The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)Frazer, James George
ReligionComparative
The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
In a Kabyl story an ogre declares that his fate is far away in an egg,
which is in a pigeon, which is in a camel, which is in the sea. The hero
procures the egg and crushes it between his hands, and the ogre dies.(845)
In a Magyar folk-tale, an old witch detains a young prince called Ambrose
in the bowels of the earth. At last she confided to him that she kept a
wild boar in a silken meadow, and if it were killed, they would find a
hare inside, and inside the hare a pigeon, and inside the pigeon a small
box, and inside the box one black and one shining beetle: the shining
beetle held her life, and the black one held her power; if these two
beetles died, then her life would come to an end also. When the old hag
went out, Ambrose killed the wild boar, took out the hare, from the hare
he took the pigeon, from the pigeon the box, and from the box the two
beetles; he killed the black beetle, but kept the shining one alive. So
the witch’s power left her immediately, and when she came home, she had to
take to her bed. Having learned from her how to escape from his prison to
the upper air, Ambrose killed the shining beetle, and the old hag’s spirit
left her at once.(846) In another Hungarian story the safety of the
Dwarf-king resides in a golden cockchafer, inside a golden cock, inside a
golden sheep, inside a golden stag, in the ninety-ninth island. The hero
overcomes all these golden animals and so recovers his bride, whom the
Dwarf-king had carried off.(847) A Samoyed story tells how seven warlocks
killed a certain man’s mother and carried off his sister, whom they kept
to serve them. Every night when they came home the seven warlocks used to
take out their hearts and place them in a dish, which the woman hung on
the tent-poles. But the wife of the man whom they had wronged stole the
hearts of the warlocks while they slept, and took them to her husband. By
break of day he went with the hearts to the warlocks, and found them at
the point of death. They all begged for their hearts; but he threw six of
their hearts to the ground, and six of the warlocks died. The seventh and
eldest warlock begged hard for his heart, and the man said, “You killed my
mother. Make her alive again, and I will give you back your heart.” The
warlock said to his wife, “Go to the place where the dead woman lies. You
will find a bag there. Bring it to me. The woman’s spirit is in the bag.”
So his wife brought the bag; and the warlock said to the man, “Go to your
dead mother, shake the bag and let the spirit breathe over her bones; so
she will come to life again.” The man did as he was bid, and his mother
was restored to life. Then he hurled the seventh heart to the ground, and
the seventh warlock died.(848)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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