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Sun Worship 1
tion of the solar orb, and says that the first dynasties
of the Peruvian kings were dignified, like those in India,
by the name of the Sun and the Moon.
When an eclipse of the moon is expected, many of the
natives of Hindostan hasten down to the nearest river or
tank and remain in the water the whole time of its duration,
imagining that some dire misfortune would befall them were
they to omit to do so. This Indian superstition probably
took its rise in the idea that one should not look at this
phenomenon directly, but indirectly—that is to say, one should
not contemplate the luminary itself at such times, but regard
only its reflection in the water.
There is a Hindu verse to the following effect : " Man
dreads a crooked thing—the demon Rahu dares not seize
the moon till he sees her full." They consider the eclipse to
be caused by the demon Rahu seizing the moon in his
mouth. Offerings of money for pious uses made during
eclipses and when the sun enters the sign of Capricorn are
deemed by them especially meritorious. In the Aiitiqiiariaii
Repertory, 1807, E. Jeffrey states: "In Scotland generally,
and particularly amongst Highlanders, it is the custom for the
women to make a curtsey to the new moon." He goes on to
say :
"
Our English women, too, have a touch of this, some of
them sitting astride a gate or stile the first evening the new
moon appears, and saying, ' A fine moon, God bless her.'
The like," he adds, " I have also seen in Herefordshire."
In Herefordshire Words and Phrases, by the late Rev.
F. Havergal, it is stated " that it was formerly the custom
in that county on the occasion of an eclipse for the common
people to fill a bucket with water, place it where the sun's
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