The earth goddess (Mihi Ket) supports the world on one of her thumbs and when weary shifts it on to the other causing an earthquake.
The four cardinal points are presided over by four guardian deities (Hataravaran Deviyô).
Sea waves are three in number which follow each other in regular succession. The first and the largest is the brother who fell in love with his sister and who, to conquer his unholy passion, committed suicide by jumping into the sea. The next is his mother who jumped after her son, and the last and the smallest is the daughter herself.
The sky in the olden times was very close to the earth, and the stars served as lamps to the people; a woman who was sweeping her compound was so much troubled by the clouds touching her back when she stooped to sweep that she gave the sky a blow with her ikle broom saying ‘get away’ (pala). The sky in shame immediately flew out of the reach of man.
The rainbow is the god Sakra’s bow (Devidunne) and portends fair weather; when any calamity is approaching Budures (Buddha’s rays) appear in the sky—“a luminous phenomenon consisting of horizontal bands of light which cross the sky while the sun is in the ascendant.” The twilight seen on hill tops is the sunshine in which the female Rakshis dry their paddy.
Lightning strikes the graves of cruel men; thunder induces conception in female crocodiles and bursts open the peahen’s eggs.
Children sing out to the moon “Handahamy apatat bat kande ran tetiyak diyo.”—(Mr. Moon do give us a golden plate in which to eat our rice).
When the new moon is first observed it is lucky to immediately after look on rice, milk or kiss a kind and well to do relative.
The spots in the moon represent a hare to signify to the world the self-sacrifice of Buddha in a previous existence.
In each year the twelve days (Sankranti) on which the sun moves from one sign of the zodiac to another, are considered unlucky. There are twenty seven constellations (neket) which reach the zenith at midnight on particular days in particular months; and their position is ascertained from an astrologer before any work of importance is begun.