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Quiz about Magic from The Golden Bough
Quiz about Magic from The Golden Bough

Magic from "The Golden Bough" Trivia Quiz


James Frazer's classic 12-volume work, "The Golden Bough", is a compendium of world belief built upon the premise that human practice evolves from magic to religion to science. How much do you know about magic according to this founding text?

A multiple-choice quiz by stuthehistoryguy. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
190,476
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Very Difficult
Avg Score
4 / 10
Plays
2263
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. Frazer claims that there are basically two kinds of magic. What are they? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Among the South Slavs, how might a young woman secure the fidelity of her beau by using his footprint?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which of the following is part of a Hindu ritual to treat jaundice? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. According to Frazer, the practice commonly called the "voodoo doll" is not unique to voodoo practice at all. Which of these cultures uses representations of people in ways strikingly similar to the voodoo doll?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which of these rituals was used to assure a happy afterlife in the funerary rituals of the folk native to the Darling River region of Australia?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Frazer reports of a ritual in the Kei Islands where women fill baskets with fruits and stones then annoint the baskets with oil while reciting an incantation. What effect is this ritual supposed to have? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Frazer outlines a Galelareese spell that a young man may use to make sure his sweetheart's family stays sleeping while he woos her. How is this accomplished? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. According to North American Blackfoot belief, what benefit does taking a human skull along on a hunting expedition confer?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. There is a spell used by South Slavic women where they wash coins that have covered a dead man's eyes in water or wine; this drink is later given to their husbands. What is the effect of this necromancy? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Despite his insistence that magic and religion are fundamentally separate things, Frazer does admit of several magical rituals which seem to fuse with religion. One of these is the legendary black mass, which condemns the object thereof to a slow death. Frazer does not use the term "black" to describe this ritual, however. What Saint is this mass named for?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Frazer claims that there are basically two kinds of magic. What are they?

Answer: Homoeopathic/Imitative and Contagious

Imitative magic works on the principle that "like produces like"; imitating a process will bring that process about. Contageous magic, on the other hand, posits that objects that have been in contact with a person are still "telepathically" connected with that person and that by doing something to such an object, a magician can cause the same effect on the person to whom it belonged. According to Frazer, all magic is "atheistic"--there are no deities involved.

When a superior being is invoked, he terms the process religious, not magical.

He also makes no real distinction between "black" or "white" magic. Finally, one of his central theses is that all cultures--regardless of Eastern, Western, or other regional orientations--pass through very similar phases of development, and thus magic and other practices cannot be classified ethnically or geographically.
2. Among the South Slavs, how might a young woman secure the fidelity of her beau by using his footprint?

Answer: By putting dirt from his footprint in a pot and planting a marigold in it

The theory here is that, since the marigold never fades, so will the young man's love never fade. Frazer lists many rituals involving footprints, including the injuring of a man by pricking his print with the sting of a stingray among the folk of New Britain.
3. Which of the following is part of a Hindu ritual to treat jaundice?

Answer: Drinking water mixed with the hair of a red bull

The ritual, which was designed to tranfer the "yellow" of the jaundice to red animals, concluded with the patient being swabbed with yellow paste, then being ceremonially bathed while three red birds were tied to the bed, presumptively so they could absorb the poisonous yellow.
4. According to Frazer, the practice commonly called the "voodoo doll" is not unique to voodoo practice at all. Which of these cultures uses representations of people in ways strikingly similar to the voodoo doll?

Answer: All of these

Devices resembling voodoo dolls are also found among the Cora of Mexico, the Aino of Japan, and in rural China. Voodoo dolls may, in fact, be one of the most widespread of all magical practices.
5. Which of these rituals was used to assure a happy afterlife in the funerary rituals of the folk native to the Darling River region of Australia?

Answer: Cutting living men's hands with boomerangs and letting the blood drip into the open grave

This may be a gesture to assuage the corpse's predeliction for returning as a vampire. Frazer is unclear on the motivations for this blood sacrifice, though he does include more detailed information on cultures who use blood as fertilizer. Your milage may vary.
6. Frazer reports of a ritual in the Kei Islands where women fill baskets with fruits and stones then annoint the baskets with oil while reciting an incantation. What effect is this ritual supposed to have?

Answer: Success in battle

The incantation calls for bullets to bounce from the women's husbands just as water bounces from the baskets once they are covered with oil. Generally speaking, Frazer isn't concerned with spiritual enlightenment.
7. Frazer outlines a Galelareese spell that a young man may use to make sure his sweetheart's family stays sleeping while he woos her. How is this accomplished?

Answer: He sprinkles dirt from a grave on the roof of their house

This is supposed to mimic the sleep of the dead. The essential oils might actually work, though.
8. According to North American Blackfoot belief, what benefit does taking a human skull along on a hunting expedition confer?

Answer: It renders the hunter invisible

The hunter is believed to become invisible just as the dead are invisible.
9. There is a spell used by South Slavic women where they wash coins that have covered a dead man's eyes in water or wine; this drink is later given to their husbands. What is the effect of this necromancy?

Answer: It renders the husband blind to the wife's indiscretions

Frazer makes a note that putting coins on a dead person's eyes is a common ritual in many cultures.
10. Despite his insistence that magic and religion are fundamentally separate things, Frazer does admit of several magical rituals which seem to fuse with religion. One of these is the legendary black mass, which condemns the object thereof to a slow death. Frazer does not use the term "black" to describe this ritual, however. What Saint is this mass named for?

Answer: Saint Sécaire

Saint Cassian would be an appropriate choice here, since he is ascribed many malevolent and curious aspects in Russian folklore. Frazer does not mention him, however.

The Mass of Saint Sécaire seems to be a collection of various blasphemies that is known by only a few priests, and only the worst of these will ever perform this ritual. According to Frazer's informants, only the Pope can give absolution to a priest who has performed this mass.
Source: Author stuthehistoryguy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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