The Gods of Pegana Read online

  One day as a man trod upon the road that Kib had given him totread he came suddenly upon Mung. And when Mung said: "I am Mung!"the man cried out: "Alas, that I took this road, for had I gone byany other way then had I not met with Mung."

  And Mung said: "Had it been possible for thee to go by any otherway then had the Scheme of Things been otherwise and the gods hadbeen other gods. When MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI forgets to rest and makesagain new gods it may be that They will send thee again into theWorlds; and then thou mayest choose some other way, and not meetwith Mung."

  Then Mung made the sign of Mung. And the Life of that man wentforth with yesterday's regrets and all old sorrows and forgottenthings--whither Mung knoweth.

  And Mung went onward with his work to sunder Life from flesh, andMung came upon a man who became stricken with sorrow when he sawthe shadow of Mung. But Mung said: "When at the sign of Mung thyLife shall float away there will also disappear thy sorrow atforsaking it." But the man cried out: "O Mung! tarry for a little,and make not the sign of Mung against me now, for I have a familyupon the earth with whom sorrow will remain, though mine shoulddisappear because of the sign of Mung."

  And Mung said: "With the gods it is always Now. And before Sishhath banished many of the years the sorrows of thy family for theeshall go the way of thine." And the man beheld Mung making thesign of Mung before his eyes, which beheld things no more.

  THE CHAUNT OF THE PRIESTS

  This is the chaunt of the Priests.

  The chaunt of the priests of Mung.

  This is the chaunt of the Priests.

  All day long to Mung cry out the Priests of Mung, and, yet Mungharkeneth not. What, then, shall avail the prayers of All thePeople?

  Rather bring gifts to the Priests, gifts to the Priests of Mung.

  So shall they cry louder unto Mung than ever was their wont.

  And it may be that Mung shall hear.

  Not any longer than shall fall the Shadow of Mung athwart thehopes of the People.

  Not any longer then shall the Tread of Mung darken the dreams ofthe people.

  Not any longer shall the lives of the People be loosened becauseof Mung.

  Bring ye gifts to the Priests, gifts to the Priests of Mung.

  This is the chaunt of the Priests.

  The chaunt of the Priests of Mung.

  This is the chaunt of the Priests.

  THE SAYINGS OF LIMPANG-TUNG

  (The God of Mirth and of Melodious Minstrels)

  And Limpang-Tung said: "The ways of the gods are strange. Theflower groweth up and the flower fadeth away. This may be veryclever of the gods. Man groweth from his infancy, and in a whilehe dieth. This may be very clever too.

  "But the gods play with a strange scheme.

  "I will send jests into the world and a little mirth. And whileDeath seems to thee as far away as the purple rim of hills; orsorrow as far off as rain in the blue days of summer, then pray toLimpang-Tung. But when thou growest old, or ere thou diest, praynot of Limpang-Tung, for thou becomest part of a scheme that hedoth not understand.

  "Go out into the starry night, and Limpang-Tung will dance withthee who danced since the gods were young, the god of mirth and ofmelodious minstrels. Or offer up a jest to Limpang-Tung; only praynot in thy sorrow to Limpang-Tung, for he saith of sorrow: 'It maybe very clever of the gods,' but he doth not understand."

  And Limpang-Tung said: "I am lesser than the gods; pray,therefore, to the small gods and not to Limpang-Tung.

  "Natheless between Pegana and the Earth flutter ten thousandthousand prayers that beat their wings against the face of Death,and never for one of them hath the hand of the Striker beenstayed, nor yet have tarried the feet of the Relentless One.

  "Utter thy prayer! It may accomplish where failed ten thousandthousand.

  "Limpang-Tung is lesser than the gods, and doth not understand."

  And Limpang-Tung said: "Lest men grow weary down on the greatWorlds through gazing always at a changeless sky, I will paint mypictures in the sky. And I will paint them twice in every day forso long as days shall be. Once as the day ariseth out of the homesof dawn will I paint the Blue, that men may see and rejoice; andere day falleth under into the night will I paint upon the Blueagain, lest men be sad.

  "It is a little," said Limpang-Tung, "it is a little even for agod to give some pleasure to men upon the Worlds."

  And Limpang-Tung hath sworn that the pictures that he paints shallnever be the same for so long as the days shall be, and this hehath sworn by the oath of the gods of Pegana that the gods maynever break, laying his hand upon the shoulder of each of the godsand swearing by the light behind Their eyes.

  Limpang-Tung hath lured a melody out of the stream and stolen itsanthem from the forest; for him the wind hath cried in lonely placesand the ocean sung its dirges. There is music for Limpang-Tung inthe sounds of the moving of grass and in the voices of the peoplethat lament or in the cry of them that rejoice.

  In an inner mountain land where none hath come he hath carved hisorgan pipes out of the mountains, and there when the winds, hisservants, come in from all the world he maketh the melody ofLimpang-Tung. But the song, arising at night, goeth forth like ariver, winding through all the world, and here and there amid thepeoples of earth one heareth, and straightaway all that hath voiceto sing crieth aloud in music to his soul.

  Or sometimes walking through the dusk with steps unheard by men,in a form unseen by the people, Limpang-Tung goeth abroad, and,standing behind the minstrels in cities of song, waveth his handsabove them to and fro, and the minstrels bend to their work, andthe voice of the music ariseth; and mirth and melody abound inthat city of song, and no one seeth Limpang-Tung as he standethbehind the minstrels.

  But through the mists towards morning, in the dark when theminstrels sleep and mirth and melody have sunk to rest, Limpang-Tunggoeth back again to his mountain land.

  OF YOHARNETH-LAHAI

  (The God of Little Dreams and Fancies)

  Yaoharneth-Lahai is the god of little dreams and fancies.

  All night he sendeth little dreams out of Pegana to please thepeople of Earth.

  He sendeth little dreams to the poor man and to The King.

  He is so busy to send his dreams to all before the night be endedthat oft he forgetteth which be the poor man and which be TheKing.

  To whom Yoharneth-Lahai cometh not with little dreams and sleep hemust endure all night the laughter of the gods, with highestmockery, in Pegana.

  All night long Yoharneth-Lahai giveth peace to cities until thedawn hour and the departing of Yoharneth-Lahai, when it is timefor the gods to play with men again.

  Whether the dreams and the fancies of Yoharneth-Lahai be false andthe Things that are done in the Day be real, or the Things thatare done in the Day be false and the dreams and the fancies ofYoharneth-Lahai be true, none knoweth saving only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI,who hath not spoken.

  OF ROON, THE GOD OF GOING, AND THE THOUSAND HOME GODS

  Roon said: "There be gods of moving and gods of standing still,but I am the god of Going."

  It is because of Roon that the worlds are never still, for themoons and the worlds and the comet are stirred by the spirit ofRoon, which saith: "Go! Go! Go!"

  Roon met the Worlds all in the morning of Things, before there waslight upon Pegana, and Roon danced before them in the Void, sincewhen they are never still, Roon sendeth all streams to the Sea,and all the rivers to the soul of Slid.

  Roon maketh the sign of Roon before the waters, and lo! they haveleft the hills; and Roon hath spoken in the ear of the North Windthat he may be still no more.

  The footfall of Roon hath been heard at evening outside the housesof men, and thenceforth comfort and abiding know them no more.Before them stretcheth travel over all the lands, long miles, andnever resting between their homes and their graves--and all at thebidding of Roon.

  The Mountains have set no limit against Roon nor all the seas aboundary.

  Whither Roon hath desired there must Roon's p
eople go, and theworlds and their streams and the winds.

  I heard the whisper of Roon at evening, saying: "There are islandsof spices to the South," and the voice of Roon saying: "Go."

  And Roon said: "There are a thousand home gods, the little godsthat sit before the hearth and mind the fire--there is one Roon."

  Roon saith in a whisper, in a whisper when none heareth, when thesun is low: "What doeth MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI?" Roon is no god thatthou mayest worship by thy hearth, nor will he be benignant to thyhome.

  Offer to Roon thy toiling and thy speed, whose incense is thesmoke of the camp fire to the South, whose song is the sound ofgoing, whose temples stand beyond the farthest hills in his landsbehind the East.

  Yarinareth, Yarinareth, Yarinareth, which signifieth Beyond--thesewords be carved in letters of gold upon the arch of the great portalof the Temple of Roon that men have builded looking towards the Eastupon the Sea, where Roon is carved as a giant trumpeter, with histrumpet pointing towards the East beyond the Seas.

  Whoso heareth his voice, the voice of Roon at evening, he at onceforsaketh the home gods that sit beside the hearth. These be thegods of the hearth: Pitsu, who stroketh the cat; Hobith who calmsthe dog; and Habaniah, the lord of glowing embers; and littleZumbiboo, the lord of dust; and old Gribaun, who sits in the heartof the fire to turn the wood to ash--all these be home gods, andlive not in Pegana and be lesser than Roon.

  There is also Kilooloogung, the lord of arising smoke, who takeththe smoke from the hearth and sendeth it to the sky, who ispleased if it reacheth Pegana, so that the gods of Pegana,speaking to the gods, say: "There is Kilooloogung doing the workon earth of Kilooloogung."

  All these are gods so small that they be lesser than men, butpleasant gods to have beside the hearth; and often men have prayedto Kilooloogung, saying: "Thou whose smoke ascendeth to Peganasend up with it our prayers, that the gods may hear." AndKilooloogung, who is pleased that men should pray, stretcheshimself up all grey and lean, with his arms above his head, andsendeth his servant the smoke to seek Pegana, that the gods ofPegana may know that the people pray.

  And Jabim is the Lord of broken things, who sitteth behind thehouse to lament the things that are cast away. And there hesitteth lamenting the broken things until the worlds be ended, oruntil someone cometh to mend the broken things. Or sometimes hesitteth by the river's edge to lament the forgotten things thatdrift upon it.

  A kindly god is Jabim, whose heart is sore if anything be lost.

  There is also Triboogie, the Lord of Dusk, whose children are theshadows, who sitteth in a corner far off from Habaniah andspeaketh to none. But after Habaniah hath gone to sleep and oldGribaun hath blinked a hundred times, until he forgetteth which bewood or ash, then doth Triboogie send his children to run aboutthe room and dance upon the walls, but never disturb the silence.

  But when there is light again upon the worlds, and dawn comesdancing down the highway from Pegana, then does Triboogie retireinto his corner, with his children all around him, as though theyhad never danced about the room. And the slaves of Habaniah andold Gribaun come and awake them from their sleep upon the hearth,and Pitsu strokes the cat, and Hobith calms the dog, andKilooloogung stretches aloft his arms towards Pegana, andTriboogie is very still, and his children asleep.

  And when it is dark, all in the hour of Triboogie, Hish creepethfrom the forest, the Lord of Silence, whose children are the bats,that have broken the command of their father, but in a voice thatis ever so low. Hish husheth the mouse and all the whispers in thenight; he maketh all noises still. Only the cricket rebelleth. ButHish hath set against him such a spell that after he hath cried athousand times his voice may be heard no more but becometh part ofthe silence.

  And when he hath slain all sounds Hish boweth low to the ground;then cometh into the house, with never a sound of feet, the godYoharneth-Lahai.

  But away in the forest whence Hish hath come Wohoon, the Lord ofNoises in the Night, awaketh in his lair and creepeth round theforest to see whether it be true that Hish hath gone.

  Then in some glade Wohoon lifts up his voice and cries aloud, thatall the night may hear, that it is he, Wohoon, who is abroad inall the forest. And the wolf and the fox and the owl, and thegreat beasts and the small, lift up their voices to acclaimWohoon. And there arise the sounds of voices and the stirring ofleaves.

  THE REVOLT OF THE HOME GODS

  There be three broad rivers of the plain, born before memory orfable, whose mothers are three grey peaks and whose father was thestorm. There names be Eimes, Zaenes, and Segastrion.

  And Eimes is the joy of lowing herds; and Zaenes hath bowed hisneck to the yoke of man, and carries the timber from the forestfar up below the mountain; and Segastrion sings old songs toshepherd boys, singing of his childhood in a lone ravine and ofhow he once sprang down the mountain sides and far away into theplain to see the world, and of how one day at last he will findthe sea. These be the rivers of the plain, wherein the plainrejoices. But old men tell, whose fathers heard it from theancients, how once the lords of the three rivers of the plainrebelled against the law of the Worlds, and passed beyond theirboundaries, and joined together and whelmed cities and slew men,saying: "We now play the game of the gods and slay men for ourpleasure, and we be greater than the gods of Pegana."

  And all the plain was flooded to the hills.

  And Eimes, Zaenes, and Segastrion sat upon the mountains, andspread their hands over their rivers that rebelled by theircommand.

  But the prayer of men going upward found Pegana, and cried in theear of the gods: "There be three home gods who slay us for theirpleasure, and say that they be mightier than Pegana's gods, andplay Their game with men."

  Then were all the gods of Pegana very wroth; but They could notwhelm the lords of the three rivers, because being home gods,though small, they were immortal.

  And still the home gods spread their hands across their rivers,with their fingers wide apart, and the waters rose and rose, andthe voice of their torrent grew louder, crying: "Are we not Eimes,Zaenes, and Segastrion?"

  Then Mung went down into a waste of Afrik, and came upon thedrought Umbool as he sat in the desert upon iron rocks, clawingwith miserly grasp at the bones of men and breathing hot.

  And Mung stood before him as his dry sides heaved, and ever asthey sank his hot breath blasted dry sticks and bones.

  Then Mung said: "Friend of Mung! Go, thou and grin before thefaces of Eimes, Zaenes, and Segastrion till they see whether it bewise to rebel against the gods of Pegana."

  And Umbool answered: "I am the beast of Mung."

  And Umbool came and crouched upon a hill upon the other side ofthe waters and grinned across them at the rebellious home gods.

  And whenever Eimes, Zaenes, and Segastrion stretched out theirhands over their rivers they saw before their faces the grinningof Umbool; and because the grinning was like death in a hot andhideous land therefore they turned away and spread their hands nomore over their rivers, and the waters sank and sank.

  But when Umbool had grinned for thirty days the waters fell backinto the river beds and the lords of the rivers slunk away backagain to their homes: still Umbool sat and grinned.

  Then Eimes sought to hide himself in a great pool beneath a rock,and Zaenes crept into the middle of a wood, and Segastrion lay andpanted on the sand--still Umbool sat and grinned.

  And Eimes grew lean, and was forgotten, so that the men of theplain would say: "Here once was Eimes"; and Zaenes scarce hadstrength to lead his river to the sea; and as Segastrion lay andpanted a man stepped over his stream, and Segastrion said: "It isthe foot of a man that has passed across my neck, and I have soughtto be greater than the gods of Pegana."

  Then said the gods of Pegana: "It is enough. We are the gods ofPegana, and none are equal."

  Then Mung sent Umbool back to his waste in Afrik to breathe againupon the rocks, and parch the desert, and to sear the memory ofAfrik into the brains of all who ever bring their bones away.

  And Eimes,
Zaenes, and Segastrion sang again, and walked once morein their accustomed haunts, and played the game of Life and Deathwith fishes and frogs, but never essayed to play it any more withmen, as do the gods of Pegana.

  OF DOROZHAND

  (Whose Eyes Regard The End)

  Sitting above the lives of the people, and looking, doth Dorozhandsee that which is to be.

  The god of Destiny is Dorozhand. Upon whom have looked the eyes ofDorozhand he goeth forward to an end that naught may stay; hebecometh the arrow from the bow of Dorozhand hurled forward at amark he may not see--to the goal of Dorozhand. Beyond the thinkingof men, beyond the sight of all the other gods, regard the eyes ofDorozhand.

  He hath chosen his slaves. And them doth the destiny god driveonward where he will, who, knowing not whither nor even knowingwhy, feel only his scourge behind them or hear his cry before.

  There is something that Dorozhand would fain achieve, and,therefore, hath he set the people striving, with none to cease orrest in all the worlds. But the gods of Pegana, speaking to thegods, say: "What is it that Dorozhand would fain achieve?"

  It hath been written and said that not only the destinies of menare the care of Dorozhand but that even the gods of Pegana be notunconcerned by his will.

  All the gods of Pegana have felt a fear, for they have seen a lookin the eyes of Dorozhand that regardeth beyond the gods.

  The reason and purpose of the Worlds is that there should be Lifeupon the Worlds, and Life is the instrument of Dorozhand wherewithhe would achieve his end.