198 Religion &c. among the Karens. [No. 4, 
go and return.’ The second said: ‘God has ordered me to return, 
alter Tam able to draw water.’ The third said: ‘ God has ordered 
me to return,-after I am able to weed.’ The fourth said: ‘ God has 
ordered me to return, after [am able to make it easy for my father 
and mother.’ The fifth said: ‘‘ God has commanded me to return, 
after I am able to go to the Burman and Shan country.’ The sixth 

















said: ‘God has commanded me to return, after I am able to cultivate 
paddy for my father and mother.’ The seventh said: ‘God has com- 
manded me to return, after I have married.’ 
“The prophet said that after this he saw them all born on earth, 
all boys, and he noted that they all died one after another, as he heard 
them say in his vision. 
“ Of the two women, he said one carried two Kyee-zees, and the 
other a basket on her back, and a spinning wheel and distaff in her 
hand. The first one he heard say: ‘ God has commanded me to stay 
with my Kyee-zees, till I am white-headed.’ The other one said: 
‘God has commanded me to spin thread and prepare cotton, till I am 
white-headed.’ The prophet said he saw both born in this world 
females; and the one came in possession of two Kyee-zees, and the 
other spun thread and carded cotton, in accordance with his vision.” 
According to a Sgau authority, the La promises God, before it comes — 
into the world, that it will die by one or other of seven things it says . 
‘* T will die in the mouth ofa tiger. IfIdo not die in the mouth of 
a tiger, I will die of some kind of sickness. I I donot die of disease, 
I will die by drowning. If I am not drowned, I will die by the hand 
of man. If I am not killed by man, I will die by a fall. If I am not 
killed by a fall, I will die by a blow. If I am not struck dead, I will 
die of old age.” ‘ 
The La sometimes appears after death, and cannot then be distin- 
guished from the person himself. One story says : 
‘“« After a certain woman’s husband had gone to the city, she died. 
On his return home, he met her La in the road, and taking it for his 
wife in the body, he said: ‘Where art thou going?’ She replied: 
‘T am going to see my father and mother.’ He was not at all awar 
that it was her La, and she said to him, ‘ Thou hast a long way to 
go, let us spend the night together here:’ He consented, and t 
obtain food for their supper, she went and asked it of her children, 
but they did not see her, 
