World Mythology and Primitive Culture

Author: Yang Lijuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Overall, Frazer's fundamental standpoint is his sympathetic magic, while in explaining other anthropological perspectives, he identified and analyzed several important archetypal myths, rituals, or taboos, such as the Adonis myth, the ritual of death and rebirth, and the taboo in the scapegoat ritual, etc. Frazer pointed out; "The Golden Bough is not really about what people did in the primitive and barbaric times, but about the activities of the human imagination in attempting to express its understanding of the greatest secrets, namely the secrets of life, death, and the afterlife. In other words, it is a book that studies the unconscious symbols of society. Theoretically, it complements Freud, Jung, and other psychologists' works on the unconscious symbols of the individual (such as dreaming). What is even more remarkable is that Frazer's model aligns so well with the psychological model."
In addition, Frazer drew the conclusion that by comparing Frazer's theory with Jung's theory of the unconscious; "There are two ways in which a king can be resurrected; in a tribe, a body is created, and his divinity is passed on to an heir, so that his heir is not considered a different person but the continuation of a new force in a new form. Jung's exploration is similar: the self descends to the depths of the unconscious, battles the dark and chaotic forces it finds there, and finally returns as an 'individual' to regain its original life." This passage aims to illustrate that Frazer and Jung actually studied the same cultural themes of death and rebirth from their respective theoretical fields—Frazer from the perspective of rituals, while Jung from the perspective of the unconscious mind.
Frazer devoted a significant amount of space to discussing the widespread existence of the Adonis myth across the world, thereby proving its transcultural value—the universality of the human concept of death and rebirth. On this basis, his analysis of the myth of Jesus' death and rebirth also revealed the essence of the use of the archetype of God in literature, and to some extent, it became an important revelation for later generations to interpret the Bible from the perspective of literary archetypes.
Furthermore, in analyzing the custom of the "scapegoat," Frazer also identified the literary archetype of the scapegoat. Its actual meaning is to place all the sins of humanity on one person or god, and through destroying him, to achieve the purpose of taking away all sins, thereby ushering in the liberation and peace of all beings.
Finally, Frazer answered the question he initially raised—the mystery of the Golden Bough. "The priest in the Aricia forest—the king of the forest—is the embodiment of the tree where the Golden Bough grows. Therefore, if that tree is an oak, the king of the forest must be the embodiment of the oak spirit. Thus, it is easy to understand why the Golden Bough must be broken to kill it. As the spirit of the oak, his life or death is entrusted to the mistletoe growing on the oak. As long as the mistletoe remains intact, he, like Balder, will not die."