SOLAR ECLIPSE • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Solar eclipse

... the witches, which, according to the tales of the old women, haunt the woods. A crocodile that lives down in the center of the earth causes the earthquakes, and, to put a stop to these, the crocodiles must be persuaded by religious incantations to go back to bed. A solar eclipse threatens a great calamity to them, and they are sure that if they do not frighten away the serpent who is trying to devour the sun, their land will never see the morning light again. To this end they unite in beating drums and making ...

— The Great White Tribe in Filipinia • Paul T. Gilbert