HOUSE-BUILDING IN THE EAST. 547 



sun-toughened skins, so that there is a direct personal argument to sup- 

 port the sentimental objection. Then, again, you may find lead in 

 your soil-turning. There is not the smallest hesitation in the books on 

 a question like this. If you go on and build you will lose slaves and 

 goods. But, for all the lead that is there, the turned-up earth may 

 smell of beans, or may have the fragrance of the sacred lotus itself. 

 This is a most happy omen. The dwellers in a house raised on such 

 land will be most fortunate, and the soil round about is the best pos- 

 sible for cultivation. In such a dilemma there is nothing for it but to 

 call in a Sayah and pay him to work out the problem, to make a reso- 

 lution of forces for you. There are certain amateur ways of arriving 

 at a conclusion by means of split bamboos and heaps of paddy, but 

 they are apt to be fallacious and afford no real satisfaction to a well- 

 constituted mind. It is not surprising to be told that sand is not a 

 good foundation on which to raise a house, or that a soil which is 

 mainly composed of small stones is undesirable ; but when it comes to 

 the slope of the ground, or the friability or stiffness of the earth, none 

 but a thoroughly reckless man will trust to his own unaided intelligence. 

 At any rate, whether you get the advice of an expert or not, it is 

 imperative that you should carefully turn over all the ground where 

 the new building is to be. Having done this, it is a matter of reason- 

 able precaution to make offerings to the earth-spirit. Acquaintance 

 with this Phra Phum and his belongings is no light matter, and is 

 likely to be as good as an annuity to the man who has mastered the 

 details. As he is an earthy spirit he is especially liable to mortal fail- 

 ings, and notably possesses a very short temper, which will brook no 

 deficiency in reverence. It will not do to be ignorant of the names of 

 his father and mother and of his nine children. Forgetfulness of his 

 possessions is equally likely to cause trouble. There must be no hesi- 

 tation as to the proper titles of his house and the tower on it, his cat- 

 tle-shed, his granary, his bridal chamber, his thrashing-floor, his lands, 

 his garden, his monastery, and his three chief servants. Remissness 

 in any one of these particulars is apt to make an offering dangerous 

 rather than otherwise. This offering, by whomsoever brought, must 

 be set down at the extremity of the toes of the Phra, who thereupon 

 graciously takes up his broom and sweeps the place clean, and gives 

 the pious votary his blessing. If an ignorant or presumptuous man 

 should place his gifts near the head, the earth-spirit would curse him 

 with terrible imprecations, and brush everything away, worshiper and 

 all. Negotiations with this deity are therefore rather ticklish work, 

 but it is perilous to leave them undone. The site being settled, and 

 things made right with the guardian spirit of the earth, the next thing 

 to be done is to dig holes for the reception of the posts. It is neces- 

 sary to begin with that for the chief post, and the hole for this must 

 not be dug square, but in the form of a triangle. This may imply 

 more work, but that can not be helped. When the hole for the 



