178 Religion &c. among the Karens. [No. 3, 



Ta-ywa. 



The Sgau and Pwo name of Grod is Ywa, but the Bghais use a pre- 

 fix and say Ta-ywa. To this name Ta-ywa, they attach long fabulous 

 legends of which the following is one ; and appears to be of Hindu 

 origin. 



The Elders relate concerning Ta-ywa and say : There was a woman 

 who was pregnant, and when it was hot, she went and spread a gar- 

 ment out to dry in the sun, but so soon as it was spread out, it ceased 

 to be hot, and clouds came up. Then she cursed the sun, and asked : 

 " At first thou madest it hot, but now thou hast made it cloudy : 

 Why is it so ? The sun cursed her back in return, and said : "I wish 

 thou mayst be pregnant three years, and when the child is bom, may 

 it be no larger than a jujube ! " 



After this, the woman remained pregnant three years, and at the 

 end of that time, she was delivered of a son not larger than a jujube. 

 The child eat, at first, as much rice at a meal, as can be put in the 

 cover of a rice chutty ; and after a little while, he eat a wash-bason 

 full, and could wrestle with an ordinary man. After another short 

 period, he eat as much rice as would cover a small table, and could 

 wrestle with a strong man. 



He asked his mother why he was so small, and she repeated the 

 circumstances as related above. Then he said : " I Avill go and compel 

 the sun to make me grow larger." Every morning and every even- 

 ing, he worked hard to make himself a bow ; and when he had finished 

 it, he went up to the sky, to the place of drawing water of the sun 

 and moon, and there he met the children of the sun and moon coming 

 to draw water. 



He bent his bow, and placed his arrow on the string, which was an 

 Areca Nut tree as long as the height of a small mountain. Then he 

 said to the children of the sun and moon, "Go tell your father to come 

 here, and make me larger." 



The children of the sun and moon were afraid, and said to their 

 parents : " This man is very bold, and he said to us : ' Tell your father 

 to come here and make me larger.' And he was about to shoot us 

 with his bow." 



The sun said : " If that be the case, let a cock go down and pick 

 him to death." Ta-ywa chew his bow, laid on his gigantic Areca 



