passage explicitly mentions the corn-spirit in the last sheaf, a cock as representative of the corn-spirit, a human representative of the oak-spirit, and annual burning of human representatives of the corn-spirit.

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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 15400-15519 confidence: medium

  The note cites annual burning of a human representative of the corn-spirit among Egyptians, Pawnees, and Khonds; it also cites traces of annually burning a human god in Semitic lands and an image of Hercules/Baal periodically burned on a pyre at Tarsus.

  The passage cites annual burning of human corn-spirit representatives and periodic burning of a Hercules/Baal image on a pyre as a substitute for a human representative of the god.

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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 15400-15519 confidence: medium

  The note refers to gathering mistletoe at midsummer and Christmas and describes an obsolete York custom of carrying mistletoe to the cathedral altar and proclaiming liberty, pardon, and freedom.

  The passage links mistletoe and fern-seed with midsummer, Christmas, and Easter, and notes Easter as a time of sun-fires.

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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 15400-15519 confidence: medium

  Frazer notes a custom of annually burning a human representative of the corn-spirit among Egyptians, Pawnees, and Khonds, and traces of annually burning a human god in Semitic lands.

  Frazer cites annual burning of a human representative of the corn-spirit and traces of annually burning a human god, with an image at Tarsus functioning as substitute.

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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 15400-15519 confidence: medium

  A note says mistletoe was gathered at Christmas; at York it was carried to the cathedral high altar on Christmas Eve and public liberty, pardon, and freedom were proclaimed at the city gates.

  The notes mention mistletoe carried at Christmas and fern-seed blooming at Easter, midsummer, and Christmas.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 confidence: high

  Kings are indexed as gods, divine, tied to nature, fire, rain, and water, weather-controlling, punished for crop failure, killed under several rules, and sometimes temporary.

  The index lists kings as gods or divine, as kings of nature, fire, rain, and water, as controllers of weather, and as punished for crop failure.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 confidence: high

  The index lists offerings of first-fruits among the Kingsmill Islands, Kobi, and Kochs of Assam, plus Lithuanian ceremonies at eating new corn.

  The index names offerings of first-fruits by several peoples and ceremonies at the eating of new corn in Lithuania.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 confidence: medium

  The index names harvest customs or ceremonies at Klausenburg, Kloxin, La Palisse, Lille, Lithuania, and elsewhere, and includes Lhoosai harvest festival and Kirn harvest supper.

  The index lists many harvest customs and links Linus and Lityerses with vintage lament, harvest customs, and reaper songs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 confidence: medium

  King of the Wood: tree-spirit incarnation, oak personification, formerly probably slain annually, probably burned in oak wood, and similar to North European personages.

  The index lists midsummer fire festivals or fires, a festival of lamps, kings of fire, and probable burning of the King of the Wood in oak wood.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 confidence: high

  Offerings of first-fruits are indexed for the Kingsmill Islands, the Kobi, and the Kochs of Assam.

  The index lists offerings of first-fruits for multiple groups and places.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10197-10420 confidence: medium

  Entries include the King of the May, many harvest customs, eating of new corn, midsummer fires, driving out Death, and funerals or representations of Kupalo, Kostroma, and Lada.

  The entries include harvest customs, new-corn ceremonies, the King of the May, midsummer fires, driving out Death, and funerals of seasonal figures such as Kupalo, Kostroma, and Lada.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10422-10627 confidence: high

  Entries list harvest or reaping customs, last handful of corn called Maiden, mother of maize, Egyptian reapers’ Maneros lament at first sheaf, corn-spirit as mare, and sowing-time custom.

  The passage indexes harvest customs, the last handful of corn as the Maiden, mother of maize, first-sheaf lament, corn-spirit as a mare, reaping customs, May figures, May poles, May trees, and first-fruits offerings.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10422-10627 confidence: high

  Entries list London Midsummer pageants, Luchon Midsummer fire ceremony, Masuren Midsummer fire festival, Metz Midsummer fires, European Midsummer fire festivals, effigies burned in Midsummer fires, Midsummer Eve superstitions, magic plants, and omens.

  The passage lists Midsummer fire ceremonies and festivals, European Midsummer fire festivals, burning of effigies in Midsummer fires, and magic plants gathered on Midsummer Eve.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10422-10627 confidence: high

  Entries mention Maiden as name for the last handful of corn, mother of the maize, Maneros as lament at cutting the first sheaf, corn-spirit as a mare, harvest custom entries, and human sacrifice at a harvest festival in Mexico.

  The passage lists the last handful of corn as Maiden, the mother of maize, the corn-spirit as a mare, first-sheaf lament, and first-fruits offerings.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10422-10627 confidence: medium

  Entries list May bride, May Day carols and customs, May king, May poles, May queen, sleeping bridegroom of May, and May trees.

  May bride, May king, May queen, May poles, and May trees are listed among May Day customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10422-10627 confidence: high

  Entries list London midsummer pageants, Luchon midsummer fire ceremony, Masuren midsummer fire festival, Metz midsummer fires, European fire festivals at midsummer, burning effigies in midsummer fires, Midsummer Eve superstitions, and magic plants gathered on Midsummer Eve.

  The passage lists European midsummer fire festivals and the burning of effigies in midsummer fires, with related Midsummer Eve superstitions and plant gathering.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10629-10848 confidence: high

  Oak worship is indexed with the oak as chief sacred tree of the European Aryans, sacred fires made of oak, oak wood burnt on Midsummer Day, Balder as the oak, a slain human representative of the oak, the oak’s life in mistletoe, and the oak as store of solar fire.

  The passage lists Easter fires, midsummer bonfires, need-fires, sacred oak fires, oak wood burnt on Midsummer Day, and solar fire associated with the oak.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10629-10848 confidence: high

  The passage lists festivals in the Moluccas, harvest festivals of the Mundaris and Natchez, new fruits eaten sacramentally, New Year customs, Easter fires, midsummer bonfires, need-fires, and offerings of first-fruits.

  The passage names offerings of first-fruits, new fruits eaten sacramentally, and harvest festivals.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10629-10848 confidence: high

  The index lists need fires, a fire festival at Moosheim, Easter fires in Münsterland, midsummer fires at Obermedlingen, midsummer bonfires in Norway, New Year's Day customs, and sacred fires made of oak.

  The passage lists need fires, Easter fires, midsummer fires, midsummer bonfires, oak wood burnt on Midsummer Day, and New Year's customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10629-10848 confidence: high

  The index lists new fruits eaten sacramentally, offerings of first-fruits, a Natchez harvest festival, a Mundaris harvest festival, and harvest customs in several European localities.

  The passage explicitly lists offerings of first-fruits, new fruits eaten sacramentally, and harvest festivals or customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: medium

  The Osiris entry indexes myth, ritual, representation of the dead body, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, grave, sun-god arguments, vegetation-god status, rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis, human-victim representation, mysteries, pig form, death, annual pig sacrifice, and bull form.

  Entries index eating new yams, rice planting, Pongol, digging new potatoes, harvest customs, and corn-spirit topics.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: medium

  The Osiris entry indexes myth, ritual, representation of the dead body, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, grave, sun-god arguments, vegetation-god status, rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis, human-victim representation, mysteries, pig form, death, annual pig sacrifice, and bull form.

  The Osiris entry indexes death, dead-body representation, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, vegetation-god status, and rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: high

  The Osiris entry indexes myth, ritual, representation of the dead body, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, grave, sun-god arguments, vegetation-god status, rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis, human-victim representation, mysteries, pig form, death, annual pig sacrifice, and bull form.

  Entries explicitly index the pig as corn-spirit and the ox as embodiment of the corn-spirit, with Osiris also indexed as pig and bull.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: medium

  Entries index a fire festival in Oldenburg, Easter fires in Osterode, a midsummer fire festival in Poitou, and burning a poplar on St. Peter's Day.

  Entries index fire festivals, Easter fires, a midsummer fire festival, and burning a poplar on St. Peter's Day.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: medium

  Osiris is indexed under myth, ritual, dead-body representation, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, vegetation god, rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis, possible human-victim representation, mysteries, pig form, death, annual pig sacrifice, and bull form.

  Osiris is indexed under death, ritual, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, vegetation god, and rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: high

  Osiris is indexed under myth, ritual, dead-body representation, corn-spirit, tree-spirit, vegetation god, rites similar to Dionysus and Adonis, possible human-victim representation, mysteries, pig form, death, annual pig sacrifice, and bull form.

  Entries list the last sheaf as old man or old woman, corn-spirit as ox and pig, Osiris as corn-spirit, and ancient Peruvian preservation of a representative corn-spirit.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: medium

  Entries include Onitsha ceremony of eating new yams, Pongol festival, and a custom at digging new potatoes in Sutherlandshire.

  The index lists ceremonies of eating new yams, Pongol festival, and digging new potatoes, and the passage locator places the segment in proximity to a note on offerings of first-fruits.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10850-11070 confidence: high

  Entries list a fire festival in Oldenburg, Easter fires in Osterode, a midsummer fire festival in Poitou, and burning a poplar on St. Peter's Day.

  The index lists fire festivals in Oldenburg and Poitou, Easter fires at Osterode, and burning a poplar on St. Peter's Day.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11072-11304 confidence: high

  The excerpt lists a midsummer fire festival in Prussia, fire festivals in the Rhön mountains and Ruthenia, midsummer customs in Russia, and a midsummer ceremony in Rottenburg.

  The passage indexes midsummer fire and fire festivals or ceremonies in several regions.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11072-11304 confidence: high

  The excerpt lists offerings of first-fruits in Rajamahall and presentation of first-fruits by the Samoans.

  The passage indexes offerings of first-fruits in Rajamahall and presentation of first-fruits by the Samoans.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11072-11304 confidence: high

  The excerpt lists the rice-bride, rice harvest ceremonies, Russian corn-spirits, rye-boar, rye-goat, rye-wolf, and the corn-spirit eaten in animal form at a harvest supper.

  The passage indexes rice-bride, Russian corn-spirits, rye-boar, rye-goat, rye-wolf, and the corn-spirit eaten in animal form at a harvest supper.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11072-11304 confidence: medium

  Prussia entries include reverence for oak, high trees worshipped, funeral custom, self-immolation of supreme ruler, spring ploughing, corn drenching, gardens of Adonis, harvest custom, winter-corn sowing, and midsummer fire festival.

  Entries list spring ploughing, sowing of winter corn, harvest customs, Eastertide customs, Whitsuntide customs, midsummer customs, and Christmas custom.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11072-11304 confidence: medium

  Prussia entries include reverence for oak, high trees worshipped, funeral custom, self-immolation of supreme ruler, spring ploughing, corn drenching, gardens of Adonis, harvest custom, winter-corn sowing, and midsummer fire festival.

  The passage indexes midsummer fire festivals or fire festivals in Prussia, the Rhön mountains, Russia, Ruthenia, and Rottenburg.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 confidence: high

  Entries include Easter fires in Schaumburg, Scottish harvest and midsummer customs, Scythian kings put in bonds in scarcity, respect for sea-lion and seal, and self-immolation.

  The passage lists Easter fires, Shrovetide customs, Beltane and midsummer fires, torchlight procession, perpetual fire, fire-spirit expulsion, and European fire festivals.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 confidence: high

  Entries include shamans sacrificing their chief during pestilence, Shans expelling the fire-spirit, the priestly King Kukulu, sharp instruments wounding spirits, and last-sheaf ceremonies.

  The index lists the last sheaf, strangers tied in sheaves as corn-spirit representatives, spirit of vegetation in human shape, and Silenus and Silvanus as wood and corn spirits.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 confidence: medium

  Entries include Siberian sable hunters, Gardens of Adonis in Sicily, Silenus as wood and corn spirit, Silesian customs driving out or carrying out Death and bringing back summer, Silvanus as wood and corn spirit, sin-bearers, sin-eating, and abstinence from the sinew which shrank.

  Entries mention driving out or carrying out Death in Silesia and Slavonia, bringing back summer, and related seasonal customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 confidence: high

  The index lists driving out Death, carrying out Death, bringing back summer, Shrovetide customs, and spring ceremonies.

  The passage indexes driving out or carrying out Death, bringing back summer, spring ceremonies, Shrovetide customs, and fire festivals tied to seasonal times.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 confidence: high

  The index lists the last sheaf and related ceremonies, the 'Neck' as the last handful of corn, strangers tied in sheaves as representatives of the corn-spirit, and the vegetation spirit in human shape.

  The passage indexes the last sheaf or last handful of corn, harvest ceremonies, and strangers tied in sheaves as representatives of the corn-spirit.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 confidence: medium

  The index lists Easter fires, midsummer fires, Beltane fires, torchlight procession, expulsion of a fire-spirit, perpetual fire, and European spring fire festivals.

  The passage indexes Easter, Shrovetide, Beltane, midsummer, spring, and other regional fire customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11515-11720 confidence: medium

  The Sun entry lists sacred persons, girls at puberty, and tabooed persons as not allowed to see the sun; it also lists belief that the sun can impregnate women and fires as sun charms.

  The passage indexes fires as sun charms and lists fire festivals, midsummer fires, bonfires, and torchlight processions.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11515-11720 confidence: medium

  The tree-spirit entry lists representation by leaf-clad persons, killing the tree-spirit, annual reasons for killing it, the goat as an embodiment, burning in effigy, and human beings burnt as representatives.

  Tree-spirit entries list leaf-clad human representation, killing, annual rationale, embodiment by a goat, burning in effigy, and human representatives burnt.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11515-11720 confidence: medium

  The passage indexes Thammuz as a corn-spirit, rites of Dionysus at Tenedos, and the Thesmophoria.

  The passage names Thammuz as a corn-spirit and indexes rites of Dionysus and the Thesmophoria nearby.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11515-11720 confidence: medium

  The sun entry lists staying the sun, prohibitions on sacred persons and girls at puberty seeing the sun, traces of the rule in folktales, belief that the sun can impregnate women, tabooed persons not seeing the sun, and fires as sun charms.

  The passage links fires to sun charms and lists May Day, Easter, midsummer, and other fire ceremonies.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11515-11720 confidence: high

  The tree-spirit entry lists leaf-clad representatives, killing the tree-spirit, annual reasons for killing it, goat embodiment, burning in effigy, and human beings burned as representatives of it.

  The tree-spirit entry lists killing the tree-spirit, annual reasons for killing it, and burning the tree-spirit in effigy or through human representatives.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11722-11964 confidence: high

  “Vestal fire”; “fire festival”; “midsummer fire ceremony”; “midsummer bonfire”; “midsummer customs.”

  The passage lists Twelfth Day, May Day, Whitsuntide, midsummer, Yule, New Year, harvest, and fire-festival customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11722-11964 confidence: high

  “Vegetation, spirit of, in human shape”; “slain at midsummer.”

  The index lists last-sheaf ceremonies, Wheat-bride, Wheat-dog, corn-spirit as wolf, and vegetation spirit in human shape.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11722-11964 confidence: medium

  “Vegetation, spirit of, in human shape”; “slain at midsummer.”

  The passage states that the vegetation spirit is in human shape and is slain at midsummer.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11722-11964 confidence: high

  Entries for Udvarhely, Uelzen, Weiden, Westphalia, Wanzleben, Wermland, Zabern, Zealand, and others list harvest, last-sheaf, reaping, threshing, and harvest-home customs.

  The passage repeatedly lists harvest customs, last-sheaf rites, May Day, Whitsuntide, midsummer, Yule, New Year, and fire festivals.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11722-11964 confidence: medium

  "Vegetation, spirit of, in human shape"; "slain at midsummer".

  The passage indexes the vegetation spirit in human shape and as slain at midsummer.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8664-8866 confidence: medium

  Adonis is listed with myth and worship, connection with vegetation, gardens, rites similar to those of Osiris, lament, and 'as a pig.'

  Adonis is linked with vegetation, gardens, and lament; Attis is identified as a tree-spirit or corn-spirit, and the index mentions a high priest slain in the character of the god.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8664-8866 confidence: high

  Entries mention offerings of first-fruits, an Alfoers priest sowing first rice seed and plucking first ripe rice, Amboina first-fruits offerings, Ashantee harvest festival, and Arician harvest celebration.

  The passage includes first rice sowing and plucking, offerings of first-fruits, harvest festival, and harvest celebration entries.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8664-8866 confidence: medium

  Fire entries include a fire festival at Aachen, midsummer fires in Algeria, Easter bonfires in Altmark, Ash Wednesday customs, and burning as part of vegetation-spirit representation.

  The index lists fire festivals, midsummer fires, Easter bonfires, Ash Wednesday customs, and an animal burnt as representative of vegetation spirit.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8664-8866 confidence: high

  The index lists a fire festival at Aachen, Easter Eve and Easter bonfire customs, midsummer fires in Algeria, burning a poplar on St. Peter's Day, and Ash Wednesday customs.

  The index clusters vegetation figures, gardens, tree or corn spirits, harvest customs, first-fruit offerings, and fire festivals.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8868-9090 confidence: high

  Entries include Australian charms and ghost expulsion, Austrian tree-soul belief, Axim devil expulsion, Aymara scapegoat in plague, Aztec reflection-soul, last-sheaf name Baba, and Babar soul restoration and shadow-soul belief.

  The passage lists last-sheaf names, reaping and harvest customs, a belief concerning birth of the corn-spirit, and reaper laments.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8868-9090 confidence: high

  Entries include Balder killed by mistletoe, Balder’s bale-fires, Bali devil expulsion, Banjar kings responsible for weather, Bari rain kings, Barotse chief as demigod, apple-tree superstition, and Bassam ox sacrifice and driving out evil spirit.

  Fire rites are indexed at Balder’s bale-fires, Beltane, Easter, midsummer, and a fire festival at Brest.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8868-9090 confidence: high

  Entries include Aymara scapegoat in plague, Aztec reflection-soul, Babar soul restoration and shadow-soul, Babylonian Sacaea and Istar legend, Baffin Land expulsion of evil, and Balder killed by mistletoe, associated with oak, life in mistletoe, and bale-fires.

  The index lists May customs, Whitsuntide, Mid-Lent, midsummer, Beltane, Easter bonfires, harvest customs, corn-spirit, last sheaf, and first-fruits.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 8868-9090 confidence: high

  Entries include Aymara scapegoat in plague, Aztec reflection-soul, Babar soul restoration and shadow-soul, Babylonian Sacaea and Istar legend, Baffin Land expulsion of evil, and Balder killed by mistletoe, associated with oak, life in mistletoe, and bale-fires.

  The index lists Balder’s bale-fires, Beltane fires, Easter bonfires, midsummer bonfires, and a fire festival at Brest.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: high

  The index identifies Bride as the name given to the binder of the last sheaf and lists harvest customs in several regions.

  The index identifies Bride as binder of the last sheaf and lists multiple harvest customs together with animal forms of the corn-spirit.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: high

  The index lists Dionysus as a bull, the corn-spirit as bull, calf, cat, and cock, Osiris and the bull, a sacred bull, and a bull as scapegoat.

  The index explicitly lists bull, calf, cat, and cock as forms of the corn-spirit.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: high

  The index lists first seed sowing and reaping among the Burghers, offering of first-fruits in Burma, and a harvest festival in Celebes.

  The index lists first seed sowing and reaping among the Burghers, offering of first-fruits in Burma, and a harvest festival in Celebes.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: high

  The index lists midsummer fires, Beltane fires, fire festivals, burning of a mock giant and cat, cattle driven through fire, burnt sacrifices, and Celtic human sacrifices.

  The index lists midsummer fires, Beltane fires, fire festivals, burnt sacrifices, burning of a mock giant, burning of a cat, and cattle driven through fire.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: medium

  Index entries mention Bride as binder of the last sheaf and harvest or reaping customs in Brie, Britanny, Bruck, Bulgaria, and Cambridgeshire.

  The passage indexes last-sheaf naming, harvest customs, first seed sowing and reaping, and offerings of first-fruits.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: high

  Index entries list Dionysus as a bull, the corn-spirit as a bull, Osiris and the bull, a sacred bull, a bull as scapegoat, and the corn-spirit as a calf.

  The passage explicitly lists the corn-spirit as bull, calf, cat, cock, and clucking-hen.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9092-9315 confidence: medium

  Index entries mention midsummer fires in Britanny, Beltane fires in Callander, Candlemas customs, and a fire festival at Cobern.

  The passage indexes midsummer fires, Beltane fires, fire festivals, cattle driven through fire, Candlemas customs, and burnt sacrifices.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: high

  Entries list corn as rain-charm and personification; corn mother, queen, woman, baby, goat, and wolf; corn-spirit as grandmother or youthful, dying, represented by people in sheaves, killed in pretence, represented by stranger or human victim, and embodied in many animals.

  The index groups multiple corn-spirit personifications, crop representatives, and animal embodiments under harvest and corn-spirit entries.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: medium

  Entries list corn as rain-charm and personification; corn mother, queen, woman, baby, goat, and wolf; corn-spirit as grandmother or youthful, dying, represented by people in sheaves, killed in pretence, represented by stranger or human victim, and embodied in many animals.

  The corn-spirit is indexed as dying; persons are bound in sheaves as representatives; a pretence of killing the representative and representation by a human victim are listed.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: high

  Entries list Creek Indians' festival of first-fruits and food-property beliefs; crops entries mention ceremonies at eating new crops and sacramental eating of new crops.

  The index lists offerings or festivals of first-fruits, ceremonies at the eating of new crops, and sacramental eating of new crops.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: high

  Entries list May Day and midsummer fire or bonfire customs in Cornwall, Corsica, Darowen, Denmark, and Dublin.

  Midsummer bonfires and May Day customs are indexed for multiple localities.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: high

  Entries list the corn-spirit as grandmother or youthful, its death, binding persons in sheaves as representatives, pretended killing of the corn-spirit or its representative, representation by a stranger, and representation by a human victim.

  The index lists the corn-spirit as anthropomorphic, theriomorphic, represented by people or animals, and subject to death or pretended killing.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: high

  Entries mention a festival of first-fruits among the Creek Indians, ceremonies at the eating of new crops, and sacramental eating of new crops.

  The index explicitly lists ceremonies at eating new crops, sacramental eating of new crops, and first-fruits festivals.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9317-9539 confidence: medium

  Entries mention May-day customs and midsummer bonfires in several locations, along with the Daedala festival.

  The index lists May-day customs and midsummer bonfires across several locations.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9541-9755 confidence: high

  The Dyaks entry lists belief in souls of trees, soul abduction and restoration, harvest custom, bad omens, epidemic custom, venison taboo, sparing the crocodile, relation to the palm-tree, and a festival of first-fruits.

  The index explicitly lists first-fruits as a festival and as offerings, and also names Dyak, Easter Islander, and Fiji examples.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9541-9755 confidence: high

  "Fire festivals in Europe" and "they were charms to make the sun shine"

  European fire festivals are indexed together with Easter fires, midsummer bonfires, sacred fire, and the statement that fire festivals were charms to make the sun shine.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9541-9755 confidence: medium

  The passage lists Easter customs and fires, and Eisenach ceremonies of bringing back summer and carrying out Death; other entries mention midsummer fire customs.

  The index lists ceremonies of bringing back summer and carrying out Death, alongside Easter, midsummer, and harvest customs.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9541-9755 confidence: high

  Dyaks are indexed for souls of trees, soul abduction and restoration, harvest custom, bad omens, epidemic custom, food and animal taboos, palm-tree, and first-fruits festival.

  The index explicitly lists festivals or offerings of first-fruits and related new-corn or harvest customs across several entries.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9541-9755 confidence: high

  Fiji is indexed for gods, soul extraction, two souls, eating avoidance, self-immolation, expulsion of devils, initiation, and first-fruits; fire festivals include human sacrifices, European festivals described as sun charms, and sacred fire made by wood friction or oak.

  European fire festivals are indexed and explicitly described as charms to make the sun shine.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9757-9974 confidence: high

  Harvest entries include customs, festivals, cries, omens, the last sheaf named Grandmother, Granny, Harvest child, Harvest cock, Harvest queen, and the corn-spirit as goat or hare.

  Harvest customs, festivals, last-sheaf names, and the corn-spirit as goat or hare are all listed in the index.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9757-9974 confidence: medium

  Germany entry lists sacred groves, a ceremony on felling a tree, the oak as sacred tree, an oak log burnt on Midsummer Day, and the external soul in German stories.

  The passage lists an oak log burnt on Midsummer Day, Easter fires in the Harz Mountains, and midsummer fires in Greece.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9757-9974 confidence: high

  The goat is indexed as sacred; Dionysus appears as a goat; the corn-spirit appears as a goat.

  The passage indexes harvest customs, last-sheaf names, harvest animals, and the corn-spirit as goat or hare.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9757-9974 confidence: medium

  Germany entry lists sacred groves, tree-felling ceremony, harvest customs, beating as a charm, oak as sacred tree, oak log burnt on Midsummer Day, and external soul in German stories.

  Midsummer fires, Easter fires, burnt oak log, and the Golden Bough as sun-fire are indexed.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 confidence: high

  Entries include “festival at the eating of the new rice,” “offering(s) of first-fruits” by the Hos, Hovas, in Huahine, in India, and by the Irayas of Luzon.

  The index repeatedly lists first-fruits offerings and a new-rice eating festival across several peoples and places.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 confidence: medium

  The index lists midsummer fires, Easter fires, midsummer bonfires, and sheep driven through fire among Hottentots.

  The index lists seasonal or ritual fire customs in multiple places, including midsummer fires, Easter fires, bonfires, and animals driven through fire.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 confidence: high

  “Horse, the corn-spirit as a”; “sacrifice of the” horse; “Human victim represents the corn-spirit.”

  The index lists the corn-spirit as a horse, horse sacrifice, and a human victim representing the corn-spirit.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 confidence: high

  "Hertfordshire harvest custom"; "Hermsdorf, harvest custom"; "Javanese ... ceremony at rice harvest"; "Hindoo ... festival of Ingathering"

  The index repeatedly lists offerings of first-fruits and new-rice or ingathering festivals across named peoples and places.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 confidence: medium

  "Human sacrifices"; "Human victim represents the corn-spirit"

  The passage states that a human victim represents the corn-spirit and separately indexes the corn-spirit as a horse.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 9976-10195 confidence: medium

  "Herefordshire, midsummer fires"; "Holland ... Easter fires"; "Ireland ... midsummer fires"; "Isle of Man ... midsummer bonfires"; "Hottentot ... sheep driven through the fire"

  The passage indexes midsummer fires, Easter fires, bonfires, and animals driven through fire.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8289-8376 confidence: high

  Frazer states that new fruits may be offered as thank-offerings to divine beings who produced them, that first-fruits may be presented to a king, and that people may not eat new crops until the offering to deity or king is made.

  The passage repeatedly states or illustrates that new crops are not eaten until first-fruits have been offered to gods, ancestors, or royal recipients.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8289-8376 confidence: high

  Kochs offer first-fruits to named ancestors with clapping; Hos offer new rice to Sing Bonga, who dwells in the sun, and sacrifice a white cock before anyone eats the new rice.

  White cocks, goats, fowls, hogs, or similar animals are sacrificed in connection with new rice, kosarane, Indian corn, or penalties for premature eating.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8289-8376 confidence: high

  Frazer states that new fruits may be offered as thank-offerings to divine beings or kings, and that people may not eat new crops until first-fruits have been offered.

  Across the passage, new crops are not eaten until a portion is offered to divine, ancestral, or royal recipients.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8289-8376 confidence: medium

  In Ashantee the king eats new yams before the people may do so; Hova first sheaves and Burmese pangati fruits are brought to the sovereign or king before others partake.

  The Ashantee harvest festival occurs when yams are ripe, lasts a fortnight, and is described as a time when theft, intrigue, assault, and sexual license go unpunished.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8378-8432 confidence: high

  Tjumba holds a post-harvest festival: rice-filled vessels are offered to gods; a sacred stone under a palm-tree is sprinkled with sacrificed animal blood and receives rice and flesh; the palm-tree is hung with lances and shields.

  Multiple rites occur after harvest or when paddy/new rice is ripe and involve offering the first or new produce to gods, ancestors, or household spirits.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8378-8432 confidence: medium

  The Dyaks of Borneo hold a first-fruits feast when paddy is ripe: priestesses gather paddy with gong and drum, wash it in coconut water, set it around a decorated bamboo altar, observe a two-day village taboo, kill fowls, dance, beat gongs, and then gather crops.

  The Dyak village is tabooed during the feast and people are free to get in crops only after it ends; in Amboina, priests may not eat new fruits until offerings are made.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8378-8432 confidence: high

  On Tjumba, after harvest, rice is presented as a thank-offering to gods; a sacred stone at a palm-tree is sprinkled with sacrificial blood and receives rice and flesh, while the palm is hung with lances and shields.

  Across the passage, new rice, paddy, or harvest fruits are presented to gods, ancestors, household spirits, or the dead during harvest or first-fruits rites.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8378-8432 confidence: high

  On Tjumba, after harvest, rice is presented as a thank-offering to gods; a sacred stone at a palm-tree is sprinkled with sacrificial blood and receives rice and flesh, while the palm is hung with lances and shields.

  The passage mentions sacrificed animal blood and flesh, killed fowls or pigs, and live fowls and pigs offered with first-fruits.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8378-8432 confidence: medium

  The Dyaks hold a first-fruits feast when paddy is ripe; priestesses gather paddy in procession, wash it in coconut water, lay it around a decorated bamboo altar, taboo the village, kill fowls, dance and beat gongs, and only after the festival get in crops.

  The Dyak village is tabooed until the feast is over and crops may then be gathered; in Amboina priests may not eat new fruits until offerings are made.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8434-8512 confidence: high

  Fiji: first yam fruits are presented to ancestors in the Nanga before ordinary use; offerings are piled and left to rot; taking them is said to cause madness; vines grow from decayed offerings; feasts and rejoicing accompany the presentation.

  The passage repeatedly describes yams, fruit, or food portions offered before people taste, dig, or generally use the seasonal crop.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8434-8512 confidence: medium

  Fiji: first yam fruits are presented to ancestors in the Nanga before ordinary use; offerings are piled and left to rot; taking them is said to cause madness; vines grow from decayed offerings; feasts and rejoicing accompany the presentation.

  Fijian offerings are presented to ancestors, and Tana departed ancestors or deified chiefs are said to receive first-fruits and preside over yams and fruit-trees.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8434-8512 confidence: medium

  Fiji: first yam fruits are presented to ancestors in the Nanga before ordinary use; offerings are piled and left to rot; taking them is said to cause madness; vines grow from decayed offerings; feasts and rejoicing accompany the presentation.

  The Fijian and Tana rites include feasting and public rejoicing or dancing after the offering.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8434-8512 confidence: high

  Tonga: Inachi is a yearly share of fruits and eatables offered to the gods in the person of divine chief Tooitonga before general yam maturity, to secure divine protection, national welfare, and the welfare of crops.

  In Tonga, a special yam species is planted earlier than others in fenced land so that it can serve as first-fruits before the general yam crop matures.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8434-8512 confidence: high

  In certain Fijian tribes, first yam harvest fruits are presented to ancestors in the Nanga before the main crop is dug, and no man may taste new yams beforehand.

  Multiple examples present first yams, new fruit, or seasonal food portions to ancestors, gods, or sacred representatives before common use or crop maturity.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8434-8512 confidence: high

  In Tana, gods are called aremha, meaning dead man; ancestors and deified elderly chiefs are prayed to and are thought to preside over yams and fruit-trees.

  Tana ancestors and deified chiefs are said to preside over yams and fruit-trees, and the Tongan inachi seeks divine favour for the productions of the earth.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8514-8594 confidence: high

  The procession circles the grave two or three times with conchs and singing; yams are deposited; a mataboole addresses the gods and the late Tooitonga, thanking them for harvest prospects and asking future beneficence.

  The passage repeatedly describes first yams, taro, fish, fruits, ground produce, sweet potatoes, corn, and wine being offered to gods, spirits, chiefs, or named deities.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8514-8594 confidence: medium

  Processions wear new gnatoos, red ribbons, and flower wreaths; men carry weapons; parties bring yams in baskets, deposit them in the malai, and sling them on poles under mataboole regulation.

  In the Tongan ceremony, yams are carried in procession to the grave of the last Tooitonga, circled, deposited, and accompanied by prayer for harvest beneficence.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8514-8594 confidence: high

  Chiefs and matabooles sit before the grave; the procession circles it with conchs and singing, deposits yams before it, and a mataboole thanks and petitions the gods for harvest beneficence.

  The Tongan Inachi and the comparative examples center on first-fruits or first produce being presented to gods, spirits, chiefs, temples, altars, or named deities.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8596-8661 confidence: medium

  At dawn the people go to the temple of the Sun, which has east and west doors; the eastern door is open, an altar faces sunrise, animal images stand at the altar, and the oak-bark flame normally burns perpetually but dies out once yearly before the festival.

  The passage says the altar flame is allowed to die out once yearly before the Harvest Festival, new fire is generated at sunrise, and all hearths are rekindled from the sacred flame.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8596-8661 confidence: high

  The chief’s wife leads women to the harvest fields, where men may not follow; they gather first sheaves of maize, carry them to the temple, present some to the high priest for the altar, bake others into unleavened bread, and the eastern door is closed while the western door is opened.

  Women gather the first sheaves of maize, present some to the high priest for the altar, bake the rest into unleavened bread, and present the bread to the setting sun.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8596-8661 confidence: high

  The Natchez chief solemnity is called the Harvest Festival or Festival of New Fire; a crier orders new vessels and garments, house washing, burning old grain/garments/utensils in a common fire, and announces amnesty.

  Before the festival the community replaces old items, washes houses, burns old goods, receives amnesty, fasts, abstains, takes purifying medicine, and keeps silence.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8596-8661 confidence: high

  The Natchez chief solemnity is the Harvest Festival or Festival of New Fire; a crier orders new vessels and garments, house washing, burning old grain, garments, and utensils in a common fire, and proclaims amnesty.

  The festival occurs at harvest; the old sacred flame dies out once a year, a new fire is kindled at sunrise, and all village hearths are rekindled from it.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8596-8661 confidence: high

  The chief's wife leads women to the harvest fields without men; they gather first maize sheaves, bring them to the temple, give some to the high priest for the altar, and use others for unleavened bread.

  Women gather the first sheaves of maize, some are presented to the high priest and placed on the altar, and bread made from the harvest is presented to the setting sun.

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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 / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS.; lines 8596-8661 confidence: medium

  At dawn the people go to the temple of the Sun, a building with eastern and western doors; the east door is open and the altar faces it to receive the first rays of the rising sun.

  The eastern door and altar receive the rising sun during the new fire rite, while the western gate is used for the setting-sun presentation of bread and hymn.

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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 1039-1079 confidence: high

  Frazer says the victim-selection mode suggests that the ox which tasted the corn was viewed as the corn-deity taking possession of his own.

  The ox that tasted corn is interpreted as the corn-deity, its flesh is eaten in a harvest setting, and the stuffed ox represents the corn-spirit's resurrection.

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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 1039-1079 confidence: high

  In Beauce near Orleans, around April 24 or 25, villagers make a straw-man called the great mondard, say the old mondard is dead, process the new one, place it on the oldest apple-tree, later throw it into water or burn it and cast ashes into water, and give the title to the first fruit-plucker.

  The old mondard is said to be dead and replaced in spring; Frazer interprets the straw figure as the tree-spirit dead in winter and revived with apple-blossoms, and compares this with the resurrection of the corn-spirit.

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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 1039-1079 confidence: high

  In Beauce, people make a straw-man called the great mondard in late April, process it through the village, place it on the oldest apple-tree, later throw it into water or burn it and cast the ashes into water, and give the title great mondard to the person who plucks the first fruit.

  The great mondard is made because the old mondard is dead; the tree-spirit is described as dead in winter and revived with apple-blossoms in spring.

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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 1039-1079 confidence: high

  The Athenian sacrifice occurs near the close of threshing; the altar grain is interpreted as a harvest offering; the repast is sacramental, with all eating the divine animal, and is compared to modern European harvest suppers where an animal representing the corn-spirit is eaten.

  The passage describes the post-sacrifice meal as sacramental, with all partaking of the flesh of the divine animal, and compares it to harvest suppers where an animal representing the corn-spirit is eaten.

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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 1039-1079 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit’s resurrection is represented by setting up the stuffed ox and yoking it to the plough, and is compared with tree-spirit resurrection in the person of the Wild Man.

  The resurrection of the corn-spirit is represented by setting up the stuffed ox and yoking it to the plough.

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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 1039-1079 confidence: medium

  A tradition says the sacrifice was instituted to end drought and famine, which Frazer treats as support for viewing it as a harvest festival.

  A tradition states that the sacrifice was instituted to put an end to drought and famine, supporting Frazer’s classification of it as a harvest festival.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: high

  At Great Bassam in Guinea, two oxen are annually slain for a good harvest; women induce the oxen to weep by chanting and throwing manioc meal or palm wine on them; the tails are cut off at one blow, the oxen are killed, and chiefs eat the flesh.

  Great Bassam oxen are slain annually for a good harvest; the Chinese spring rite includes killing a live buffalo and distributing its flesh.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: medium

  The author interprets the oxen's tears as probably a rain-charm like those of Khond human victims, and links the ox tail to the corn-spirit's tail and last handful of corn.

  The passage states that the ox appears as representative or personification of the corn-spirit, and the Chinese ox effigy is filled with grain whose fragments are interpreted as fertility-bearing.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: high

  Mandarins beat the Chinese ox effigy with colored rods; five kinds of grain pour out when it breaks; paper fragments are burned and scrambled for as lucky objects; a live buffalo is killed and its flesh divided; a clay-effigy variant is stoned to pieces for an abundant year.

  The Chinese ox effigy is broken and its burning fragments are scrambled for; the passage compares Silesian burning of Death and Florentine sawing of the Old Woman with similar scrambling for fragments or contents.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: high

  At Great Bassam, two oxen are slain annually for a good harvest; women chant and throw manioc meal or palm wine to make them weep; when tears appear, people dance, the tails are cut off at one blow, the oxen are killed, and chiefs eat the flesh.

  The Great Bassam oxen are slain for a good harvest, and the Chinese buffalo and ox effigy are used in a spring agricultural rite.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: high

  Mandarins beat the grain-filled ox effigy; five kinds of grain pour out when it breaks; fragments are burned and seized for good fortune; a live buffalo is killed and divided among mandarins; another account has a clay ox stoned to pieces for an abundant year.

  The passage links the corn-filled ox's fragments, the divided buffalo flesh, and the Dionysian torn animal to fertility or life-giving influence.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: medium

  At Great Bassam, two oxen are slain annually for a good harvest; women chant and throw manioc meal or palm wine to make them weep; when tears appear, people dance, the tails are cut off at one blow, the oxen are killed, and chiefs eat the flesh.

  Frazer interprets the induced tears of the sacrificial oxen as a rain-charm, comparing them to human victims among the Khonds.

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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 1081-1138 confidence: medium

  In a Chinese spring ceremony, the governor or prefect processes to the east gate and sacrifices to the Divine Husbandman, represented with a bull's head and human body; an ox, cow, or buffalo effigy with agricultural implements stands outside the east gate and is made of colored paper whose colors forecast the year.

  The Chinese ceremony occurs on the first day of spring and involves beating, breaking, burning, and scrambling for fragments of an agricultural ox effigy expected to bring fortune or abundance.

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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 1140-1211 confidence: high

  Women called drawers, after three days of ceremonial purity, descended, drove off serpents by clapping, brought up decayed remains of pigs, cakes, and branches, and placed them on an altar.

  Decayed remains of pigs and cakes are recovered and sown with seed-corn, and this is believed to assure a good crop.

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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 1140-1211 confidence: high

  The Thesmophoria is described as an autumn festival celebrated by women alone, representing with mourning the descent of Proserpine or Demeter into the lower world and with joy her return from the dead.

  An autumn festival uses decayed pig and cake remains with seed-corn to ensure a good crop.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: medium

  Frazer generalizes that the corn-spirit is killed in animal form in autumn; part of its flesh is eaten as a sacrament and part kept until sowing or harvest as security for renewed energies.

  The passage repeatedly interprets pigs, horses, and other animals as forms or possible forms of corn and vegetation deities or spirits.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: high

  The passage compares Thesmophoria swine flesh, partly eaten and partly kept in caverns for sowing with seed-corn, to harvest customs involving a goat near Grenoble, an ox at Pouilly, cock feathers at Udvarhely, pig flesh or bones in Hessen and Meiningen, and a Yule Boar made from the last sheaf.

  The passage describes animal flesh being eaten, while other parts are kept until sowing or harvest to secure crop renewal or the corn-spirit's energies.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: medium

  The passage says it is unclear whether the corn-spirit is dead or revived; at the Thesmophoria, according to the cited emendations, pigs were thrown in alive and supposed to reappear at the next year's festival, implying a corn-spirit alive underground.

  The passage reports pigs placed alive underground and expected to reappear the next year, and interprets the corn-spirit as living and working under ground before autumn renewal.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: high

  The legend says Demeter, searching for her daughter, became a mare to escape Poseidon, withdrew offended to the cave of Phigalia robed in black, remained while fruits perished and mankind risked famine, and was soothed by Pan and persuaded to leave; an image commemorated this in the cave.

  Demeter's withdrawal to the cave is linked with perishing fruits of the earth and is explicitly read as an expression of winter vegetation.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: high

  “the corn-spirit is killed in animal form in autumn; part of his flesh is eaten as a sacrament” and part is kept for renewal of its energies.

  The passage explicitly generalizes that the corn-spirit is killed in animal form in autumn, partly eaten, and partly preserved until sowing-time or harvest to secure renewed energies.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: medium

  Frazer says it is unclear whether the corn-spirit is dead or revived immediately; under Lobeck’s emendation, Thesmophoria pigs are thrown in alive, reappear the next year, and live underground before annual renewal.

  The passage says the Thesmophoria pigs were supposed to reappear the next year and interprets the corn-spirit as living and working underground before being brought up for renewal.

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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 1213-1277 confidence: high

  In the Phigalian legend, Demeter becomes a mare, withdraws in black to the cave, the fruits of the earth perish, Pan persuades her to leave, and a horse-headed image of Black Demeter is set up in the cave; Frazer reads this as winter vegetation.

  In the Black Demeter legend, the goddess remains in the cave while fruits of the earth perish; the passage interprets her absence as a mythical expression of winter vegetation.

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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 1422-1506 confidence: high

  The author argues that an animal sacrificed solemnly once a year is generally divine and that an animal sacrificed as a god's enemy may originally have been the god; he applies this to the pig sacrificed to Osiris.

  The author states that an animal solemnly sacrificed once a year is generally divine, and applies this to the annual pig sacrifice to Osiris.

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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 1422-1506 confidence: medium

  The passage argues that the pig was later distinguished from anthropomorphic Osiris and opposed to him as an enemy; the boar's damage among corn later explained this enmity, while its presence in corn originally identified it with the corn-spirit.

  The passage identifies pig or boar, harvest animals, red-haired men, Roman red-haired puppies, and red oxen as representatives of the corn-spirit that are killed or sacrificed.

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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 1422-1506 confidence: medium

  The passage recounts Typhon in boar form menacing Horus's eye, Horus burning him and instituting pig sacrifice, Ra declaring the pig abominable, and a story of Typhon discovering and mangling Osiris while hunting a boar; the author reconstructs an older version in which Osiris, like Adonis and Attis, was slain or mangled by a boar.

  The passage reconstructs an older story in which Osiris, like Adonis and Attis, was slain or mangled by a boar or by Typhon in boar form.

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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 1422-1506 confidence: high

  A story says Typhon was hunting a boar when he found and mangled Osiris’s body; Frazer interprets this as a modernization of an older story in which Osiris, like Adonis and Attis, was slain or mangled by a boar or by Typhon as boar.

  The passage states that the pig was sacrificed once a year to Osiris and argues that an animal killed only in this way is usually divine and killed as a god.

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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 1422-1506 confidence: medium

  The killing of the pig is described as an annual representation of the killing of Osiris, compared with Thesmophoria pigs representing Proserpine’s descent and with European harvest killings of animals as representatives of the corn-spirit.

  The passage connects the pig sacrifice, European harvest animals, red-haired men, and red oxen with representatives of the corn-spirit or Osiris.

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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 1508-1544 confidence: medium

  Osiris is regularly identified with Apis of Memphis and Mnevis of Heliopolis; Frazer is uncertain whether they are corn-spirit embodiments or distinct deities fused by syncretism, and notes their worship by all Egyptians.

  Osiris is discussed as corn-spirit or corn-god, and Osiris and Isis are linked with worship of cultivated plants, especially corn.

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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 1546-1619 confidence: medium

  Varro is cited for an annual exception in which a goat was driven onto the Acropolis for necessary sacrifice; the author infers it was sacrificed as Athene herself and that its skin may have renewed the aegis on the goddess’s statue.

  The passage describes or conjectures annual sacrifices in which an animal is treated as a representative or embodiment: Athene’s goat, Ammon’s ram, and the possible Arician horse.

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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 1546-1619 confidence: high

  The Roman October horse rite is introduced: on October 15 a chariot race occurred on the Field of Mars, and the right-hand horse of the victorious team was stabbed with a spear as a sacrifice to Mars to ensure good crops.

  The Roman October horse is sacrificed to Mars after a chariot race, with the stated object of ensuring good crops; its blood later becomes part of a fumigation rite for flocks.

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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 1546-1619 confidence: high

  Varro is cited for an annual exception in which a goat was driven onto the Acropolis for sacrifice; Frazer infers the goat may have represented Athena and supplied the annually renewed aegis.

  The passage explicitly discusses animals killed once yearly and interprets them as representatives or embodiments of the god rather than ordinary offerings.

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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 1546-1619 confidence: high

  At Rome on October 15, after a chariot race on the Field of Mars, the right-hand horse of the winning team was stabbed with a spear and sacrificed to Mars for good crops; its head was adorned with loaves and contested, and its tail was carried to the king’s house so blood dripped on the hearth.

  The Roman October horse is sacrificed to ensure good crops, and its preserved blood is later mixed and used by shepherds for fumigating flocks.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The passage describes a horse sacrifice for good harvest: the horse’s head has loaves, its tail is cut off, its blood fumigates cattle, and the author compares these actions with African ox-tail sacrifice and feeding harvest figures or animals to livestock.

  The passage presents the horse as an animal representative of the corn-spirit killed in a harvest rite whose aim is a good crop.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The passage describes a horse sacrifice for good harvest: the horse’s head has loaves, its tail is cut off, its blood fumigates cattle, and the author compares these actions with African ox-tail sacrifice and feeding harvest figures or animals to livestock.

  The horse’s tail and blood are singled out as chief parts of the corn-spirit’s representative, used on cattle and kept at the king’s house.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: medium

  The October horse rite is placed on the Field of Mars on the king’s corn-fields at harvest end; the horse’s tail and blood are kept at the king’s house, while Subura contests the head. The passage compares this with harvest-cock, Maiden sheaf, May-pole, and last-sheaf customs.

  Horse parts, the harvest-cock, the Maiden sheaf, the May-pole, and later the dough-man are brought to houses of household or communal heads.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  Under the heading “Eating the god,” the passage states that the corn-spirit is represented in human and animal form, killed in its representative, and eaten sacramentally; the new corn is likewise eaten as the body of the corn-spirit.

  The section explicitly says the corn-spirit is killed in a representative and eaten sacramentally, and that new corn is eaten as the body of the corn-spirit.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The October horse rite is placed on the Field of Mars on the king’s corn-fields at harvest end; the horse’s tail and blood are kept at the king’s house, while Subura contests the head. The passage compares this with harvest-cock, Maiden sheaf, May-pole, and last-sheaf customs.

  The Swedish little-girl loaf made from the last sheaf and the Scottish Maiden sheaf are presented as forms of the corn-spirit conceived as a maiden.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: medium

  The author suggests that Aricia’s sacred grove may have hosted a common harvest celebration with horse sacrifice, and states that the horse would represent the fructifying spirit of both tree and corn, as in Harvest-May customs.

  The passage states that the horse could represent the fructifying spirit of both tree and corn and points to customs such as the Harvest-May and fir-tree with dough-man.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The horse’s head is decorated with a string of loaves, and the sacrifice is said to aim at procuring a good harvest; Frazer says this indicates the horse is an animal representative of the corn-spirit.

  The horse is killed as an animal representative of the corn-spirit to procure harvest fertility; the passage also generalizes that human and animal representatives of the corn-spirit are killed and eaten sacramentally.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The horse’s tail is cut off; Frazer compares this with African ox-tail sacrifice for a good crop and says the animal’s fructifying power is thought to reside especially in the tail.

  The horse’s tail and blood are identified as chief parts of the corn-spirit’s representative and are preserved at the king’s house to bring blessing to the community.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: medium

  The Subura is allowed to compete for the horse’s head, and when successful the Suburans nail it to the Mamilian tower.

  The Subura competes for the horse’s head and nails it to a tower when successful.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The section heading is 'Eating the god'; Frazer states that the corn-spirit is represented in human and animal form and is killed and eaten sacramentally in the person of its representative.

  The passage explicitly labels the section 'Eating the god' and describes last-sheaf grain made into a girl-shaped loaf and a dough-man broken and eaten as embodiments of the corn-spirit.

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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 1621-1704 confidence: high

  The horse’s tail and blood, called chief parts of the corn-spirit’s representative, are taken to the king’s house and kept there, as harvest symbols are kept at farmhouses or brought to village heads in other European customs.

  The last sheaf is linked with the Maiden in Scotland and with a little-girl-shaped loaf in Wermland, both treated as embodiments of the corn-spirit.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: high

  The passage says new-corn ceremonies indicate that the food is “partaken of sacramentally, that is, as the body of the corn-spirit.”

  The passage explicitly frames new-corn eating as partaking of the body of the corn-spirit and connects several new-crop foods with spirits.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: high

  Lithuanian peasants held Sabarios after harvest and sowing; the farmer took reserved first-threshed and winnowed grain of several kinds, divided it, and mixed it together.

  The rites occur after harvest and sowing, involve new corn, new potatoes, and first corn, and are tied to the beginning of December or initial consumption of the crop.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: high

  In Sutherlandshire all the family must taste new potatoes, otherwise “the spirits in them [the potatoes] take offence, and the potatoes would not keep.”

  In Sutherlandshire all family members must taste new potatoes, otherwise the spirits in the potatoes take offence and the potatoes would not keep.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: high

  Solemn eating of new corn is said to indicate sacramental partaking of the body of the corn-spirit.

  The passage explicitly states that solemn consumption of new corn indicates sacramental partaking of the body of the corn-spirit, and the Sabarios rite centers on eating first-grain loaves and drinking new beer.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: high

  Lithuanian Sabarios follows harvest and sowing; the farmer mixes portions of first-threshed grain, bakes household loaves, and brews beer from the mixture.

  First-threshed grain is set aside, beer is poured to fruitful earth, God and earth are addressed, fowls are offered and killed, and the household consumes the ritual food and drink.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: medium

  Many Esthonians of Oesel bite iron before eating bread from new corn; the passage calls the iron a charm intended to render harmless the spirit in the corn.

  The Esthonian custom of biting iron before eating new-corn bread is described by Frazer as a charm to render harmless the spirit in the corn.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: high

  In Sutherlandshire all the family must taste new potatoes, otherwise “the spirits in them [the potatoes] take offence, and the potatoes would not keep.”

  In Sutherlandshire all family members must taste new potatoes because the spirits in them would otherwise take offence and the potatoes would not keep.

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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 1706-1768 confidence: medium

  In part of Yorkshire a clergyman cuts the first corn, reportedly for communion bread; the passage says that, if correct, this shows Christian communion absorbing an older sacrament.

  The passage reports a Yorkshire custom of a clergyman cutting first corn and possible use of that corn for communion bread, then states that if correct it shows Christian communion absorbing an older sacrament.

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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 1770-1846 confidence: high

  Boeroe clans share a new-rice meal called “eating the soul of the rice,” and some rice is offered to spirits.

  The passage repeatedly describes new rice, yams, wheat ears, or fruits being ritually eaten before general harvesting or ordinary consumption proceeds.

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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 1770-1846 confidence: high

  At Pongol, new rice is boiled in a new pot on a noon-kindled fire; the family watches the milk as an omen, offers rice to Ganesa’s image, and then eats it.

  In Pongol, the family watches how the milk boils, and the passage states that rapid boiling indicates prosperity while slow boiling indicates the reverse.

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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 1770-1846 confidence: high

  In Boeroe each clan shares a meal called “eating the soul of the rice,” and some rice is offered to spirits.

  Several rites require new rice, wheat, yams, or fruits to be ritually gathered, prepared, offered, or eaten before ordinary harvesting or eating is permitted.

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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 1770-1846 confidence: high

  At Pongol, new rice is boiled in a new pot on a newly kindled fire; the boiling milk is read as a sign for the year, rice is offered to Ganesa, and everyone eats.

  During Pongol, the family watches how milk boils, interpreting rapid boiling as prosperity for the coming year and slow boiling as the reverse.

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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 179-256 confidence: high

  “Both dog and wolf appear as embodiments of the corn-spirit in harvest-customs”; examples include the Wheat-dog, Peas-pug, White Dog, and White Bitch.

  The passage states that dog and wolf appear as embodiments of the corn-spirit and repeatedly locates the animal figure in the last sheaf, last corn, or last bundle.

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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 179-256 confidence: medium

  The passage suggests the Wolf may live during winter in the farmhouse and reappear at midwinter; examples include a man with wolf skin, a stuffed wolf carried at Christmas, and a man in leaves called the Wolf.

  The passage proposes that the wolf caught in the last corn may live through winter in the farmhouse and appear again at midwinter as a sign of approaching spring.

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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 179-256 confidence: high

  Dog harvest customs: dog and wolf are introduced as embodiments of the corn-spirit; examples include Wheat-dog, Peas-pug, White Dog or White Bitch, Dog of the harvest, and formulas about killing the Wheat-dog, Rye-dog, or Potato-dog.

  The passage repeatedly identifies dog, wolf, and wether forms with the corn-spirit in harvest customs.

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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 179-256 confidence: high

  Dog harvest customs: dog and wolf are introduced as embodiments of the corn-spirit; examples include Wheat-dog, Peas-pug, White Dog or White Bitch, Dog of the harvest, and formulas about killing the Wheat-dog, Rye-dog, or Potato-dog.

  The last sheaf or last standing corn is named Dog, Bitch, Wolf, or wether and is treated as containing or representing the corn-spirit.

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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 179-256 confidence: medium

  Dog harvest customs: dog and wolf are introduced as embodiments of the corn-spirit; examples include Wheat-dog, Peas-pug, White Dog or White Bitch, Dog of the harvest, and formulas about killing the Wheat-dog, Rye-dog, or Potato-dog.

  The passage describes killing the Dog, striking down or killing the Wolf at threshing, catching the Wolf, and killing the wether as the death of the corn-spirit.

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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 179-256 confidence: medium

  Winter customs: the Wolf may be thought to live in the farmhouse during winter and reappear at midwinter; Polish Christmas customs include a man with wolf skin, a stuffed wolf carried for money, and an indicated older custom of a leaf-covered man called the Wolf.

  The passage says the Wolf may be thought to live in the farmhouse during winter and reappear at midwinter as lengthening days herald spring.

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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 1848-1924 confidence: high

  The Creek busk is identified as the annual first-fruits festival, held in July or August when corn is ripe, marking the end of the old year and start of the new; before it, no new harvest is eaten or handled.

  The ceremony is held when corn is ripe, marks the end of the old year and beginning of the new one, prohibits use of the new harvest beforehand, and culminates in offering and eating new fruits.

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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 1848-1924 confidence: high

  Before the busk, people obtain new goods, gather old clothing, rubbish, grain, and provisions into a common heap, burn them, extinguish all village fires, sweep away ashes, and clear the temple hearth or altar.

  Old fires and sparks are extinguished and removed before the high priest makes a new fire by friction; the new fire is then distributed to household hearths.

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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 1848-1924 confidence: high

  The Creek busk is identified as the annual first-fruits festival, held in July or August when corn is ripe, marking the end of the old year and start of the new; before it, no new harvest is eaten or handled.

  Before the ceremony, old clothes, rubbish, remaining grain, and old provisions are gathered and consumed with fire as part of the transition into the new year.

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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 1848-1924 confidence: high

  The Creek busk is the chief annual first-fruits ceremony, held when corn is ripe, marking the end of the old year and start of the new; before it, new harvest food is not eaten or handled.

  The ceremony occurs when corn ripens, restricts use of the new harvest beforehand, and marks the passage from old year to new year.

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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 1848-1924 confidence: high

  After old-year food is removed and people are ordered indoors to extinguish every old spark, the high priest makes new fire by friction and places it under the green arbour; the new fire is believed to atone for past crimes except murder.

  The high priest makes a new fire; it is said to atone for past crimes except murder, and the priest announces that it has purged away sins of the past year.

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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 1926-2006 confidence: medium

  The passage states that Aztecs twice yearly made a dough image of Huitzilopochtli or Vitzilipuztli, broke it in pieces, and solemnly ate it.

  The Aztec rites are said to occur twice yearly, in May and December, and the December festival is placed at the winter solstice.

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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 1926-2006 confidence: high

  Solemn preparations for eating new corn are interpreted as sacramental; Boeroe and Creek customs combine the sacrament with sacrifice; first-fruits are offered to gods or ancestral spirits before humans eat the rest.

  The passage describes first-fruits being offered to gods or ancestral spirits as a preparation or authorization for eating the new corn and remaining produce.

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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 1926-2006 confidence: medium

  The passage states that new corn was eaten as a sacrament; in Boeroe and Creek customs this sacrament is combined with sacrifice, and first-fruits may be offered to gods or ancestral spirits before humans eat the rest.

  The opening discussion describes first-fruits offered to gods or ancestral spirits before people eat the new corn or fruits of the earth.

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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 1926-2006 confidence: medium

  The Aztec May rite is introduced: an image of Huitzilopochtli/Vitzilipuztli is made of dough from beet seed, roasted maize, and honey, fitted with glass eyes and maize teeth, clothed by noblemen, and placed in a chair and litter.

  The ceremonies occur twice yearly, including a December festival at the winter solstice, and involve the making and eating of the god-image.

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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 2008-2059 confidence: low

  Frazer says the evidence is fragmentary and uncertain, but suggests Arician human-shaped loaves were sacramental bread made in the image of the annually slain divine King of the Wood and eaten by worshippers, like Mexican paste figures.

  Frazer proposes that when the divine King of the Wood was annually slain, loaves in his image may have been made and eaten sacramentally.

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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 2061-2136 confidence: high

  Frazer says the custom of killing the god among agricultural peoples involves a corn or cultivated-plant spirit represented in human or animal form, an annual killing of that representative, and a widespread custom of sacramentally eating the god as representative or shaped bread.

  The passage explicitly describes the corn or cultivated-plant spirit as represented in human or animal form and the representative as killed annually.

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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 2061-2136 confidence: medium

  Frazer states that agricultural peoples represent the corn or cultivated-plant spirit in human or animal form, kill the representative annually, and eat the god sacramentally as the representative or as human- or animal-shaped bread.

  The passage describes an annual custom of killing the human or animal representative of the corn or cultivated-plant god in an agricultural setting.

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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 2207-2282 confidence: medium

  The passage argues that preserved skins of slain divine animals, including the Californian buzzard skin and harvest goat skin, could serve as tokens containing divine life and could be stuffed or framed into images, then replaced by permanent images clothed annually in fresh skin.

  The passage describes annual renewal of divine skins or images and compares it to annual renewal of the May-tree/May-pole with fresh plant material.

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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 2207-2282 confidence: high

  The passage describes the Theban festival of Ammon: rams were sacred and normally not sacrificed, but once a year a ram was killed, skinned, used to clothe the god's image, mourned, and buried in a sacred tomb; an explanatory story involved Zeus appearing to Hercules in ram fleece and head.

  The passage describes the annual killing of the ram identified as Ammon and connects it to the general custom of killing the god to avoid age and frailty.

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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 2207-2282 confidence: medium

  The passage proposes a transition from annually renewed skin-images to permanent images annually clad in fresh skins, comparing this with the change from cutting a new May-tree every year to maintaining a permanent May-pole annually decorated with fresh leaves, flowers, and a young tree.

  The passage compares annually renewed animal-skin images with an annual May-tree custom later replaced by a permanent May-pole decorated each year with fresh vegetation.

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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 2284-2369 confidence: high

  Frazer describes the Issapoo of Fernando Po as regarding the cobra-capella as a guardian deity; one reptile skin is hung tail downward from the highest tree in the public square in an annual ceremony, and infants born in the past year touch its tail for protection.

  The passage explicitly introduces the West African case as annual killing of a sacred animal and preservation of its skin, with the skin placed on a tree in an annual ceremony.

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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 2284-2369 confidence: medium

  At midsummer, the narrator sees fifty men process westward, led by a painted, shell-bedecked priest and followed by the torch-bearing Shu-lu-wit-si, or God of Fire; the old brother says they go to the city of the Ka-ka and the home of 'our others.'

  At midsummer a Zuni procession departs to a named other destination and returns four days later in ritual costume carrying living turtles.

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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 2453-2526 confidence: medium

  A young bear is caught near winter’s end, brought into the village, first suckled by an Aino woman, then fed fish and kept in a wooden cage; it is honored as a fetish or higher being rather than kept merely for a meal.

  The bear is caught toward the end of winter, and the festival is generally said to be celebrated in September or October.

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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 2453-2526 confidence: medium

  A young bear is caught near winter's end, brought into the village, suckled by a woman, fed fish, caged until strong, and regarded not merely as food but as a fetish or higher being; the festival is usually in September or October.

  The bear is caught near the end of winter, and the festival is generally celebrated in September or October with broad community participation.

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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 2576-2642 confidence: medium

  The passage says the Gilyak lead the captive bear from house to house so every family may receive its blessing, and calls this parallel to the European custom of taking a May-tree or tree-spirit representative door to door in spring to share reviving nature's energies.

  The passage compares the Gilyak bear procession for household blessing with the European spring May-tree or tree-spirit representative taken door to door so all may share reviving natural energies.

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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 2576-2642 confidence: high

  The passage describes the captive bear as receiving near-worship: Gilyak lead him house to house for family blessing; this is compared to a European May-tree or tree-spirit spring procession; bamboo leaves and a prayer indicate the bear’s expected return into an Aino; special vessels hold the bear’s flesh.

  The bear is carried house to house for blessing, and the author compares this with a spring May-tree or tree-spirit representative taken door to door so all may share reviving nature.

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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 258-329 confidence: high

  Near Udvarhely, a live cock is bound in the last sheaf and killed with a spit; its skin and feathers are kept until spring, when grain from the last sheaf is mixed with the feathers and scattered on the field.

  The passage states that the corn-spirit in cock form is killed at harvest and rises to fresh life and activity in spring, especially through the preservation and spring scattering of feathers with seed-corn.

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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 258-329 confidence: high

  Near Udvarhely, a live cock is bound in the last sheaf and killed with a spit; its skin and feathers are kept until spring, when grain from the last sheaf is mixed with the feathers and scattered on the field.

  The cock's feathers are kept until spring, mixed with grain from the last sheaf, and scattered over the next field, which the passage interprets as quickening and fertilising power.

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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 258-329 confidence: medium

  In North Germany the cock is said to sit in the last sheaf; reapers say they will chase it out and have caught it, then carry home a flower cock on a pole; at Braller the reapers say they will catch the Cock in the last patch.

  Cock figures or live cocks are carried home by reapers, placed on harvest-waggons, attached to crowns or garlands, and displayed at the farmhouse until the next harvest.

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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 258-329 confidence: high

  Near Klausenburg a buried cock is beheaded by a young man with a scythe; near Udvarhely a live cock is bound in the last sheaf, killed with a spit, skinned, and its skin and feathers are kept until next year.

  The passage states that the corn-spirit in cock form is killed at harvest but rises to fresh life and activity in spring, and describes feathers mixed with seed-corn for spring sowing.

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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 258-329 confidence: high

  The passage introduces the corn-spirit as taking cock form; children are warned about the Corn-cock in Austria, North German reapers say the cock sits in the last sheaf and chase or catch it, and Transylvanian reapers cry that they will catch the cock in the last patch.

  The cock is said to sit in the last sheaf, the last sheaf is named after the cock, and a live cock may be bound in the last sheaf before being killed.

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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 258-329 confidence: high

  Near Klausenburg a buried cock is beheaded by a young man with a scythe; near Udvarhely a live cock is bound in the last sheaf, killed with a spit, skinned, and its skin and feathers are kept until next year.

  The cock's feathers are preserved until spring, mixed with grain from the last sheaf, and scattered on the field to be tilled; the passage calls this a sign of quickening and fertilising power.

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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 2870-2911 confidence: high

  First seasonal fish are received with deference; British Columbia Indians meet and address them as chiefs; the Thlinket carefully handle the first halibut, address it as chief, and hold a festival before fishing continues.

  The passage repeatedly concerns the first fish or first halibut of the season and describes honors, festivals, dances, fasting, purity rules, and handling restrictions around that first catch.

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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 2870-2911 confidence: high

  Karoks dance for salmon in spring; the Kareya or God-man fasts ten days in the mountains, returns, takes the first salmon, eats some, kindles sacred fire with the rest, and salmon-taking is prohibited before and for ten days after the dance.

  The passage reports taboos and rules about taking salmon before or after a dance, gathering and reusing poles, cutting, boiling, roasting, selling, removing hearts, keeping fish overnight, and consuming the fish the same day.

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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 2870-2911 confidence: high

  On salmon rivers, first seasonal fish are received with deference; in British Columbia Indians meet the first fish and address them: “You fish, you fish; you are all chiefs.”

  Multiple examples concern special rites, prohibitions, or honors directed to the first fish at the beginning of the fishing season.

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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 2870-2911 confidence: medium

  The Karoks dance for salmon; the Kareya or God-man fasts ten days in the mountains, returns, takes the first salmon, eats some, kindles sacred fire in the sweating-house with the rest, and salmon-taking is forbidden before and for ten days after the dance.

  The Karok rite includes fasting by a ritual specialist, a salmon dance, a prohibition on taking salmon before and after the dance, and equipment restrictions.

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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 2913-2969 confidence: medium

  Some peoples respect bones of game because, if preserved, the bones will be reclothed with flesh and the animal will live again; destroying bones would diminish future game.

  The passage states that preserving bones supports the future supply of game, and that bison bones are expected to become fat and fit for slaughter the next June.

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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 3117-3198 confidence: medium

  The passage distinguishes rare solemn killing of a normally spared animal from expiatory and annual killing of a habitually killed revered animal, calling these the Egyptian and Aino types.

  The passage describes a special annual atonement and gives seasonal details for spring Abchases meals and autumn Kalmuck ram rites.

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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 3200-3287 confidence: high

  The Todas are described as pastoral people of Southern India who live largely on buffalo milk; the buffalo is treated as sacred, cow-buffalo flesh is not eaten, male flesh is generally avoided, and once a year adult males kill and eat a very young male calf.

  The Todas kill and eat a young male buffalo calf once a year, and the Madi or Moru are reported to kill a lamb at stated annual times.

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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 3200-3287 confidence: high

  The Todas are a pastoral people of Southern India who live largely on buffalo milk, treat buffaloes as sacred to a degree, and normally do not eat buffalo flesh.

  The Toda rite occurs once a year and centers on killing and eating a very young male buffalo calf that belongs to an otherwise sacred and food-prohibited animal category.

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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 3290-3388 confidence: medium

  The passage states that European ceremonies are closely analogous to Indian snake worship and identifies the hunting of the wren; many European peoples call the wren king or similar names and consider it unlucky to kill, with English and Scottish examples of misfortune beliefs.

  The wren is called king or king of birds, is said to be unlucky to kill, yet is annually hunted and killed in Christmas, St. Stephen's Day, or Twelfth Day customs.

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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 3290-3388 confidence: high

  The passage introduces European wren ceremonies as closely analogous to Indian snake worship and says the wren is widely designated as king or king of birds and is unlucky to kill.

  The wren is described as unlucky to kill, yet annual Christmas, St. Stephen's Day, or Twelfth Day customs involve hunting, killing, carrying, and sometimes burying it.

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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 3290-3388 confidence: high

  In the Isle of Man, servants hunted and killed a wren at Christmas, fastened it to a pole, carried it house to house while chanting, collected money, laid it on a bier, sang dirges, buried it, and then danced.

  Wren bearers repeatedly go from house to house, sing verses, and collect money, food, or treats; in one Isle of Man form they give wren feathers in return for coins.

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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 3290-3388 confidence: medium

  After house visits, the dough snake is buried with a small grave; women worship there during nine days of September, offer curds while kneeling and touching the earth, then distribute the rest among children.

  The snake rite is tied to nine days of September and post-new-moon mornings, while wren rites are tied to Christmas, St. Stephen's Day, and Twelfth Day.

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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 331-370 confidence: high

  The passage identifies the hare as a common embodiment of the corn-spirit; last-corn cutting or the last sheaf is called the Hare in several places, the Hare sits in the last standing patch in East Prussia, the last reaper chases or kills it, and in Norway gives brandy called hare's blood.

  The passage explicitly presents the hare and cat as embodiments or forms of the corn-spirit in reaping and threshing customs.

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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 331-370 confidence: medium

  The passage identifies the hare as a common embodiment of the corn-spirit; last-corn cutting or the last sheaf is called the Hare in several places, the Hare sits in the last standing patch in East Prussia, the last reaper chases or kills it, and in Norway gives brandy called hare's blood.

  The Hare sits in the last patch and is chased or killed by the last reaper; the Cat is caught in last-corn language and may be killed when the last corn or last bundle is reached.

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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 331-370 confidence: medium

  At Briançon a cat is decorated with ribbons, flowers, and ears of corn at the beginning and close of reaping, made to lick a wounded reaper if one is wounded, and stripped of ornaments by girls after dancing.

  At Briançon the cat is adorned with ribbons, flowers, and ears of corn, participates in a wound-licking action, and is stripped after harvest dancing.

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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 331-370 confidence: medium

  Near Amiens the harvest is finished with the expression that they are going to kill the Cat, and a cat is killed when the last corn is cut; in some parts of France, a live cat is placed under the last bundle to be threshed, killed with flails, then roasted and eaten.

  In some French customs a cat is killed at harvest completion or under the last bundle to be threshed, then roasted and eaten as a holiday dish.

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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 331-370 confidence: high

  “Another common embodiment of the corn-spirit is the hare”; cutting the last corn in Ayrshire is called “cutting the Hare,” and in Germany the last sheaf may be called the Hare.

  The passage explicitly presents both hare and cat as forms or embodiments of the corn-spirit in harvest settings.

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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 331-370 confidence: high

  “Another common embodiment of the corn-spirit is the hare”; cutting the last corn in Ayrshire is called “cutting the Hare,” and in Germany the last sheaf may be called the Hare.

  The last patch of corn, last sheaf, last bundle, or last cutting is repeatedly named as or associated with Hare or Cat.

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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 331-370 confidence: medium

  In East Prussia the Hare is said to sit in the last patch of standing corn and to be chased out by the last reaper; at Birk reapers cry that they have the Hare; at Aurich cutting the last corn is described as cutting off the Hare's tail.

  The Hare is chased out or said to be killed by the last reaper; Cat customs include catching, killing, killing under the last threshing bundle, and eating.

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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 331-370 confidence: medium

  At Grüneberg the reaper who cuts the last corn is called the Tom-cat, covered in rye-stalks and green withes, given a long plaited tail, and may have a similarly dressed female Cat companion; they chase people and beat them with a stick.

  At Grüneberg the last reaper is called the Tom-cat and dressed in plant materials and a tail, with possible companion figure, then pursues people.

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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 331-370 confidence: medium

  In several countries the man who cuts the last corn is said to kill the Hare; in Norway the man so described must give brandy, called hare's blood, for his fellows to drink.

  The Norwegian hare custom requires brandy called hare's blood to be given to others, while a French cat custom ends with roasting and eating the killed cat as a holiday dish.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: medium

  Carcassonne custom: young people hunt wrens with sticks; the first to strike one down is proclaimed King; the King carries the wren on a pole, joins processions with torches and music, door inscriptions, royal regalia, a wreath-decorated pole, mass, official visits, money collection, and a banquet.

  The passage gives annual December wren hunts and the author's general statement that a worshipful animal is killed with special solemnity once a year.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: medium

  Carcassonne custom: young people hunt wrens with sticks; the first to strike one down is proclaimed King; the King carries the wren on a pole, joins processions with torches and music, door inscriptions, royal regalia, a wreath-decorated pole, mass, official visits, money collection, and a banquet.

  The first person to strike down the wren is proclaimed King and later appears in crown, blue mantle, and sceptre during seasonal processions.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: medium

  Carcassonne custom: young people hunt wrens with sticks; the first to strike one down is proclaimed King; the King carries the wren on a pole, joins processions with torches and music, door inscriptions, royal regalia, a wreath-decorated pole, mass, official visits, money collection, and a banquet.

  The wren procession stops at houses with inscriptions, the author says worshippers receive divine virtues from the dead or dying god, and the Highland/St. Kilda rite brings blessings and protective hide contact to each house.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: high

  Carcassonne custom: young people hunt wrens with sticks; the first to strike one down is proclaimed King; the King carries the wren on a pole, joins processions with torches and music, door inscriptions, royal regalia, a wreath-decorated pole, mass, official visits, money collection, and a banquet.

  The customs cluster around the first Sunday of December, Christmas Eve, the end of December, the last day of the year, New Year's Eve, Twelfth Day, and protection for the ensuing year.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: high

  At Carcassone young people hunt wrens; the first to strike one down is made King, carries the wren on a pole, leads New Year and Twelfth Day processions with regalia, attends mass, visits authorities, and gathers money for a royal banquet.

  The wren is hunted annually in winter customs, and Frazer frames the pattern as a worshipful animal killed with solemnity once a year.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: high

  At Carcassone young people hunt wrens; the first to strike one down is made King, carries the wren on a pole, leads New Year and Twelfth Day processions with regalia, attends mass, visits authorities, and gathers money for a royal banquet.

  The Carcassone procession stops at houses, Frazer interprets animal processions as transmitting divine virtues, and the Scottish ceremony visits houses to pronounce blessings and apply protective burned hide.

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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 3390-3461 confidence: high

  At Carcassone young people hunt wrens; the first to strike one down is made King, carries the wren on a pole, leads New Year and Twelfth Day processions with regalia, attends mass, visits authorities, and gathers money for a royal banquet.

  The Scottish and St. Kilda ceremony occurs on the evening before New Year's Day and is intended to secure people and domestic animals from disease and misfortune during the ensuing year; French wren customs also cluster around December, New Year's Eve, and Twelfth Day.

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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 3463-3544 confidence: low

  The passage says the wren hunt and cow-skin procession do not clearly relate to agriculture, may be pre-agricultural animal reverence, and are analogized to Gilyak bear and Indian snake processions; it also allows that some European animal processions may be agricultural corn-spirit representations and says the matter is obscure.

  The passage says some animal or animal-disguised processions may have originated as agricultural representations of the corn-spirit in animal shape.

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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 3463-3544 confidence: medium

  Animal customs such as hunting the wren, the cow-skin procession, and European animal processions are discussed in relation to possible pre-agricultural animal reverence, Gilyak bear and Indian snake analogies, and possible agricultural corn-spirit interpretations.

  The passage discusses processions of animals or animal-disguised men as possibly either early animal reverence or agricultural representations of the corn-spirit in animal shape.

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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 372-444 confidence: high

  “the corn-spirit often appears in the form of a goat.”

  The passage explicitly identifies the corn-spirit as often appearing in goat form and then lists harvest sayings and rites using goat names for crop beings, sheaves, and harvesters.

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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 372-444 confidence: high

  Near Straubing, the last cutter has the Corn-goat, Wheat-goat, or Oats-goat; horns are set on the last heap; at Kreutzburg the Goat is said to sit in the last sheaf.

  The final sheaf, handful, or heap is repeatedly called the Goat, given horns, made in goat form, or said to contain the Goat.

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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 372-444 confidence: high

  Near Straubing, the last cutter has the Corn-goat, Wheat-goat, or Oats-goat; horns are set on the last heap; at Kreutzburg the Goat is said to sit in the last sheaf.

  The person who cuts or binds the last sheaf is called Goat or a crop-goat name, may be ridiculed, dressed, crowned, belled, led in triumph, drenched, or made to bear the name until the next harvest.

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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 372-444 confidence: medium

  The passage contrasts two views: a farm's goat-form corn-spirit lives in farmhouse or barn over winter, or a general corn-spirit flees from a cut farm to another with standing corn.

  The passage states a view that when corn on one farm is cut the corn-spirit flees to another farm where corn still stands, and connects this with the Skye sheaf-transfer custom.

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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 372-444 confidence: medium

  In Skye, the first farmer to finish sends a person with a sheaf to a neighbor still reaping; each finished farmer sends it onward until all corn is cut; the sheaf is called the Cripple Goat.

  The Skye sheaf is called the Cripple Goat, and the passage explains the lameness as probably caused by cutting the corn, comparing it to limping by the old woman who brings home the last sheaf.

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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 372-444 confidence: medium

  At Gablingen, a decorated wooden Oats-goat is set in the field and goes to the last reaper; in Bavaria and Hesse the last sheaf or handful may be called the Goat and the cutter ridiculed.

  The passage describes a decorated wooden Oats-goat assigned to the last finisher and a colossal straw Oats-goat placed on the roof of a race loser.

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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 372-444 confidence: high

  The passage says the corn-spirit often appears as a goat; Prussian sayings describe goats moving or sitting in corn, oats, rye, and beans, and children are warned that such goat beings may carry them away or kill them.

  The passage repeatedly links a crop spirit or crop-field presence with goat names and goat forms across harvest contexts.

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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 372-444 confidence: high

  Examples from Bavaria, East Prussia, Swabia, Hesse, and nearby areas call the last corn, last heap, last sheaf, last handful, or a carved/formed goat figure the Goat, Corn-goat, Wheat-goat, or Oats-goat; horns may be set on the last heap.

  The last sheaf, last handful, last heap, and the person who cuts or binds the last sheaf are called Goat or crop-specific goat names and may be decorated or mocked.

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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 372-444 confidence: medium

  The passage contrasts a view that a caught corn-spirit lives in the farmhouse or barn over winter with a view that it is a genius or deity of all corn and flees to another farm where corn is still standing.

  The passage states a view that the corn-spirit flees to another farm where corn remains standing and illustrates this with the Skye Cripple Goat sheaf passed from farmer to farmer.

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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 372-444 confidence: high

  Sick or slow harvesters are said to have been pushed by the Harvest-goat or Corn-goat; in East Prussia and Norway, lagging harvesters are associated with goat cries or danger of being pushed.

  Lagging, losing, or last-finishing harvesters receive goat-related names, cries, ridicule, processions, or roof effigies.

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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 3748-3829 confidence: high

  Frazer states that occasional ceremonies tend to become periodic, commonly annual, for a general riddance of evil spirits and a fresh start after accumulated malignant influences.

  The passage states that occasional ceremonies tend to become periodic, often annual, and gives an Australian annual custom expelling ghosts for twelve months.

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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 3748-3829 confidence: high

  “The observance of such ceremonies, from being occasional, tends to become periodic”; Frazer says this is often annual so people may make a fresh start free of accumulated malignant influences.

  Frazer explicitly says occasional ceremonies tend to become periodic, usually annual, and gives an Australian annual expulsion of ghosts lasting twelve months.

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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 3831-3911 confidence: high

  Frazer states that certain seasons suit general expulsion of devils; at Point Barrow, Eskimo choose the sun’s return after Arctic winter to hunt Tuña from every house.

  The passage frames the examples as seasonal moments for general expulsion and gives winter-sun-return, autumn-gale, New Year, and autumn-new-moon timings.

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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 3831-3911 confidence: high

  Certain seasons are said to suit general expulsion of devils; at Point Barrow, after the Arctic winter, Eskimo choose the sun's reappearance to hunt Tuña from every house.

  The passage frames certain seasons as appropriate for general expulsion and gives rites at the sun's return, during autumn gales, at Iroquois New Year, and after the first new moon of autumn.

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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 3831-3911 confidence: medium

  The Iroquois New Year festival of dreams lasts days or weeks and is described as a Saturnalia of disguises, license, destruction, assaults, drenching, filth, ashes, and burning brands or coals.

  The Iroquois New Year festival includes a temporary period of disguise, license, violence, and social inversion before or around the driving away of evil spirits.

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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 3831-3911 confidence: medium

  On one day Iroquois men in wild-beast skins, masks, and tortoise-shell hand coverings drive evil spirits from huts with noises, taking fuel from fires and scattering embers and ashes; confession is interpreted as preparation for expelling evil influences, and the White Dog sacrifice is noted as a later feature.

  The White Dog sacrifice is described as a conspicuous present feature of the Iroquois New Year ceremony.

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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 3913-3971 confidence: high

  Situa is held in September to banish disease and troubles; it is timed with the beginning of rains and sickness, and preparation includes fasting after the autumnal equinox.

  The festival occurs in September, when rains begin and sickness is common, with fasting tied to the first day of the moon after the autumnal equinox.

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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 3913-3971 confidence: high

  Situa is described as a September Inca festival whose object was to banish disease and troubles from the capital and vicinity, timed to the beginning of the rains and associated sickness.

  The Situa is an annual September festival tied to rains and sickness, with repeated actions explicitly aimed at driving disease, troubles, evils, and harm out of the city and households.

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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 3973-4040 confidence: high

  Guinea towns annually banish the devil; at Axim the rite is preceded by an eight-day feast with licensed lampooning of superiors and inferiors.

  Several rites are described as annual, New Year, Mascal, or harvest-home occasions in which the devil, evil, or an evil spirit is driven away from the community.

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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 3973-4040 confidence: medium

  At Onitsha on New Year’s Day, every family throws away a firebrand in the street and says New Year has come; Taylor explains the fire as driving away the old year with its sorrows and evils and welcoming the new year.

  Onitsha families throw away firebrands at New Year, and the reported explanation says fire drives away the old year’s sorrows and evils; Mascal participants carry torches and search dark corners with light.

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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 3973-4040 confidence: high

  The Ho harvest-home is held when granaries are full; the opening sacrifice to the village god includes three fowls, flowers, rice-flour bread, and sesamum seeds, with prayers for protection, rain, crops, and sometimes the dead.

  The Ho harvest-home begins with sacrifice and offerings to the village god, followed by prayers for protection from misfortune and sickness, seasonable rain, and good crops.

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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 3973-4040 confidence: medium

  At Onitsha New Year, families throw firebrands into the street and say that the new year has come; Taylor explains the fire as driving away the old year’s sorrows and evils and welcoming the new year.

  At Onitsha, firebrands are thrown away at New Year, and Taylor says the fire drives away the old year’s evils; at Mascal, torches and bonfires are used throughout the town and houses.

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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 3973-4040 confidence: high

  At Onitsha New Year, families throw firebrands into the street and say that the new year has come; Taylor explains the fire as driving away the old year’s sorrows and evils and welcoming the new year.

  The Onitsha rite occurs on New Year’s Day; the Ho and Mundari rites are harvest-home festivals at the end or beginning of the annual agricultural cycle.

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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 3973-4040 confidence: high

  The Ho harvest-home festival occurs in January when granaries are full; the village priest sacrifices three fowls, two black, with Palás flowers, rice bread, and sesamum, praying for protection, rain, crops, and sometimes the dead.

  The Ho village priest offers fowls and other materials to the village god while praying for preservation from misfortune and sickness, seasonal rain, and good crops.

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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 4042-4119 confidence: high

  Among Hindoo Koosh tribes, as among the Hos and Mundaris, devils are expelled after harvest from granaries; mool is eaten, a family head and neighbors fire matchlocks, the next day is rejoicing, and the Chitral festival is called devil-driving.

  The passage describes several rites timed to harvest, seed-time, the dark moon of the ninth month, or the annual balolo appearance, all framed as expulsions of devils or as having that aspect.

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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 4042-4119 confidence: medium

  Among Hindoo Koosh tribes, as among the Hos and Mundaris, devils are expelled after harvest from granaries; mool is eaten, a family head and neighbors fire matchlocks, the next day is rejoicing, and the Chitral festival is called devil-driving.

  The rites concern granaries, seed-time, seed-corn, hog killing over seed with prayer to Pitteri Pennu, and Fijian prayer for good crops and fair winds at the balolo feast.

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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 4042-4119 confidence: high

  Among some Hindoo Koosh tribes, devil-expulsion follows harvest: evil spirits are driven from granaries by eating mool and firing matchlocks; the next day is spent rejoicing and in Chitral the festival is called devil-driving.

  The passage repeatedly describes communal ceremonies held at harvest, seed-time, dark moon, or annual sea-slug appearance to drive out devils or spirits.

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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 4042-4119 confidence: medium

  After the Khond car rite, each household kills a hog over the seed and prays to Pitteri Pennu; elders feast, young men pelt them with jungle fruit, and the tribal head sows first before others may sow.

  Khond households kill hogs over the year’s seed, pray to Pitteri Pennu, and begin sowing only after the tribal head has sown.

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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 4042-4119 confidence: high

  Among some Hindoo Koosh tribes, devil-expulsion follows harvest: evil spirits are driven from granaries by eating mool and firing matchlocks; the next day is spent rejoicing and in Chitral the festival is called devil-driving.

  The Fijian annual rite is timed by the single-day appearance of the balolo sea-slug; other rites are tied to harvest, seed-time, and dark moon.

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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 4121-4187 confidence: high

  Japanese participants throw roasted beans against house walls and floors before spring, telling a wicked spirit to leave and a god of riches to enter.

  The passage repeatedly places expulsion rites at spring, after Diwali, after the new year, in March, on the old year’s last day, or annually among the Shans.

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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 4121-4187 confidence: medium

  Japanese participants throw roasted beans against house walls and floors before spring, telling a wicked spirit to leave and a god of riches to enter.

  The Japanese throw beans through the house to send away a wicked spirit, and the Punjaub rite throws out sweepings and rubbish while asking wretchedness to depart.

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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 4121-4187 confidence: high

  Japanese participants throw roasted beans against house walls and floors before spring, saying for a wicked spirit to go away and for a god of riches to enter.

  The examples are tied to spring, the morning after Diwali, a yearly Tonquin theckydaw after the new year, Cambodian March rites, the Siamese last day of the old year, and an annual Shan expulsion.

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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 4189-4267 confidence: high

  Annual expulsions of demons or evil influences are introduced; Wotyak young girls beat house and yard corners with sticks split in nine places, say they are driving Satan out, and throw the sticks into the river so Satan goes downstream.

  The passage introduces annual expulsions of demons or evil influences and gives rites attached to New Year, Easter Eve, March, May Day, and Twelfth Night.

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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 4189-4267 confidence: high

  Wotyak young girls at New Year beat house and yard corners with split sticks, say they are driving Satan out, then throw the sticks into the river so Satan floats downstream with them.

  The passage groups rites at New Year, Easter Eve, March, May Day, and Twelfth Night as annual or seasonal expulsions of Satan, witches, disease spirits, or wood spirits.

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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 4270-4347 confidence: high

  The Pomo of California hold a seven-year expulsion of devils: disguised men with flaming pitch vessels personify devils, come from the mountains, enter the assembly-house, and are finally expelled and chased back into the mountains.

  The passage states or implies recurring timing: every seven years for the Pomo, spring annual festival for the Mandan, last night of the year in Cambodia, annual Kasya expulsion, and probable annual Carmona relic.

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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 4270-4347 confidence: high

  The Pomos of California hold a seven-year expulsion of devils: disguised men with paint and flaming pitch vessels personify devils, come from the mountains, frighten the crowd, enter the assembly-house, and are chased back into the mountains after sham fighting.

  The passage gives periodic rites: Pomo every seven years, Mandan in spring, Cambodian on the last night of the year, and Kasya annually.

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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 446-522 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit is said to appear as a goat slain by sickle or scythe; near Bernkastel a reaper may be left in a patch called the Goat, and the last ears are described as the Goat's neck being cut off.

  The passage repeatedly identifies goat forms, names, sheaves, and effigies with the corn-spirit during harvest or threshing.

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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 446-522 confidence: medium

  The corn-spirit is said to appear as a goat slain by sickle or scythe; near Bernkastel a reaper may be left in a patch called the Goat, and the last ears are described as the Goat's neck being cut off.

  The passage describes cutting the Goat's neck, beheading a decorated goat, driving away the He-goat by threshing, and telling children to kill the Oats-goat.

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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 446-522 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit is said to appear as a goat slain by sickle or scythe; near Bernkastel a reaper may be left in a patch called the Goat, and the last ears are described as the Goat's neck being cut off.

  The Goat, Straw-goat, He-goat/She-goat, and Oats-goat are repeatedly associated with the last ears, last bundle, or last sheaf.

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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 446-522 confidence: high

  The passage opens by stating that the corn-spirit, in goat form, may be believed to be slain on the harvest-field by a sickle or scythe.

  Across the described customs, the corn-spirit is identified with goat forms in the harvest-field, last sheaf, threshing-floor, and escaping figure.

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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 446-522 confidence: high

  Near Bernkastel, reapers form an order by lot, leave a slower reaper in a patch called the Goat, jeer at him, and say the tail-bearer cuts off the Goat's neck when cutting the last ears.

  The goat-form corn-spirit is described as having its neck cut in the last ears, a live goat is beheaded and eaten at harvest, and the Oats-goat is to be killed in the last sheaf.

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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 446-522 confidence: medium

  Near Grenoble, a decorated live goat is chased and caught; the farmer's wife holds it while the farmer beheads it; the flesh is eaten, some preserved until the next harvest, and the skin is made into a cloak worn in bad weather or lent to reapers with back pain.

  A piece of goat flesh is pickled and kept until the next harvest, when another goat is killed and the harvesters eat the flesh.

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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 446-522 confidence: high

  At Marktl, sheaves are called Straw-goats or Goats; the last sheaf is decorated with flowers and cakes, placed in the middle of the heap, torn at by some threshers, and threshed by others.

  The last sheaf or last bundle is treated as the Goat, decorated, threshed, named in terms of Goat, He-goat, or She-goat, or said to contain the Oats-goat.

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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 4470-4550 confidence: high

  Frazer introduces periodic mediate expulsion by scapegoat or material vehicle; Leti, Moa, and Lakor annually send diseases to sea in a loaded prao, and the Biajas annually send a bark laden with sins and misfortunes.

  The passage explicitly frames the examples as mediate expulsion of evils by a scapegoat or material vehicle that often recurs yearly, seasonally, biennially, or at New Year.

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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 4470-4550 confidence: medium

  At the Iroquois New Year festival, fires are extinguished and renewed; costumed men gather sins; decorated white dogs are strangled, hung, receive the people's sins, burned on a pyre, and their ashes may be sprinkled at house doors.

  The Iroquois example takes place during the New Year festival, extinguishes old fires, kindles a new fire, gathers sins, transfers them to white dogs, and burns the dogs.

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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 4470-4550 confidence: high

  The passage introduces mediated expulsion of evils by scapegoat or other material vehicle and states that it tends to become periodic.

  The passage frames mediated expulsion by scapegoat or material vehicle as periodic and gives annual or festival examples using vessels, pots, effigies, dogs, and a goat.

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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 4470-4550 confidence: medium

  The passage introduces mediated expulsion of evils by scapegoat or other material vehicle and states that it tends to become periodic.

  Several rites are described as annual, New Year, third-month, or year-protective practices that remove past or future ills for a defined period.

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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 4552-4624 confidence: medium

  At Onitsha on the Quorra River, two human beings are annually sacrificed to remove the sins of the land; money from persons accused of serious sins buys two sickly persons, one for land and one for river, and a hired man kills them.

  Onitsha sacrifices are annual, Siam has one day of the year, and Tibet’s rite is tied to the New Year; each involves removal of communal wrongdoing or danger through a selected victim.

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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 4552-4624 confidence: medium

  At Onitsha, two human beings are annually sacrificed to remove sins of the land; money is collected from serious offenders and used to buy two sickly persons, one for the land and one for the river.

  The Onitsha rite is annual, the Siamese rite occurs on one day of the year, and the Tibetan rite is tied to the New Year period.

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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 4626-4706 confidence: medium

  At Halberstadt, a man regarded as sinful is brought to church at Lent in mourning, expelled, made to wander barefoot without speech or church entry, later readmitted and absolved, called Adam, and believed innocent.

  The examples are placed on recurring calendar points: Lent, a pre-Christmas Thursday, November worship, and a year-long maintenance before sacrifice.

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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 4708-4787 confidence: high

  Periodic clearance of evils is commonly annual, often at seasonal changes or agricultural epochs such as rainy season, sowing, or harvest, and commonly marks the beginning of the new year; examples include New Britain, Peru, India, the Hindoo Koosh, Iroquois, Tonquinese, Siamese, and Tibetans.

  The rite is described as commonly yearly, linked to seasonal transitions, sowing, harvest, rainy season, and the beginning of the new year.

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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 4708-4787 confidence: high

  Periodic clearances commonly occur yearly and often coincide with marked seasonal changes such as the close of winter or the beginning/end of the rainy season.

  The passage says periodic clearances are commonly annual and coincide with seasonal changes, agricultural epochs, or the new year.

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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 4789-4872 confidence: high

  The passage suggests combining the killing of a human or animal god to preserve divine life from old age with an annual expulsion of evils and sins; the dying god then becomes a scapegoat who carries sufferings and sins beyond the grave.

  The passage describes annual expulsion of evils before a new year and applies this to spring Slavonic and Roman ceremonies.

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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 4789-4872 confidence: high

  The “carrying out Death” ceremony is interpreted as involving a vegetation spirit slain in spring and also a public scapegoat; joy, fear, and abhorrence toward the effigy are explained by the burden of evils placed upon it, with sin- or disease-laden boats cited as an analogy.

  Death is described as a vegetation spirit annually slain in spring so that he may return with youthful vigor; Mars is connected with sprouting vegetation.

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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 4789-4872 confidence: medium

  Every year on March 14 in Rome, a skin-clad man called Mamurius Veturius or “old Mars” was led through the streets, beaten with long white rods, and driven out; the passage interprets him as Mars of the past year.

  Mamurius Veturius is driven out of the city, and the passage says a scapegoat must be driven beyond boundaries to carry its burden to other lands.

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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 4789-4872 confidence: high

  The passage suggests combining two customs: killing the human or animal god to save divine life from age, and annual expulsion of evils and sins; the dying god is then made to carry sufferings and sins beyond the grave.

  The passage describes a general expulsion of evils and sins once a year, especially before entering a new year.

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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 4789-4872 confidence: high

  The 'carrying out Death' ceremony is interpreted as involving a vegetation spirit annually slain in spring; the effigy is carried out for burial or burning, with joy as well as fear and abhorrence, because it also bears communal evils.

  The Death figure is described as the spirit of vegetation annually slain in spring so that it may come to life again with youthful vigour.

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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 4874-4924 confidence: medium

  The passage reports that every year at the Thargelia in May two victims, one for men and one for women, were led out of Athens and stoned to death.

  The passage reports annual Leucadian rites, annual Athenian Thargelia stoning in May, and a similar annual Asiatic Greek harvest Thargelia custom.

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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 4874-4924 confidence: medium

  Frazer reports that every year at the Thargelia in May, two victims, one for men and one for women, were led out of Athens and stoned to death.

  The passage reports annual scapegoat practices at the Leucadian rite, the Athenian Thargelia in May, and the Asiatic Greek harvest festival of the Thargelia.

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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 4926-4994 confidence: medium

  The human scapegoat was beaten on the genital organs with squills and similar items and annually sacrificed at the Thargelia, described as an early harvest festival; the author identifies him as a representative of a creative and fertilising vegetation god.

  The author interprets the human scapegoat at the early harvest festival as a representative of a fertilising vegetation god who is slain so that divine life and natural energies may be renewed in a young successor.

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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 4926-4994 confidence: medium

  Some Brazilian Indians are said to beat themselves on the genital organs with the aquatic white aninga three days before or after the new moon.

  Several examples occur at spring, Easter, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, the first of March, December, autumn festival time, or near the new moon, and involve striking people or animals to promote health, strength, or good luck.

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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 4926-4994 confidence: medium

  The scapegoat at the Thargelia is interpreted as a representative of the creative and fertilising vegetation god, annually slain to keep divine life vigorous; in drought or famine, the god is imagined as born young again to restore nature’s energies.

  The Thargelia is identified as an early harvest festival, and the analogies include autumn, spring, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Eastertide beatings connected with health and renewal.

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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 4996-5066 confidence: high

  At Tezcatlipoca’s annual festival, an unblemished young man was chosen as the god’s living image for a year, maintained in luxury, dressed splendidly under the king’s care, attended by pages, and adored while carrying flowers and playing the flute.

  The Tezcatlipoca festival is annual; the young man serves for a year, is sacrificed, and is immediately replaced by another who shares the same fate after a year.

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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 5068-5164 confidence: medium

  Frazer states that the priest of Nemi embodied the woods and vegetable life, had to die before age or sickness, and passed sacred life to a successor to preserve seasonal plant fertility.

  The priest of Nemi is interpreted as embodying woods and vegetable life, and his death in vigor is said to keep spring, summer, and autumn plant abundance from failing.

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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 5068-5164 confidence: medium

  At Totec’s annual festival, captives are killed and skinned; a priest wears one skin and Totec’s ornaments, is enthroned, and receives first fruits, first flowers, and seed maize.

  The priest wearing Totec’s skin receives first fruits, first flowers, and seed maize while enthroned as the god’s image.

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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 5068-5164 confidence: high

  Frazer explains the priest of Nemi as embodying the spirit of woods and vegetation; his violent death transmits sacred life to a successor to preserve seasonal growth.

  Frazer explains the Arician priest's violent death as a means of transmitting sacred life to a successor so vegetation remains renewed.

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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 5068-5164 confidence: medium

  At Totec's annual festival, captives are killed and skinned; a priest wears a skin and divine ornaments, is enthroned, and receives first fruits, first flowers, and seed maize.

  The Totec representative receives first fruits, first flowers, and seed maize while enthroned as the god's image.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  Prussian Slavs at winter-corn sowing kill and eat a goat, hang the skin on a high pole near an oak and large stone until harvest, then conduct prayer, dancing, distribution, and speech; the narrator says the suspended skin represents the corn-spirit.

  The passage identifies the suspended goat-skin as representing the corn-spirit and describes goat, ox, and calf killings tied to sowing or harvest.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  Prussian Slavs at winter-corn sowing kill and eat a goat, hang the skin on a high pole near an oak and large stone until harvest, then conduct prayer, dancing, distribution, and speech; the narrator says the suspended skin represents the corn-spirit.

  The goat-skin remains in the field from sowing to harvest; part of the Pouilly ox is kept from harvest until the first day of spring sowing.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  At Pouilly near Dijon a decorated ox is led around the field with dancing reapers; a man dressed as the Devil cuts the last ears and kills the ox; its flesh is partly eaten at harvest supper and partly kept until spring sowing.

  The Pouilly ox is led around the field before being killed; the Pont à Mousson calf is led three times around the farmyard, chased, caught, and killed at the end of reaping.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  Prussian Slavs kill a goat at winter-corn sowing, eat it ceremonially, hang the skin on a pole near an oak and stone until harvest, then pray, dance, distribute herbs, and use the skin in a priestly address; the passage says the skin represents the corn-spirit.

  The passage repeatedly states or illustrates that the corn-spirit is represented by a goat-skin or assumes bull, cow, ox, steer, or calf forms in sowing and harvest contexts.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  Prussian Slavs kill a goat at winter-corn sowing, eat it ceremonially, hang the skin on a pole near an oak and stone until harvest, then pray, dance, distribute herbs, and use the skin in a priestly address; the passage says the skin represents the corn-spirit.

  The goat is killed and eaten at sowing, and decorated oxen or calves are killed at harvest, with one ox’s flesh eaten at the harvest supper and partly kept for spring sowing.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  The last sheaf may be shaped as a horned ox and called the Old Man, or made in human form and called the Buffalo-bull; the passage notes confusion between human and animal conceptions of the corn-spirit and compares a wether called a wolf.

  The last sheaf or bundle is shaped or named as a horned ox, Old Man, Buffalo-bull, Cow, or woman made from corn materials.

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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 524-594 confidence: high

  In Switzerland and Swabia the last sheaf or bundle may be called the Cow; the last cutter receives cow-related names, flowers or drink, and ridicule, and a corn-and-flower woman figure may represent the Cow.

  The person who cuts the last ears is named as Cow or similar crop-animal names and becomes the target of jokes or public teasing.

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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 524-594 confidence: medium

  The last sheaf may be shaped as a horned ox and called the Old Man, or made in human form and called the Buffalo-bull; the passage notes confusion between human and animal conceptions of the corn-spirit and compares a wether called a wolf.

  The passage explicitly notes confusion between anthropomorphic and theriomorphic conceptions of the corn-spirit in last-sheaf customs.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: medium

  The passage names two incidents in Balder’s death myth: mistletoe pulling and the death and burning of the god; it says these appear to have formed parts of an annual ceremony among Celts and Norsemen, probably Germans and Slavs.

  The passage names Balder’s death and burning as a main mythic incident and says it appears to correspond to parts of an annual ceremony among northern and central European peoples.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: high

  In many parts of Europe, peasants kindled bonfires on set days and danced around or leaped over them; the customs are traced historically to the Middle Ages and linked with pre-Christian rites by the author.

  The passage describes annual bonfires on calendrical days, with participants dancing around or leaping over them.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: high

  In the Eifel Mountains, young people collected straw and brushwood, built a hut or castle around a beech-tree with a cross-piece, burned it, circled it with torches and prayers, sometimes burned a straw man, and read smoke toward corn-fields as an abundant-harvest sign.

  Smoke direction is read as a harvest omen, crop rhymes are sung, embers are planted in flax-fields against vermin, and Rhön torches are explained as preserving or blessing fruits of the earth.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: high

  European peasants are described as kindling bonfires on certain days, dancing round them or leaping over them; the customs are traced to the Middle Ages and compared with ancient and pre-Christian practices.

  The passage repeatedly describes bonfires kindled at spring, midsummer, Hallow E’en, Christmas, Lent, and Easter Eve, with dancing, leaping, torches, and wheels.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: high

  People observe the smoke direction; if it blows toward the corn-fields, it signifies an abundant harvest.

  Smoke direction predicts harvest abundance, agricultural rhymes accompany burning, embers are planted in flax-fields against vermin, and torch-running is linked to preserving and blessing fruits of the earth.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: high

  In parts of the Eifel, a straw wheel is dragged to a hilltop by horses, lit at nightfall by village boys, and sent rolling down the slope, with two lads following to keep it moving.

  The passage describes burning wheels rolled downhill in the Eifel and Rhön Mountains customs.

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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 5573-5658 confidence: medium

  The passage identifies the main incidents of Balder’s death as mistletoe-pulling and the god’s death and burning, and says both appear to have formed parts of an annual ceremony among Celts and Norsemen, probably also Germans and Slavs.

  The passage links Balder’s death and burning with annual ceremonies involving burning fires and possible sacrificial traces.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: medium

  Frazer connects Lenten bonfires with ceremonies burning an effigy called Death; at Spachendorf a fur-dressed straw-man is burned in a hole, and people take fragments to trees or fields for crop growth.

  The passage repeatedly describes straw, brushwood, or wooden figures burned at Lent, Shrove Tuesday, Carnival, Ash Wednesday, spring equinox, and Easter, including figures called Death, the Old Woman, and Judas.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: high

  On Easter Eve church lights are extinguished, a new fire is made with flint and steel or a burning-glass, the Easter candle is lit, church lights are rekindled, and in Germany an Easter bonfire is kindled near the church from the new fire.

  On Easter Eve a new fire is made, church lights are rekindled, homes receive new fire, and charred sticks from the consecrated fire are used with prayers to protect houses, fields, gardens, and meadows.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: high

  Frazer connects Lenten bonfires with ceremonies burning an effigy called Death; at Spachendorf a fur-dressed straw-man is burned in a hole, and people take fragments to trees or fields for crop growth.

  Fragments of the Spachendorf straw-man are put in trees or fields for better crops, Easter charred sticks are placed in fields and applied to the plough, and Easter bonfire ashes are mixed with seed at sowing.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: high

  Frazer says it is hard to separate first-Sunday-in-Lent bonfires from fires in which the effigy called Death is burned as part of carrying out Death.

  The passage gives multiple spring, Shrove Tuesday, carnival, Lenten, or Easter examples in which straw or wooden figures are burned.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: medium

  Frazer says it is hard to separate first-Sunday-in-Lent bonfires from fires in which the effigy called Death is burned as part of carrying out Death.

  The passage names a ceremony of carrying out or burying Death in which a straw-man is burned, and Frazer connects similar straw-man burnings to the same observance.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: high

  At Spachendorf a fur-dressed straw-man is laid in a hole outside the village and burned; people seize fragments to fasten to a high garden-tree branch or bury in fields to improve crops; the ceremony is called burying Death.

  Fragments, charred sticks, and ashes from ritual fires are attached to trees, buried or placed in fields, applied to the plough, or mixed with seed to improve growth and protect against hail, blight, pests, and witchcraft.

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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 5660-5714 confidence: high

  On Easter Eve in Catholic countries, church lights are extinguished, a new fire is made with flint and steel or a burning-glass, the Easter candle is lit, and the church lights are rekindled from it.

  Easter Eve practice extinguishes all church lights, creates a new fire, lights the Easter candle, and rekindles the church lights; households receive new fire through consecrated materials.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: high

  A profane Easter Eve fire is built by village lads in a corn-field or on a hill; a straw man-shaped pole called Easter-man or Judas is burned; ashes and consecrated/charred materials are used with fields or running water to protect fields from hail.

  The passage repeatedly describes Easter fires kindled on hills, mountains, highest eminences, or named Easter/Pascal Mountains in multiple regions.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: medium

  A profane Easter Eve fire is built by village lads in a corn-field or on a hill; a straw man-shaped pole called Easter-man or Judas is burned; ashes and consecrated/charred materials are used with fields or running water to protect fields from hail.

  A straw-wrapped pole shaped like a man and called the Easter-man or Judas is fixed in the bonfire and burned.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: high

  A profane Easter Eve fire is built by village lads in a corn-field or on a hill; a straw man-shaped pole called Easter-man or Judas is burned; ashes and consecrated/charred materials are used with fields or running water to protect fields from hail.

  Ashes are placed in water or fields, consecrated branches and charred sticks are placed in fields to prevent hail, boys carry blazing straw over fields to make them fruitful, and the visible range of the blaze is linked with corn growth and protection from conflagration.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: high

  In Münsterland, Easter fires are lit on definite hills called Easter or Pascal Mountains; the community circles, sings, moves sunwise, girls jump over the fire, the assembly circles the church three times, and boys carry blazing straw over fields for fruitfulness.

  Participants march sunwise around the fire, dance around Easter fires, and jump over or through flames in Münsterland, Holland, and related regional descriptions.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: medium

  A profane Easter Eve fire is built by village lads in a corn-field or on a hill; a straw man-shaped pole called Easter-man or Judas is burned; ashes and consecrated/charred materials are used with fields or running water to protect fields from hail.

  The first lad to reach the pile lights it, boys run over fields with blazing straw, people snatch brands for luck, and torch races are noted.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: medium

  Easter bonfires are common in Harz, Brunswick, Hanover, and Westphalia, often on heights called Easter Mountains; brushwood may be piled around a tree, tar barrels rolled down valleys, brands seized for luck, and torch races held.

  The passage describes blazing tar barrels rolled down into valleys and burning arrows, wooden discs, or a straw-wrapped wagon wheel shot or rolled from mountains.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: medium

  In parts of Bavaria, Easter bonfires on steep mountains include burning arrows or wooden discs shot into the air, or a straw-wrapped wagon wheel rolled down; disc-hurling lads receive painted Easter eggs; in parts of Swabia, fires must be kindled by friction of wood.

  In parts of Swabia, Easter fires may be kindled only by friction of wood, not by iron, flint, or steel.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: low

  At Braunröde in the Harz Mountains squirrels are burned in the Easter bonfire; in the Altmark bones are burned in it.

  The passage states that squirrels are burned in the Easter bonfire at Braunröde and bones in the Altmark.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: high

  Village lads collect firewood and carry it to a corn-field or hilltop, pile it, and fasten in it a straw-wrapped pole with a cross-piece resembling a man with outstretched arms, called the Easter-man or Judas.

  The passage repeatedly describes Easter fires kindled on fields, hills, heights, or mountains in multiple regions.

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  Ashes from the fire are collected and thrown at sunrise into running water or scattered on fields; consecrated palm branches and charred Good Friday sticks are set in fields to preserve them from hail.

  Ashes are scattered on fields, consecrated branches and charred sticks are placed in fields to prevent hail, boys run burning straw across fields to make them fruitful, and the visible range of a bonfire is linked to good corn growth.

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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 5716-5770 confidence: high

  In Münsterland, Easter fires are kindled on definite hills called Easter or Pascal Mountains; the community gathers, fathers form an inner circle, and young men and maidens form an outer circle, singing Easter hymns while marching sunwise around the fire.

  Participants march or dance around Easter fires, sometimes in the direction of the sun, and girls or people leap over or through flames.

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  Münsterland girls jump over the fire supported by young men; the assembly processes to church and circles it three times; boys run over fields with blazing straw bundles to make them fruitful.

  The passage describes blazing tar barrels rolled into valleys, boys carrying burning straw through fields, people running with brands, torch races, and burning wheels rolled down mountains.

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  Central Highland Beltane fires were kindled on May 1 on hills or knolls near cattle; Highland eminences and some German mountains are named from fires kindled on them.

  The passage describes May 1 or May Eve bonfires on hills, knolls, eminences, or mountains in Highland Scotland and Sweden, with a brief German parallel.

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  Participants cut a turf trench and platform, extinguished ordinary fires, made need-fire by friction using wood devices, and attributed protective and healing virtues to the fire.

  All fires are extinguished the night before, and the sacred fire is generated by friction the next morning and credited with special virtues.

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  After the fire was lit, the company ate egg-and-milk custard, danced, divided an oatmeal cake, blackened one piece, drew portions blindfold, and identified the black-bit drawer as devoted for sacrifice to Baal for productivity.

  The selected victim is linked to seeking Baal’s favour for a productive year, and the second account gives cake portions and libation to preserve livestock or restrain harmful animals.

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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 5772-5856 confidence: medium

  In Sweden, May festival bonfires were lit by flints on hills and knolls; each large hamlet had a fire, young people danced in a ring, and old people read spring weather from the flames’ direction.

  In the Swedish account, elders infer a cold or mild spring from whether bonfire flames lean north or south.

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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 5772-5856 confidence: high

  Beltane fires in the central Highlands of Scotland are described as May Day bonfires with traces of human sacrifice, kindled by each hamlet on hills or knolls near cattle; the passage also notes German mountains named from Easter fires.

  The passage centers on May Day and Beltane fire rites, with Scottish and Swedish bonfires connected to spring and the productivity or weather of the year.

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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 5772-5856 confidence: high

  In Sweden, May festival bonfires are lit on hills and knolls, ideally by striking flints; young people dance in a ring, and old people read the direction of the flames as predicting a cold or mild spring.

  In the Swedish account, the direction of bonfire flames is observed to predict whether spring will be cold or mild.

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  Midsummer fire-festivals are said to occur around the summer solstice; a medieval writer names bonfires, torch processions, and rolling a wheel, says smoke drives away harmful dragons, and interprets the wheel by reference to the sun’s solstitial height and descent.

  The passage explicitly locates the fire-festivals at the summer solstice and describes recurrent bonfires, torches, and wheel rites.

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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 5858-5932 confidence: high

  In Swabia and Lechrain, young people leap over midsummer bonfires for hemp or flax growth, straw wheels are sent downhill, a straw-wrapped beam with cross-piece is burned, and charred material is placed in flax fields.

  Several examples link leaping over midsummer bonfires with prayers or beliefs that hemp or flax will grow high.

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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 5858-5932 confidence: high

  Midsummer fire-festivals are said to occur around the summer solstice; a medieval writer names bonfires, torch processions, and rolling a wheel, says smoke drives away harmful dragons, and interprets the wheel by reference to the sun’s solstitial height and descent.

  The passage repeatedly describes ignited wheels rolling downhill and cites a medieval explanation connecting the rolling wheel with the sun’s solstitial height and descent.

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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 5858-5932 confidence: high

  At Konz, straw from each house is collected on Stromberg Hill; the mayor signals the lighting of a straw-covered wheel, which is rolled toward the Moselle amid torches and shouting, and a blazing entry into the river is expected to mean an abundant vintage and wine claim.

  At Konz, if the burning wheel reaches the Moselle still blazing, people expect an abundant vintage and claim wine from surrounding vineyards.

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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 5858-5932 confidence: high

  Midsummer fire-festivals are set at the summer solstice; a medieval writer lists bonfires, torch processions around fields, and wheel rolling, says smoke drives away harmful dragons, and explains the wheel by the sun's highest point and descent; Frazer says the features match spring festivals.

  The passage explicitly places these customs at the summer solstice and links the rolling wheel to the sun's highest point and subsequent descent.

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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 5858-5932 confidence: high

  In Swabia, lads and lasses leap hand in hand over the midsummer bonfire while praying for hemp to grow three ells high, and they set straw wheels on fire and roll them down a hill.

  Leaping height is connected with hemp or flax growth; charred billets, embers, and ashes are placed in fields or gardens; the Konz fiery wheel omen predicts an abundant vintage.

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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 5858-5932 confidence: medium

  Midsummer fire-festivals are set at the summer solstice; a medieval writer lists bonfires, torch processions around fields, and wheel rolling, says smoke drives away harmful dragons, and explains the wheel by the sun's highest point and descent; Frazer says the features match spring festivals.

  A burning wheel is rolled downhill; a cited explanation connects wheel rolling with the sun at its solstitial high point, and at Konz a blazing wheel reaching the Moselle is an omen of abundant wine.

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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 5934-6013 confidence: high

  In Poitou, a straw-covered wheel is set on fire and run through fields to fertilise them; people leap three times over the fire with nut-tree branches that are later hung over a cattle-stall door.

  The passage repeatedly situates bonfires, torches, and fire processions at Midsummer, Midsummer Eve, St. John’s Eve, St. Peter’s Eve, or St. Peter’s Day.

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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 5934-6013 confidence: high

  In Poitou, a straw-covered wheel is set on fire and run through fields to fertilise them; people leap three times over the fire with nut-tree branches that are later hung over a cattle-stall door.

  The Poitou burning wheel is said to fertilise fields, English fires are made to bless apples, Manx smoke passes over corn, and Irish coals were carried into cornfields to prevent blight.

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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 5934-6013 confidence: high

  At Brest, torches are brandished and flung into the air; in Brittany, hill fires blaze, people dance, sing, and leap over embers, and a bonfire is built around a pole topped with a nosegay or crown.

  The passage repeatedly locates bonfires or torches on hills, hilltops, tumuli, eminences, mountains, or high grounds.

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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 5934-6013 confidence: high

  In Poitou, a straw-covered burning wheel is run through fields said to be fertilised; people leap three times over fire holding nut-tree branches later hung over a cattle-stall door. Brest has mass torch-flinging.

  The passage repeatedly locates bonfires, torches, wheels, leaping, dancing, and processions at midsummer, St. John's Eve, or St. Peter's Day across several regions.

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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 5934-6013 confidence: high

  In Poitou, a straw-covered burning wheel is run through fields said to be fertilised; people leap three times over fire holding nut-tree branches later hung over a cattle-stall door. Brest has mass torch-flinging.

  The passage explicitly says fields are supposed to be fertilised by a burning wheel, fires are made to bless apples, smoke passes over corn, and coals are carried to corn-fields to prevent blight.

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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 5934-6013 confidence: medium

  In England, Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man, midsummer bonfires, torches, and firebrands are reported in streets, fields, hills, villages, and near cattle; practices include leaping, blessing apples, carrying torches village to village, placing smoke over corn, and carrying blazing furze or gorse around cattle.

  The passage includes repeated movement around ritual spaces: dancing around fires, carrying torches around bonfires, carrying blazing plants around cattle, and a threefold sunwise circuit of a fold with a burning torch.

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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 596-686 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit is said to hide in cut corn and reappear in bull or cow form; examples name the last thresher Cow, Corn-bull, or Thresher-cow and treat him with straw, horns, ropes, wheelbarrow, binding to a tree, or cowhide with horns.

  The passage repeatedly frames cow, bull, calf, horse, and mare forms as appearances of the corn-spirit during reaping and threshing.

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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 596-686 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit is said to hide in cut corn and reappear in bull or cow form; examples name the last thresher Cow, Corn-bull, or Thresher-cow and treat him with straw, horns, ropes, wheelbarrow, binding to a tree, or cowhide with horns.

  The last thresher, last bundle, last sheaf, or last blades receive animal names and ritual treatment, marking the end of threshing or reaping.

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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 596-686 confidence: medium

  The passage says the corn-spirit in bull form may be believed killed at threshing; examples include the cry 'We are killing the Bull,' statements that a last-stroke man has killed the Bull, and a real ox slaughtered and eaten after the last stroke at Chambéry.

  The passage describes calls that the Bull or Ox is killed, a real ox slaughtered after the final harvest act, and the flesh eaten by threshers.

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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 596-686 confidence: medium

  The young corn-spirit is described as born on the field in calf form; binding difficulties are interpreted as the sheaf giving birth to a calf, and a springtime mythical calf in sprouting corn is identified with the animal later killed at reaping.

  The young corn-spirit is described as born in calf form, appearing in spring corn, and being the same animal later believed to be killed at reaping.

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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 596-686 confidence: high

  At Wurmlingen, the last thresher is called a crop-specific Cow, covered in straw, given imitation horns, led by ropes to a well to drink, and made to low like a cow.

  The passage repeatedly identifies the corn-spirit with cow, bull, ox, calf, horse, and mare forms in harvest and threshing practices.

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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 596-686 confidence: high

  At Wurmlingen, the last thresher is called a crop-specific Cow, covered in straw, given imitation horns, led by ropes to a well to drink, and made to low like a cow.

  The last thresher, last bundle, last sheaf, or last blades are singled out and named as Cow, Bull, Ox, Calf, or Mare.

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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 596-686 confidence: high

  At Pessnitz a straw-man is set before a neighbor's window; at Herbrechtingen a ragged old-woman effigy is thrown into the barn of the farmer last with threshing, with the cry, “There is the Cow for you.”

  The passage explains that the corn-spirit in cow or mare form, or an associated effigy, is passed to a neighbor whose threshing or reaping is not finished.

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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 596-686 confidence: medium

  The passage says the corn-spirit in bull form is sometimes believed to be killed at threshing; at Auxerre people cry that they are killing the Bull, and near Bordeaux the last thresher is said to have killed the Bull.

  Several examples say that the Bull or Ox is killed at threshing, and one includes slaughtering and eating a real ox after the last stroke.

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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 596-686 confidence: medium

  In Berry and Puy-de-Dôme, when binding conditions leave corn over or a binder falls behind, people describe the sheaf or binder as giving birth to a calf; in Prussia people cry that the Bull is coming and imitate bellowing. Frazer explains the woman as Corn-cow and the calf as young corn-spirit.

  The passage states that the young corn-spirit may be believed to be born on the field in calf form and links the spring calf with the animal later killed at reaping.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Russia, Little Russia, and Ruthenia examples: young people jump through fires; cattle are driven through; a straw-wrapped stake is burned; birch boughs are thrown into flames with a flax-growth formula; Ruthenian fire is made by friction by elders, followed by songs, leaping in couples, and cattle passage.

  The passage repeatedly locates bonfires, fire-jumping, torch processions, and effigy burnings on St. John’s Eve, Midsummer Eve, Midsummer Day, or St. John’s Night across multiple regions.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Russia, Little Russia, and Ruthenia examples: young people jump through fires; cattle are driven through; a straw-wrapped stake is burned; birch boughs are thrown into flames with a flax-growth formula; Ruthenian fire is made by friction by elders, followed by songs, leaping in couples, and cattle passage.

  Young people, cattle, and cows pass through or over fires, smoke, flames, or burned places; the passage explicitly links some examples to protection against thunder, hail, cattle disease, and witchcraft.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Russia, Little Russia, and Ruthenia examples: young people jump through fires; cattle are driven through; a straw-wrapped stake is burned; birch boughs are thrown into flames with a flax-growth formula; Ruthenian fire is made by friction by elders, followed by songs, leaping in couples, and cattle passage.

  Ruthenian and Masuren customs produce fire by friction, and the Masuren account says household hearths are rekindled from the new fire after village fires are extinguished.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: medium

  Russia, Little Russia, and Ruthenia examples: young people jump through fires; cattle are driven through; a straw-wrapped stake is burned; birch boughs are thrown into flames with a flax-growth formula; Ruthenian fire is made by friction by elders, followed by songs, leaping in couples, and cattle passage.

  Little Russian women speak a wish that flax grow as tall as the bough thrown into the fire, and Algeria/Morocco examples invoke divine blessing on fruit trees while adding incense and spices to bonfires.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Rottenburg ceremony called beheading the angel-man: a straw-wrapped stump shaped like a human figure is set amid wood, covered in flowers by boys with swords, burned, cut apart by the boys, and followed by leaping over the fire.

  The passage explicitly introduces the burning of human effigies in midsummer fires and gives examples from Rottenburg, the Tyrol, French Flanders, Grätz, and Russia.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: medium

  Russian Kupalo examples: a figure of Kupalo is burned or thrown into a stream on St. John’s Night, and a related custom carries the straw effigy of Kupalo over the midsummer bonfire.

  A figure of Kupalo in parts of Russia is described as either burned or thrown into a stream on St. John’s Night, with a related straw effigy carried over the bonfire.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Slavonic examples include Russia’s flower-crowned young people jumping through fires and cattle being driven through them; Little Russian straw-wrapped stake fires with birch boughs and a flax-growth saying; and Ruthenian friction-made fire followed by couples springing through smoke or flames and cattle driven through it.

  The passage repeatedly describes bonfires, torches, or blazes lit on St. John’s Eve, Midsummer Eve, or Midsummer Day across many regions.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Slavonic examples include Russia’s flower-crowned young people jumping through fires and cattle being driven through them; Little Russian straw-wrapped stake fires with birch boughs and a flax-growth saying; and Ruthenian friction-made fire followed by couples springing through smoke or flames and cattle driven through it.

  Young people jump through flames or smoke, cattle are driven through fires or over burned places, and Greek women say they leave sins behind after jumping over fires.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: high

  Slavonic examples include Russia’s flower-crowned young people jumping through fires and cattle being driven through them; Little Russian straw-wrapped stake fires with birch boughs and a flax-growth saying; and Ruthenian friction-made fire followed by couples springing through smoke or flames and cattle driven through it.

  Ruthenia and Masuren are described as producing fire by friction; in Masuren all village fires are put out and domestic hearths are rekindled from the new fire.

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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 6015-6078 confidence: medium

  Slavonic examples include Russia’s flower-crowned young people jumping through fires and cattle being driven through them; Little Russian straw-wrapped stake fires with birch boughs and a flax-growth saying; and Ruthenian friction-made fire followed by couples springing through smoke or flames and cattle driven through it.

  Women in Little Russia throw birch boughs into flames while wishing for tall flax, and North African bonfires receive incense and spices while divine blessing is invoked on fruit-trees.

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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 6080-6136 confidence: high

  Mannhardt’s explanation is reported: European fire-festivals are sun-charms or magical ceremonies intended to ensure sunshine for people, animals, and plants; the passage compares this with sunshine-making charms elsewhere.

  The passage interprets burning wheels, tar-barrels, and sun-shaped discs at European fire-festivals as imitating the sun’s course in order to help produce sunshine, especially in a midsummer context.

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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 6080-6136 confidence: medium

  In parts of Bavaria, boys collecting fuel for the midsummer bonfire cover one boy from head to foot in green fir branches and lead him by a rope through the village.

  The passage describes a Bavarian boy covered in green fir branches for a midsummer bonfire procession and a Moosheim young fellow encased in leaves and twigs at the St. John’s Fire.

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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 6080-6136 confidence: high

  Mannhardt's explanation is summarized: European fire-festivals are sun-charms or magical ceremonies meant to ensure sunshine for men, animals, and plants.

  The passage explicitly explains European fire-festivals as magical ceremonies meant to ensure sunshine, with rites especially associated with midsummer.

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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 6080-6136 confidence: medium

  In parts of Bavaria, boys collecting fuel for a midsummer bonfire cover one boy from head to foot in green fir branches and lead him by rope through the village.

  The passage records boys or young men covered in fir branches, leaves, or twigs in connection with midsummer bonfires or St. John's Fire.

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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 6138-6173 confidence: high

  Condemned criminals were reserved by the Celts to be sacrificed to the gods at a great festival once every five years.

  The passage states that a greater number of sacrificial victims was believed to produce greater land fertility at a recurring five-year festival.

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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 6138-6173 confidence: medium

  Condemned criminals were reserved by the Celts to be sacrificed to the gods at a great festival once every five years.

  Condemned criminals were reserved for sacrifice to the gods at a great festival held once every five years.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: high

  Frazer supposes that annual fire-festivals may descend from ancient rites; he describes Druidic osier or grass-covered images enclosing victims and reports Mannhardt's view that Celtic victims represented the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation.

  The passage repeatedly locates the rites at annual spring, Carnival, midsummer, Shrove Tuesday, or Easter observances involving fires or processions.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: high

  At Luchon on Midsummer Eve, a sixty-foot hollow wicker column decorated with foliage and flowers is filled with combustibles; a procession gathers, bonfires are lit, live serpents are thrown into the column, and the column is set alight while torch-bearing boys and men dance.

  At Luchon on Midsummer Eve, living serpents are thrown into a decorated wicker column that is then set on fire.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: high

  Frazer states that quinquennial festivals may have had smaller annual forms, from which some yearly European fire-festivals with traces of human sacrifice are lineally descended.

  The passage repeatedly describes spring, midsummer, Easter, Shrove Tuesday, and quinquennial or annual festivals involving the burning of human victims, effigies, animals, or animal remains.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: medium

  Gigantic osier or grass-covered images are said to enclose Druidic victims and are compared with leafy frameworks around human representatives of the tree-spirit.

  The passage connects wicker, grass, foliage, and leafy frameworks with human representatives of the tree-spirit or vegetation-spirit.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: high

  At Douay, an annual procession near July 7 features a colossal osier figure called the giant, moved through the streets by men inside using rollers and ropes.

  The passage describes osier, basket-work, canvas, or artificial giants led or moved in annual Carnival or midsummer processions.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: medium

  In the Rue aux Ours in Paris, people annually made a wicker-work soldier figure, promenaded it for several days, burned it on July 3, and scrambled for burning fragments.

  The Paris custom includes burning a wicker soldier figure and scrambling for burning fragments; the Place de Grève custom includes taking home embers and ashes for good luck.

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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 6175-6255 confidence: high

  At Luchon on Midsummer Eve, a sixty-foot hollow wicker column interlaced with foliage and surrounded by flowers was filled with combustibles; living serpents were thrown in and the column was set on fire.

  The Luchon rite places living serpents in a wicker column that is set on fire on Midsummer Eve.

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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 6257-6324 confidence: high

  Frazer says men burned in wicker frames may have represented the vegetation spirit; animals burned by Druids or in modern bonfires include cattle, cats, foxes, and cocks, regarded as corn-spirit embodiments; serpents at Luchon are treated as an uncertain possible substitute victim.

  The reconstructed rite is annual and midsummer, involves burning living men and animals, and is described as a charm for sunshine and crop growth.

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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 6257-6324 confidence: high

  The passage argues that ancient Gaulish Celtic sacrificial rites leave traces in modern European customs, especially in France or ancient Gaul, of burning wicker-work giants and animals in wicker-work or baskets, generally at midsummer; it also mentions Celtic regions with midsummer fire-festival vestiges and notes Scotland as exceptional.

  The passage repeatedly links the fire rites and Celtic vestiges to midsummer and identifies the rites as annual; the mistletoe rite is also placed in a calendrical lunar month.

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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 6257-6324 confidence: high

  “living men, representing the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation, were enclosed in wicker-frames and burned. The whole rite was designed as a charm to make the sun to shine and the crops to grow.”

  Frazer summarizes the rite as an annual midsummer burning of living men in wicker frames, designed to make the sun shine and crops grow.

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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 6257-6324 confidence: medium

  Frazer says animals burned by Druids or in modern bonfires included cattle, cats, foxes, and cocks, which European peoples variously regard as corn-spirit embodiments; he adds that serpents at Luchon may have replaced earlier representative animals.

  The passage says the burned men represented the tree-spirit or vegetation spirit, and animals burned with them had related meaning as corn-spirit embodiments.

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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 6326-6381 confidence: high

  Frazer says Midsummer Eve is still a time in many places for culling certain magic plants whose fleeting virtue can be secured only then.

  The passage repeatedly states that specific plants are gathered on Midsummer Eve, St. John’s Eve, St. John’s Day, or Midsummer Day because their virtues are tied to that season.

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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 6326-6381 confidence: medium

  Fern is believed to bloom briefly on Midsummer Eve like fire or burnished gold; catching the bloom or seed gives invisibility and animal-language understanding, but it must fall into a white cloth rather than be touched by hand.

  The fern bloom or seed is said to appear briefly on Midsummer Eve and to give invisibility and understanding of animal language if caught properly.

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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 6326-6381 confidence: medium

  Frazer says fern-seed, St. John’s wort, and mugwort are widely associated with Midsummer Eve in Europe; English orpine and red sage are gathered on Midsummer Eve to ascertain lovers’ fate.

  Orpine and red sage are described as gathered on Midsummer Eve in England to ascertain the fate of lovers.

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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 6326-6381 confidence: high

  On Midsummer Eve fern is believed to produce a brief fire-like or gold-like bloom; whoever catches it in a white cloth gains powers such as invisibility and understanding animal language.

  Multiple plants are described as needing to be gathered at Midsummer Eve, St. John’s Eve, St. John’s Day, or Midsummer Day to obtain healing, protective, divinatory, luck-bringing, or empowering qualities.

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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 6326-6381 confidence: medium

  Pliny is said to have referred to the Roman sixth month, June; the author infers that the Druidic mistletoe-cutting ceremony was probably on Midsummer Eve.

  The passage links Druidic mistletoe-cutting in June with a later rule that mistletoe should be cut on Midsummer Eve and with beliefs that mistletoe or the oil of St. John heals wounds.

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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 6326-6381 confidence: medium

  In England orpine and red sage are gathered on Midsummer Eve to ascertain the fate of lovers.

  Orpine and red sage are gathered in England on Midsummer Eve to ascertain the fate of lovers.

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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 6383-6447 confidence: medium

  The passage states that the Balder myth’s two main features are pulling mistletoe and burning the god, and that these were reproduced in the Celtic midsummer festival.

  The passage links Balder’s burning with annual midsummer fire-festivals and infers former burning of a living representative or effigy in Balder’s bale-fires.

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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 6383-6447 confidence: medium

  Frazer concludes that the Balder myth is a ritualistic myth based on religious ceremonies, explaining annual fire-festivals as commemoration of an earlier transaction, with Balder as Norse representative of the being burned in effigy or as a living man.

  Frazer says the being burned at fire-festivals was a tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation and identifies Balder with that being.

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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 6383-6447 confidence: medium

  Frazer concludes that the Balder myth is a ritualistic myth based on religious ceremonies, explaining annual fire-festivals as commemoration of an earlier transaction, with Balder as Norse representative of the being burned in effigy or as a living man.

  Frazer says myth commonly explains ritual as a periodic commemoration of a past transaction and applies this to Balder and annual fire-festivals.

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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 6383-6447 confidence: medium

  Sweden, Norway, and Denmark kindle huge Midsummer Eve bonfires on high places; no effigy is reported, but the Swedish former name Balder’s bale-fires is used to infer an earlier annual burning of Balder’s representative or effigy.

  The passage links midsummer fires with Balder and infers an annually burned living representative or effigy who represented a tree-spirit or vegetation spirit.

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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 6383-6447 confidence: high

  The passage says midsummer was sacred to Balder and concludes that the Balder myth is a ritualistic myth based on religious ceremonies and explaining them as periodic commemoration.

  The passage explicitly calls the Balder myth ritualistic and says it explains annual fire-festivals as commemorations of a past transaction.

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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 6449-6496 confidence: high

  The passage says Romove’s perpetual fire under a sacred oak was fed with oak-wood and describes German Midsummer oak blocks whose embers are later used with seed-corn or gardens for crop growth and protection.

  The passage links Midsummer and other periodic ceremonies using sacred fire with the aim of making the sun shine and the fruits of the earth grow.

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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 6449-6496 confidence: high

  The passage says Romove’s perpetual fire under a sacred oak was fed with oak-wood and describes German Midsummer oak blocks whose embers are later used with seed-corn or gardens for crop growth and protection.

  The German Midsummer oak log’s embers are mixed with seed-corn or scattered in gardens and believed to promote growth and protect crops from blight and vermin.

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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 6449-6496 confidence: high

  The passage explains wood-friction fire-making and gives oak-wood examples from Celts, Germans, Slavs, Masuren, ancient Slavic perpetual fire, Germany, and the Scottish Highlands.

  Midsummer fires, Beltane fires, annual oak-log renewal, and the final conclusion connect periodic ceremonies with making the sun shine and fruits of the earth grow.

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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 6498-6584 confidence: medium

  The fire is described as regularly made of oak-wood; the man burned in it personifies the tree-spirit or oak-spirit, so the sacred oak is burned in duplicate.

  The passage describes oak-wood midsummer fires in which a living man or effigy representing the oak-spirit is burned.

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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 6498-6584 confidence: medium

  The passage identifies mistletoe as the seat of the oak’s life and explains this by its evergreen foliage on the deciduous oak, visible among bare winter branches.

  The passage says evergreen mistletoe on the bare deciduous oak was viewed as evidence that divine life survived in the mistletoe.

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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 6498-6584 confidence: medium

  The passage says Celts and Scandinavians gathered mistletoe at midsummer and links this with midsummer bonfires and Balder’s myth.

  The passage links midsummer gathering of mistletoe among Celts and Scandinavians with midsummer fires in which victims or effigies were burned.

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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 688-772 confidence: high

  Near Lille, the passage says horse-form corn-spirit is clearly preserved: tired workers have the fatigue of the Horse, the first sheaf is the Cross of the Horse, the last blades are called remains of the Horse, and the last-sheaf product is fed to the youngest horse, interpreted as the next year’s Corn-foal absorbing the old Corn-horse.

  The passage explicitly names horse-form corn-spirit customs and then treats the pig, boar, or sow as another animal embodiment of the corn-spirit in harvest contexts.

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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 688-772 confidence: high

  Near Lille, the passage says horse-form corn-spirit is clearly preserved: tired workers have the fatigue of the Horse, the first sheaf is the Cross of the Horse, the last blades are called remains of the Horse, and the last-sheaf product is fed to the youngest horse, interpreted as the next year’s Corn-foal absorbing the old Corn-horse.

  The last blades or last sheaf are called the remains of the Horse, fed to the youngest horse, called the Rye-boar, or linked to the person who gets the Sow.

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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 688-772 confidence: high

  Near Lille, the passage says horse-form corn-spirit is clearly preserved: tired workers have the fatigue of the Horse, the first sheaf is the Cross of the Horse, the last blades are called remains of the Horse, and the last-sheaf product is fed to the youngest horse, interpreted as the next year’s Corn-foal absorbing the old Corn-horse.

  The passage says the youngest horse or Corn-foal represents the corn-spirit of the following year and absorbs the old Corn-horse by eating the last corn cut.

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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 688-772 confidence: medium

  The passage introduces pig, boar, or sow as the last animal embodiment of the corn-spirit; Thüringen speech says the Boar rushes through wind-moved corn, and on Oesel the last sheaf is the Rye-boar, with the recipient praying for plenty.

  The Oesel example says the man who has the Rye-boar on his back sings a song in which he prays for plenty.

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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 688-772 confidence: high

  Near Lille, horse-form corn-spirit ideas appear in phrases about harvest fatigue, the Cross of the Horse first sheaf, dancing around the last blades, giving the last-blades sheaf to the youngest horse, and calling the last-sheaf thresher one who beats the Horse.

  The passage repeatedly associates the end of harvest or threshing with animal forms, especially Horse/Mare and Pig/Sow, and explicitly calls them animal embodiments or forms of the corn-spirit.

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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 688-772 confidence: medium

  Near Lille, horse-form corn-spirit ideas appear in phrases about harvest fatigue, the Cross of the Horse first sheaf, dancing around the last blades, giving the last-blades sheaf to the youngest horse, and calling the last-sheaf thresher one who beats the Horse.

  The last blades or last sheaf are named as the remains of the Horse, eaten by the youngest horse, and described as the final refuge of the old corn-spirit.

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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 688-772 confidence: high

  Dialogue assigns the Mare from a farmer whose harvest is finished to one whose harvest is unfinished; the farmer finishing last is said to keep her all winter, with mock offers and acceptances of help.

  The Mare, Sow, or Pig may be sent or carried to a neighboring farm or house where work is unfinished, and the bearer may be chased or forced to take it back.

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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 688-772 confidence: high

  The passage identifies the pig, boar, or sow as another animal embodiment; examples include the Boar rushing through corn, the Esthonian Rye-boar last sheaf, and several customs where the last cutter or thresher gets or has the Sow.

  The person who cuts or threshes last is mocked, named as Sow or Pig, bound, dragged, beaten, dirtied, shut in a pig-sty, paraded, or thrown on a dunghill in different customs.

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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 774-848 confidence: high

  At Neuautz, pig chine and tail are boiled for first barley sowing; the sower eats some and sticks the tail in the field. The passage identifies the pig as corn-spirit and links it to the Esthonian Rye-boar last sheaf.

  Pig tail, bones, ribs, ashes, Yule Boar portions, and Yule straw are placed in fields, mixed with seed, or fed to ploughing agents to promote growth or protect crops.

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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 774-848 confidence: medium

  At Neuautz, pig chine and tail are boiled for first barley sowing; the sower eats some and sticks the tail in the field. The passage identifies the pig as corn-spirit and links it to the Esthonian Rye-boar last sheaf.

  The pig is described as put into the ground at sowing and reappearing among ripe corn at harvest, while the Yule Boar made from the last sheaf is carried from midwinter into spring sowing.

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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 774-848 confidence: high

  At Neuautz, pig chine and tail are boiled for first barley sowing; the sower eats part and plants the tail in the field so ears may grow long. Frazer identifies the pig as the corn-spirit.

  The passage repeatedly identifies the corn-spirit with pig or boar forms appearing at sowing, harvest, Yule, and spring ploughing.

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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 774-848 confidence: high

  At Neuautz, pig chine and tail are boiled for first barley sowing; the sower eats part and plants the tail in the field so ears may grow long. Frazer identifies the pig as the corn-spirit.

  Pig tail, bones, ribs, and Yule Boar pieces are placed in fields or mixed with seed to promote growth or protection of crops.

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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 774-848 confidence: high

  In Sweden and Denmark a boar-shaped Yule loaf is often made from the last sheaf, displayed through Yule, then mixed with seed-corn and fed to ploughmen and animals for a good harvest.

  The Yule Boar loaf is often made from corn of the last sheaf, kept until spring, and then used with seed-corn and fed to ploughmen and plough animals.

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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 774-848 confidence: medium

  Frazer reports a former Christmas boar sacrifice and a Swedish custom where a skin-wrapped man with straw like boar bristles is pretended to be sacrificed by an old woman with a knife.

  The passage reports a former real boar sacrifice at Christmas and a Swedish custom in which a man dressed like a boar is pretended to be sacrificed.

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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 774-848 confidence: medium

  At Neuautz, pig chine and tail are boiled for first barley sowing; the sower eats part and plants the tail in the field so ears may grow long. Frazer identifies the pig as the corn-spirit.

  Frazer states that as a pig the corn-spirit is put into the ground at sowing-time and as a pig reappears among ripe corn at harvest.

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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 8043-8129 confidence: medium

  Mistletoe growing on oak remains green in winter while the oak is leafless; it grows from the trunk or branches, and Frazer suggests the oak-spirit might be imagined as placing its life there.

  The explanation begins from the observation that mistletoe remains green in winter while the oak is leafless, suggesting that the oak’s life is in the mistletoe.

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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 8131-8195 confidence: medium

  Frazer proposes that the King of the Wood was formerly burned, dead or alive, at the midsummer fire festival in the Arician grove; the perpetual grove fire was probably fed with sacred oak-wood, and later the King lived by proving divine right by force but fell by the sword.

  The passage proposes that the King of the Wood was formerly burned, dead or alive, at an annual midsummer fire festival in the Arician grove.

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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 8131-8195 confidence: high

  Fern-seed is said to bloom like gold or fire on Midsummer or St. John's Day; whoever has it or ascends a mountain with it discovers gold or shining treasures, placing it among money keeps money from decreasing, and catching it at Christmas brings riches.

  Fern-seed is described as blooming like gold or fire at Midsummer or Christmas, revealing gold or treasures, keeping money from decreasing, and making its catcher rich.

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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 8131-8195 confidence: medium

  The King of the Wood is said to personify the tree or oak-spirit; his life or death is in the mistletoe on the oak, and, like Balder, he cannot die while it remains intact.

  Frazer suggests the oak-spirit King of the Wood was formerly burned, dead or alive, at the midsummer fire festival in the Arician grove.

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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 8131-8195 confidence: high

  Fern-seed is described as blooming like gold or fire at Midsummer; possession or mountain ascent with it reveals gold or treasures, it prevents money from decreasing, and Christmas variants make its catcher rich.

  Fern-seed is described as golden or fiery, blooming at Midsummer or Christmas, revealing gold or earth-treasures, and keeping money from decreasing.

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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 8131-8195 confidence: medium

  Frazer treats fern-seed's fiery aspect as primary because of its solstitial timing; a German story says a hunter shot at the sun on Midsummer noon, caught three blood-drops in a white cloth, and these were fern-seed.

  Frazer connects fern-seed with Midsummer and Christmas solstices and interprets it as an emanation of the sun's fire; a German story derives it from blood-drops of the sun.

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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 8197-8275 confidence: high

  Mistletoe is gathered at Midsummer or Christmas and is 'supposed to possess the power of revealing treasures in the earth.'

  Mistletoe is gathered at Midsummer or Christmas, is linked with a golden aspect especially at midsummer, and is connected with a fleeting Midsummer oak bloom.

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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 8197-8275 confidence: high

  The author argues that primitive Aryans kindled midsummer bonfires as sun-charms, that the fire was made by friction of oak wood, and that the oak appeared to be the storehouse or reservoir of fire for feeding the sun.

  Midsummer bonfires are described as sun-charms, oak friction fire is said to feed or rekindle the sun, and sacred fire is extracted from oak wood.

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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 8197-8275 confidence: high

  Mistletoe, like fern-seed, is gathered at Midsummer or Christmas, the solstices, and is supposed to reveal treasures in the earth.

  Mistletoe is gathered at the solstices and used in a divining rod that reveals treasure in the earth.

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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 8197-8275 confidence: high

  Frazer says the sun’s fire was regarded as an emanation of mistletoe, explaining why mistletoe shone with golden splendour and was called the Golden Bough, especially at midsummer.

  The mistletoe is called the Golden Bough, shines with golden splendour, and is linked to midsummer fire drawn from the oak.

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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 8197-8275 confidence: high

  In parts of Italy, peasants search oak-trees on Midsummer morning for the “oil of St. John,” said to heal all wounds and interpreted by Frazer as mistletoe in a glorified aspect.

  Italian peasants are said to search oak-trees on Midsummer morning for the “oil of St. John,” which heals all wounds and is linked by Frazer to mistletoe.

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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 85-177 confidence: high

  Opening of §10 states that the corn-spirit appears in animal form as gander, goat, hare, cat, and fox in examples about the “neck” or last sheaf, and frames the inquiry as giving examples of killing the god and clarifying Attis, Adonis, Osiris, Dionysus, Demeter, and Virbius.

  The passage repeatedly states that the corn-spirit appears in, or is supposed to take, animal forms and is tied to standing grain and harvest contexts.

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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 85-177 confidence: high

  Opening of §10 states that the corn-spirit appears in animal form as gander, goat, hare, cat, and fox in examples about the “neck” or last sheaf, and frames the inquiry as giving examples of killing the god and clarifying Attis, Adonis, Osiris, Dionysus, Demeter, and Virbius.

  The corn-spirit is said to be caught or killed in the last sheaf, by the last stroke of sickle or scythe, or through the last flail stroke at threshing; the section is framed as giving examples of killing the god.

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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 85-177 confidence: high

  The animal may be represented by a puppet from the last sheaf, wood, or flowers; crops may have specific animal names; the animal may be killed by the last sickle or scythe stroke or caught at the last threshing; a puppet or the thresher may be transferred to another farm and treated as the animal.

  An animal puppet made from the last sheaf or other materials is carried home on the last harvest wagon or taken to another farm still threshing.

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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 85-177 confidence: high

  The passage introduces the section 'The corn-spirit as an animal' and says earlier examples include animal forms such as gander, goat, hare, cat, and fox; it also frames the topic as providing examples of 'killing the god' and as relevant to Attis, Adonis, Osiris, Dionysus, Demeter, and Virbius.

  The passage presents the corn-spirit as present in crops and embodied in specific animal forms tied to harvest moments and crop types.

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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 85-177 confidence: medium

  The passage introduces the section 'The corn-spirit as an animal' and says earlier examples include animal forms such as gander, goat, hare, cat, and fox; it also frames the topic as providing examples of 'killing the god' and as relevant to Attis, Adonis, Osiris, Dionysus, Demeter, and Virbius.

  The corn-spirit is said to be caught or killed in the last sheaf or by the last stroke, and the section is framed as giving examples of killing the god.

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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 85-177 confidence: high

  The corn-spirit is said to take forms such as wolf, dog, hare, cock, goose, cat, goat, cow or bull, pig, and horse, and to be present in the corn and caught or killed in the last sheaf.

  The last sheaf is repeatedly identified as the place where the animal-form corn-spirit is caught, named, or represented by a puppet.

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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 850-918 confidence: high

  The passage states a complete parallelism between human and animal conceptions: Corn-mother or Corn-wolf may pass through corn, be present in fields, inhabit the last sheaf, shape the last sheaf, and name the last-sheaf handler.

  The passage explicitly parallels human and animal conceptions of the corn-spirit in the field, last sheaf, and ritual treatment.

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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 850-918 confidence: high

  The passage states a complete parallelism between human and animal conceptions: Corn-mother or Corn-wolf may pass through corn, be present in fields, inhabit the last sheaf, shape the last sheaf, and name the last-sheaf handler.

  The last corn cut or last sheaf threshed is supposed to contain the Corn-mother, Corn-wolf, or similar corn-spirit form and may be shaped accordingly.

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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 850-918 confidence: high

  Human-form sheaves such as the Maiden or Mother of the Maize, and animal-associated objects such as the Harvest-cock or goat flesh, may be kept from one harvest to the next to maintain the corn-spirit's blessing.

  Human-form and animal harvest objects are kept from one harvest to the next or until spring, then mixed with seed-corn or given to draft animals to ensure abundance and thriving.

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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 850-918 confidence: high

  The death of the corn-spirit is represented by real or pretended killing of a human or animal representative, and worshippers partake sacramentally of body, blood, or bread made in the representative's likeness.

  The death of the corn-spirit is represented by real or pretended killing of a human or animal representative, followed by sacramental consumption of body, blood, or likeness bread.

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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 850-918 confidence: low

  The passage states that peasant folklore commonly represents the corn-spirit in animal form and asks whether this may explain the relation of certain animals to Dionysus, Demeter, Adonis, Attis, and Osiris.

  The passage asks whether common animal representations of the corn-spirit may explain the relation of certain animals to ancient vegetation deities.

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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 850-918 confidence: high

  The passage says the anthropomorphic and theriomorphic conceptions of the corn-spirit are parallel: waving corn, warnings to children, the last cut corn or last threshed sheaf, the shape and name of the last sheaf, and the naming of the person who handles it may be human or animal.

  The passage explicitly parallels anthropomorphic and theriomorphic forms of the corn-spirit across warnings, last-sheaf practices, and naming customs.

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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 850-918 confidence: high

  The passage says the anthropomorphic and theriomorphic conceptions of the corn-spirit are parallel: waving corn, warnings to children, the last cut corn or last threshed sheaf, the shape and name of the last sheaf, and the naming of the person who handles it may be human or animal.

  The last corn cut or last sheaf threshed is said to contain the corn-spirit and is named and formed as a human or animal figure.

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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 850-918 confidence: medium

  The passage compares keeping human-form sheaves and animal forms or flesh from one harvest to the next, mixing grain or animal remains with seed-corn, feeding portions to cattle or plough animals, representing the corn-spirit’s death by killing a representative, and sacramental partaking of body, blood, or likeness-bread.

  Sheaves, animal remains, grain, feathers, and the Yule Boar are kept from harvest to harvest or mixed with seed-corn to continue blessing and abundance.

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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 920-982 confidence: medium

  Russian Ljeschie are called wood-spirits, appear partly human with goat horns, ears, and legs, and alter stature according to woods, meadows, corn-stalks, and post-harvest stubble.

  The passage states that tree-spirits and corn-spirits are closely connected, gives Ljeschie as wood and corn spirits, and ties stature to harvest before and after corn is cut.

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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 920-982 confidence: medium

  Russian Ljeschie are wood-spirits partly human with goat horns, ears, and legs; the Ljeschi can alter stature in woods and meadows, and some change with corn before and after harvest.

  The passage states that tree-spirits and corn-spirits are closely connected, notes Ljeschie who are spirits of both wood and corn, and links some stature changes to the harvest cycle.

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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 984-1037 confidence: medium

  Dionysus is represented as a bull; the passage links this to his character as a vegetation deity, the bull as a corn-spirit embodiment in Northern Europe, and Dionysus's association with Demeter and Proserpine at Eleusis.

  The passage explicitly argues that Dionysus's bull and goat forms express his character as a vegetation deity and links the bull to embodiments of the corn-spirit.

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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 984-1037 confidence: high

  The author introduces the Athenian bouphonia as an apparent ox sacrifice representing the spirit of vegetation, held around the end of June or beginning of July when threshing was nearly over, and traditionally instituted against drought and barrenness.

  The bouphonia is described as an ox sacrifice occurring when threshing was nearly over and traditionally connected with relief from drought and barrenness.

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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 984-1037 confidence: medium

  The ox is skinned, all present eat its flesh, and its hide is stuffed with straw, sewn up, set upright, and yoked to a plough as if ploughing.

  The slain ox's hide is stuffed with straw, sewn up, set on its feet, and yoked to a plough as if ploughing.

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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 984-1037 confidence: medium

  Dionysus is said to be represented as a bull; Frazer connects this with his character as a vegetation deity, notes the bull as a common embodiment of the corn-spirit in Northern Europe, and cites his association with Demeter and Proserpine as agricultural evidence.

  Dionysus’s bull form is interpreted as an expression of his character as a vegetation deity, with agricultural associations emphasized.

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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 984-1037 confidence: medium

  Frazer introduces the Athenian Bouphonia as a possible example of ancients slaying an ox as representative of vegetation spirit; it occurs near the end of threshing and was traditionally instituted to end drought and barrenness.

  Frazer presents the Bouphonia as a case in which an ox appears to be slain as a representative of the spirit of vegetation, timed near threshing and linked to drought and barrenness.

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