202 Religion &c. among the Karens. [No. 4, 



The La is not confined to human beings ; as has been previously 

 intimated, every living thing has its La. When sitting by the fire at 

 night, and an insect flies into it and is burnt to death, a Karen will 

 say : " There the La of some animal has leaped into the fire and 

 burnt itself to death. We shall have meat curry to-morrow. The 

 snares and traps have caught something." 



Plants too have their Las ; and when the paddy appears sickly, it 

 is said that its La has been devoured or led away, and it is called 

 back in the following form : 



" La of large grained paddy, full grained paddy, come ! If at the 

 forks of the Salween and Sitang, come ! » If in the west, come ! If in 

 the cast, come ! If in the mouth of the bird, come ! If in the mouth 

 of the squirrel, come ! If in the mouth of the monkey, come ! If in 

 the mouth of the hog, come ! If in the mouth of the rat, come ! If 

 in the mouth of the elephant, come ! If in the mouth of the dove, 

 come ! If in the mouth of the sparrow, come ! If in the mouth of 

 the porcupine, come ! If at the sources of the streams, come ! If at 

 the mouths of the streams, come ! If in Siam, come ! If at Ava, 

 come ! If at the corner of the kingdom, at the corner of the land, 

 come ! Come, come, come, and dwell in the barn, come and reside in 

 the granary." 



Even inanimate things that can be put to useful objects, such as 

 instruments, are supposed to have their Las. So if a man drops his 

 axe while up a tree, he looks below and calls out : " La of the axe, 

 come, come." 



Looking then at La in all its usages, it seems to be the personifica- 

 tion of the life, or efficiency of a person, or thing. 



Departed Spirits. 



The spirits of the dead resolve themselves into two great classes. 

 Those who are not permitted to go to Hades, corresponding very 

 nearly to the European notions of ghosts ; and the spirits of the ances- 

 tors of the Karens, who, on going to Hades, were awarded, on account 

 of their good deeds, a place in the heavenly world, where they exercise 

 a kind watch-care over their descendants on earth. The offerings and 

 prayers made to these beings seem to correspond to the Chinese worship 

 of ancestors. 



