
178 Religion &c. among the Karens. [Ne. 3, 
Ta-ywa. 
The Sgau and Pwo name of God 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 born, 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 will 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: “Tf that be the case, let a cock go down and pick 
him to death.” Ta-ywa drew his bow, laid on his gigantic Areca 
