IN Bihar, an eastern Indian state, unmarried daughters are plowing their fields. Under instruction from their farmer-parents, they obey and attend the farming chores undressed. Their fields are parched and have long been without rain water.

Plowing fields with naked girls is a determined effort to place the Gods of the Weather in total embarassment so that they'll send badly needed monsoon rains, officials said last July 23

Onlookers testified the naked girls in Bihar state really plowed and harrowed the fields. They sang traditional hymns at the close of the day to invoke success and kindness from the Gods. Kind, old and able women villager helped the girls drag and push the plows.

Upendra Kumar of remote Banke Bazaar- a town council official- said, "Villagers believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarassed who in turn would insure bumper crops by sending rains" Kumar added, "This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue the practice until it rains very heavily".

India this year suffered the worst drought and untold damages to crops in some states.

FROG MARRIAGES ARE DONE IN INDIA TO BRING ON MONSOON RAIN

RESIDENTS in a suburb of Nagpur, 860 kilometers east of the state capital Mumbai, looked on as the frog-groom, Raja, and frog-bride, Rani were joined in union in a solemn ritual- according to the Times of India. (see last picture in thumbnail)

Tradition dictates that if frogs are married with full Vedic or Hindu rituals- the rain god is pleased and the heavens will open within days. Similar ceremonies have been held all over India.

Farmers in India have been watching the skies and horizon for signs of the much-awaited rainfall. Meanwhile- as the monsoon failed to come, patches of fields dry up and water supplies run dry after a long, hot summer.

SRI - LANKAN farmers have their own beliefs about farming. One- they believed in spirits called bahirawas who are said to dwell underground or within the air space. Bahirawas- Sri-Lankan farmers believed- looked after their harvest. Bahirawas sometimes appropriate for themselves part of the harvest thus causing losses to farmers. To prevent further losses, the farmers offered special poojas or offerings on the fields for the Bahirawas.