1865.] Religion dc. among the Karens. ■ 207 



again. Make us strong, make us vigorous ; all of us. When we fall 

 on the wood, Lew it through. ; when we fall into the coffin, split it 

 open, [i. e. raise us up from the point of death]. Establish us, make 

 its immoveable. Let not plots, let not devices against us succeed. 

 Let us have large crops, let us have good paddy. Let us have little 

 grass, let us have few weeds. Let our labour be light, let us eat 

 whatever we want. Let us succeed in our works ; let us eat with 

 little work. Let the effects of our labours increase, let our produce 

 swell up, like rice in boiling. Let us ascend to the tops of the moun- 

 tains, let us descend to the depths of the valleys. Let us spear hogs, 

 let us seize captives. Let us purchase kyee-zees, let us dig out the 

 pangolin, \_i. e. let us accomplish difficult things]. In the water, let 

 us be great rocks ; on land, let us be large wood-oil trees. Let not the 

 tiger seize lis, let not the tiger kill us. When the tiger would leap on 

 us, may he growl ; when man would seize us, may he cough. When 

 tigers would leap on us, may they wait for each other ; Avhen men 

 woidd seize us, may they feel abashed. Let us devour a stream to its 

 source, let us eat a creek to its mouth, [?'. e. get possession of the 

 whole valleyl. Let us eat up the rock to atoms, let us eat the sand 

 to dust, p. e. overcome every difficulty]." 



The priestess next lays her left hand on the neck of the hog, and 

 with her right, she grasps the hand of the oldest person in the com- 

 pany, and shaking it slowly up and down, she repeats the above 

 prayer. In this way, she goes round the whole company from the 

 oldest to the youngest, repeating the prayer with each. 



The hog is killed next, but it is not killed with a knife or spear ; 

 but a sharpened bamboo is forced into it on the right side, under the 

 fore leg. When the bristles have been singed off, a part of the flesh 

 is cooked with rice flour in a chatty, and a part in joints of bamboo ; 

 but the head is hung up whole on the posts of the table. 



When the rice and meat is spread out, the priestess shakes hands 

 again with each one, and prays as before. She then tastes the food, 

 and after her the others taste it in succession, from the oldest to the 

 youngest. 



This done, they rise up, and the priestess tastes the spirits ; and, as 

 before, all the rest follow her example according to seniority. After 

 this they all return to the food again. 



