** This is a page summarizing what I need in James Frazer's [ The Golden Bough ] **
Chapter 3 Magic and Religion
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Analyzing the principles of thinking that underlies magic will result in the following two things. The first is that similarity results in similarity, or the result resembles a cause, and the second is that objects that come into contact continue to interact with each other even after physical contact is lost. The former principle can be called the 'law of similarity', and the latter can be called the 'law of contact' or the 'law of infection'.
The first principle, that is, the law of similarity, is used to infer that the sorcerer can derive the result by simply imitating something he wants. And the second principle holds that everything he does about an object that has come into contact with once will have the same effect on the person, whether the object is part of that person's body or not.
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It should be noted that the system of sympathetic magic does not consist solely of active precepts. It includes numerous passive precepts, or taboos. It not only tells you what to do, but it also tells you what not to do. The active precept is the magic, and the passive precept is the beginning. In fact, the overall principle of tabu, or most of the principles, seems to be nothing more than a special application of empathy, which consists of the two laws of similarity and contact.
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I understand religion by conciliation or favoring a power superior to that of humans, who believe in directing and controlling the operation of nature and human life. Religion consists of two components, theory and practice, the belief in a power superior to that of humans, and an attempt to appease or please that power. Of the two, faith certainly takes precedence. Because you must first believe in a certain divine being before you can attempt to please it. However, if faith does not lead to its corresponding practice, it is only theology, not religion.
In other words, one cannot be said to be religious if one does not consistently govern one's actions based on fear or love for God. On the other hand, even simple practice without religious beliefs is not religion. One person may be religious and not another, even if two people do the same. If one person acts out of love or fear for God, that person is religious. A person can be morally or immoral depending on whether his or her actions align or deviate from the common good when acting out of fear or love for a person. Therefore, faith and ministry are equally essential to religion, either in terms of faith and practice or theology. Religion cannot exist if the two are not together.
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Religion is fundamentally at odds with science or sorcery, as long as a conscious actor who can change his or her intentions with persuasion takes control of the world. This is because both science and sorcery presuppose that the operation of nature is determined by the action of mechanical immutable laws, not by the feelings or whims of personal existence. While sorcery is only implicit in this premi
Chapter 12. Taboo
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All strangers are suspected of using such magic. Therefore, preventing strangers from having harmful effects, either consciously or unconsciously, is a basic requirement of primitive discernment. Thus, before or at least before strangers come in or socialize freely with their residents, the natives of the region often perform some ritual to relieve the spell power of strangers and to offset the harmful influence they believe they release, or to disinfect the polluted air that they believe surrounds them.
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For those who study the past, the lives of ancient kings and priests are full of lessons. Everything that the world considered wisdom when it was still young was concentrated in it. It was a perfect example that everyone tried to set as an example for their lives, according to the designs set by primitive philosophy. Even if the philosophy was crude and false, it would be unfair to deny that it had the advantage of logical consistency.
It is a practical guide to life, deducing a system of rules that generally make up a well-conceived, fairly complete, and harmonious whole, starting with the notion that a small being or soul that exists in life but can be separated from it is a life force. The flaw in the system lies not in the reasoning process, but in its premise. In other words, the notion of the nature of life is the problem, not the inadequacy of the conclusions drawn from it. However, it would be unironical and ungrateful if we could easily see through the falsehood of such a premise.
Chapter 2 Killing of the Holy King
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If the high gods who live far away from the anguish and aspirations of this world believed that they would finally die, it would be impossible to expect that a god living in the fragile shroud of the body would avoid such fate.
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If the operation of nature depends on the life of the human god, what catastrophes cannot be expected from the event that his ability gradually declines and finally disappears in death? There is only one way to avoid this danger. The human god must be killed as soon as he shows signs of diminishing ability, and his soul must be transferred to his vigorous successor before the corpse's decomposition can seriously damage it. The advantage of killing a human god in advance is obvious to barbarians, instead of allowing him to die from old age and disease.
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On the other hand, by killing the human god, admirers can hold him firmly when the spirit of the human god escapes and transfer him to a suitable successor, and by killing him before the natural power of the human god decreases, they can certainly prevent the world from declining along with the decline of the human god. In other words, killing a human god like him can transfer his soul to a spirited successor while it is still at its peak, so that all purposes are met, and all risks are deflected.
Chapter 23 Murder of Sacred Animals
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In some ways, animal worship by primitive people has two opposing forms. On the one hand, animals do not die or eat because they are objects of worship. On the other hand, animals become objects of worship because it is the custom to kill and eat. Animals are worshipped in these forms of worship because they consider the kind of positive and negative interests that primitive people want to gain. The former worship benefits from the forms of active protection, advice, and support that animals provide to humans, and passive forms that avoid the damage animals can do to humans.
The latter worship benefits from the material forms of animal flesh and leather. The two forms of worship are somewhat contrasting. In the former, animals are not eaten because they are worshipped. In the latter, animals are worshipped because they are eaten. There are also two types of animal god-killing behavior, which correspond to two types of animal worship.
Chapter 22 Meat
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It is commonly believed that eating meat from an animal or person acquires both moral and intellectual properties, as well as physical and human characteristics. As a result, it is anticipated that when the object is sacred, it will naturally absorb both its material substance and a portion of its sacredness.
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It is also common to eat or drink the flesh and blood of a dead person to encourage courage or wisdom, or to boost other qualities that the dead possessed or considered to exist specially in certain parts of the body.