Victorian comparative religion

The Golden Bough: Third Edition, Vol. 07 of 12

James George Frazer1912Vol. 7 of 12
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Extensive documentation of European agricultural customs and beliefs about corn spirits (grain spirits). Frazer catalogs harvest rituals, personifications of the last sheaf, corn mothers and maidens, animal embodiments of crop spirits, and ceremonies surrounding sowing and reaping. The work explores how European peasants conceived of grain as animated by spirits that must be honored, captured, or transferred to ensure next year's harvest. Examples include corn wolves, rye dogs, harvest cats, and the widespread custom of fashioning human or animal figures from the last sheaf.

Also known asFrazer's Golden Bough · Magical Origins
This edition1912
EditionThird edition, Volume 7 of 12: Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild (Part 1)
agricultural magicComparative ReligionEuropean folkloreFolklore Studiesharvest customsSolar & Vegetation MythsAnthropology of ReligionMythologylast sheaf ceremonieslast sheaf customsagricultural anthropologyreaping ceremoniesFolklore Patternsharvest ritualsreaping celebrationscorn spirit ceremonies

Contents39 chapters

  1. 01Contents
  2. 02Preface.
  3. 03Chapter I. Dionysus.
  4. 04Chapter II. Demeter And Persephone.
  5. 05Chapter III. Magical Significance of Games in Primitive Agriculture.
  6. 06Chapter IV. Woman's Part in Primitive Agriculture.
  7. 07Chapter V. The Corn-Mother and the Corn-Maiden in Northern Europe.
  8. 08Chapter VI. The Corn-Mother in Many Lands.
  9. 09§ 1. The Corn-mother in America.
  10. 10§ 2. The Mother-cotton in the Punjaub.
  11. 11§ 3. The Barley Bride among the Berbers.
  12. 12§ 4. The Rice-mother in the East Indies.
  13. 13§ 5. The Spirit of the Corn embodied in Human Beings.
  14. 14§ 6. The Double Personification of the Corn as Mother and Daughter.
  15. 15Chapter VII. Lityerses.
  16. 16§ 1. Songs of the Corn Reapers.
  17. 17§ 2. Killing the Corn-spirit.
  18. 18§ 3. Human Sacrifices for the Crops.
  19. 19§ 4. The Corn-spirit slain in his Human Representatives.
  20. 20Chapter VIII. The Corn-Spirit as an Animal.
  21. 21§ 1. Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.
  22. 22§ 2. The Corn-spirit as a Wolf or a Dog.
  23. 23§ 3. The Corn-spirit as a Cock.
  24. 24§ 4. The Corn-spirit as a Hare.
  25. 25§ 5. The Corn-spirit as a Cat.
  26. 26§ 6. The Corn-spirit as a Goat.
  27. 27§ 7. The Corn-spirit as a Bull, Cow, or Ox.
  28. 28§ 8. The Corn-spirit as a Horse or Mare.
  29. 29§ 9. The Corn-spirit as a Bird.
  30. 30§ 10. The Corn-spirit as a Fox.
  31. 31§ 11. The Corn-spirit as a Pig (Boar or Sow).
  32. 32§ 12. On the Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.
  33. 33Note. The Pleiades in Primitive Calendars.
  34. 34Footnotes
  35. 35THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
  36. 36"Cover"
  37. 37The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 07 of 12)
  38. 38The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) by James George Frazer
  39. 39The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) by James George Frazer

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