This myth of Hawt is very curious and subtle; it is one of the best
told tales that I have found anywhere. There is a largeness about it,
and, at the same time, a perfectly firm grasp on the part of Waida
Dikit, the master of the assembly, that produce a grand effect.
Though the story is long, it needs, I think, no explanation beyond
what is stated in the introduction and in preceding notes, except some
remarks touching the character of Hawt.
Hawt, the great musician, is identified with water; he is, as it were,
the spirit of water made visible.
In this myth, only the musical powers of Hawt are exhibited; but in
the Yana Tirukala, which means the same thing as Hawt (lamprey eel),
we see the active side of the same personage, we see him as a worker.
Original is Hawt indeed,--a living flute fingering his own body as he
would an instrument; inhaling air and blowing it out through the
apertures in his sides.
The present lamprey eel has marks, as it were, of holes in his sides.