. Popular religion and folk-lore of Northern India . savages,delude themselves into seeing the blood of demons on theswords. The reason for the Greek and German custom ofputting out the fire during a thunderstorm is probably a wishto avoid attracting the attention of the thunder a like motive some of the Australian blacks hidethemselves during a thunderstorm, and keep absolutelysilent, lest the thunder should find them out. Once duringa storm a white man called out in a loud voice to a blackfellow, with whom he was working, to put the saw under alog and seek shelter. He found that
. Popular religion and folk-lore of Northern India . savages,delude themselves into seeing the blood of demons on theswords. The reason for the Greek and German custom ofputting out the fire during a thunderstorm is probably a wishto avoid attracting the attention of the thunder a like motive some of the Australian blacks hidethemselves during a thunderstorm, and keep absolutelysilent, lest the thunder should find them out. Once duringa storm a white man called out in a loud voice to a blackfellow, with whom he was working, to put the saw under alog and seek shelter. He found that the saw had beenalready put aside, and the black fellow was very indignantat his master for speaking so loud. • What for, said he, ingreat wrath— what for speak so loud ? Now um thunderhear and know where um saw is. And he went out andchanged its hiding-place. All these precautions are well known to the people ofUpper India. It is a very common habit to throw out axesand knives to scare the thunder demon, as we shall see is 1 Folk-lore, i. IMAGE OF GANGA MAI. / o fact I. 35. The Godlings of Nature. 35 the case with the evil spirit of hail. The rule of keepingquiet and muttering incantations under the breath is alsofamiliar to them. They are particularly careful lest a first-born son may lean against anything and thus attract thedemon on himself. Thunder in a clear sky is much dreaded,an idea which often appears in classical Earthquakes. Earthquakes are also naturally an object of believed that they were caused by dead menfighting beneath the earth. The common explanation ofthese occurrences in India is that Varaha, or the boarincarnation of Vishnu, who supports the earth, is changingthe burden of the world from one tusk to another. Byanother account it is due to the great bull or elephant whichsupports the world. Derived from a more advanced theo-logical stage is the theory that the earth shakes because it isover-burdened by the sins of
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