FIRE AS AN AGENT IN HUMAN CULTUEE 147 



"I did not hear any Bahuana stories, but some of their mythical 

 ideas are cm-ious. They say that hghtning is a cat which Hves in 

 the clouds and comes to earth when it is hungry to eat a tree or man. 

 By the side of this their explanation of the rainbow as a big snake 

 is commonplace; they say it feeds on fish and shows itself sometimes 

 when it has had enough to eat. "^^ 



The Parsee regarded as the purest fire that of lightning, which 

 came from the clouds. The sacred fire was kindled from fire by 

 lightning whenever opportunity offered. 



The Circassians venerated the tree struck by lightning. Beneath 

 such a tree the criminal found refuge. ^■^ 



Pom K. Soh, a highly educated Korean, informed the writer that 

 in Korea lightning-struck wood was used for sword hilts and as charms 

 against evil spirits. He said that the popular belief is that spirits 

 take refuge under trees and are killed by lightning. People are ad- 

 vised to take off their large hats during a storm for the same reason. 

 Another belief is that bad air which brings on disease is purified by 

 lightning. 



The Japanese, according to Lafcadio Hearn, regarded thunder as 

 an animal which rends trees with its claws. The wood of a lightning- 

 struck tree is a cure for toothache. ^^ 



Belief in the tangible evidences of the lightning stroke is offered by 

 the almost universal superstition concerning thunderbolts. The 

 gewitler stein, lightning stone or wedge that splits the trees, of Ger- 

 man Canadian folk-lore, may be taken as the type of implement. 

 The conception is of a wedge, a tool capable of riving, hence stone 

 celts of ancient workmanship are given the name thunderbolt, as 

 piedras del rayo, applied to the celts found in portions of the West 

 Indies. Among the Thonga of South Africa: 



"Lightning is called 'lihati' (li-tin), and is said to be caused by a 

 bird called 'ndlati' (yi-tin). These two words, etymologically speak- 

 ing, seem to be related to each other. They possess the feminine 

 sufl&x ti, which is met with under the forms eti, ati, oti. This bird is 

 also called 'nkuku wa tilo' amongst the Ra-Ronga, the cock of 

 heaven, or 'psele dja tilo,' the hen of heaven, and magicians know 

 how to determine its sex when the bird has fallen. 



"The thunder is attributed either to the bird itself, or more fre- 

 quently to heaven. The proper expression for 'it thunders' is 'tilo 

 dji djuma,' 'heaven roars.' 



"In the northern clans those who practice magical arts add 

 many other particulars to the story, some of which may have been 



" E Torday. Camp and Tramp in African Wilds, p. 174. New York, 1882-1895; Philadelphia, 1913. 

 "E. Reclus. Universal Geography. Ed. Keane. 

 *• Unfamiliar Japan, New York, 1894, p. 601. 



102837—26 11 



