crowned with cocks with outspread wings, as that bird is supposed to
be his favourite incarnation. On holidays and festivals, his temples
are frequently carried about on the shoulders of his votaries, who are
generally the most ignorant and superstitious of the people. This is
always a subject of merriment with the unbelievers, who crowd round
the temples and oppose their progress, and indulge in witticisms at
the expense of the divinity and his bearers. This sometimes leads to a
disturbance, but only when the parties concerned have been indulging
too freely in their favourite saki.

[Illustration: Saki-drunk. (Native drawing.)]

The intercession of Otinta Sama is principally sought in times of
drought or of heavy rains; the temple in the one case being brought
out and exposed to the sun, and in the other sprinkled with water, by
way of intimating the immediate necessity for his good offices.




CHAPTER II.

FIRES AND FIRE-BRIGADES


Fires are necessarily frequent, as the majority of the houses are
constructed of wood; and such dangerous articles as paper-lanterns,
small charcoal fire-boxes, and movable open stoves, for household
purposes, are in common use. The candles burnt in the paper-lanterns
render them extremely dangerous, as they are fixed by a socket inside