CHAPTER I.

Nature Powers. Page.

Worship of minor local deities. Sun-worship. Circumambulation round images and other sacred objects. Exposure of women to the Sun after child-birth. The Swastika. Moon-worship. Eclipses. Worship of planets and stars. The rainbow. The milky way. Worship of the earth. Thunder and lightning. Earthquakes. Worship of sacred rivers, springs and pools. Water spirits and goblins. Ceremonies at digging of wells. Well water as a cure for disease. Sacred Lakes. Palaces under the water. Sacred mountains. Deities who control the weather. Methods of causing or averting rain and of checking storms. Vratas or religious vows practised only by women. Rites in which women are excluded. Rites in which the worshipper must be nude. Superstitions in connection with aerolites and meteors. 1