1S65.] Religion &c. among the Karens. 217 



south-east corner of Toungoo, hear her words and cry, and the lan- 

 guage is taken up by all the other apes within hearing, and is thus 

 passed on from one to another throughout the whole land. 



Thunder and Lightning. 



The thunderbolt is regarded as a living being. It has been seen 

 and described by the elders as tearing up trees in the form of a hog, 

 and about the same size, but with bat-like wings. When it utters its 

 voice, it thunders, and when it flaps its wings, fire is produced, and it 

 lightens. 



"When it lightens in the evening near the horizon, and no sound is 

 heard, it is said that the young thunderbolts are flapping their wings, 

 but they are not old enough to make a noise so as to be heard far. 



Rainbow. 



The Rainbow is deemed to be a spirit or demon, but the people 

 are not united in regard to its true character. Some say it is a woman 

 who died in pregnancy ; others, that it is a demon which devours the 

 spirits of human beings, and then they appear to die by accidental or 

 violent deaths ; and other theories are propounded. 



" The Rainbow can devour men," says one. "When it devours a 

 person, he dies a sudden or violent death. All persons that die badly, 

 by falls, by drowning, or by wild beasts, die because the Rainbow 

 has devoured their ka-la, or spirit. On devouring persons it becomes 

 thirsty, and comes clown to drink, when it is seen in the sky drinking 

 water. 



" Therefore when people see the Rainbow, they say : ' The Rain- 

 bow has come to drink water. Look out, some one or another will 

 die violently by an evil death." If children are playing, their parents 

 will say to them : ' The Rainbow has come down to drink. Play no 

 more, lest some accident should happen to you.' And after the Rain- 

 bow has been seen, if any fatal accident happens to any one, it is said 

 the Rainbow has devoured him. 



Naiads. 



The waters are inhabited by beings whose proper form is that of 

 dragons, but that occasionally appear as men, and who take wives of 



