Nak legends: Rain and the Nak at play

One of the classic myths of the Lao maintains that during the new year (around mid-April) between one and eight nak (typically 7) "play and cavort in the Universal Ocean, whipping up droplets of moisture with their tails, which settle on Mount Sineru, condense, then fall as rain." (Ngaosrivathana, 2009, p. 1.)

The number of nak at play in the Universal Ocean in a year determines how much rain will fall throughout the rest of the year.