In the religious world of the Toba and Karo Batak the gods and the creation of mankind are far less significant than the complex concepts connected with the "tendi" (Karo) or "tondi" (Toba) and the "begu". Probably the most useful translations of these terms are "life-soul" and "death-soul". A person receives his "life-soul" ("tendi") from "Mula Jadi Na Bolon" before he is born. The destiny of the individual "tendi" is decided by the "tendi" itself before birth. Various myths are woven around manner in which the "tendi" choose their destiny from "Mula Jadi". Warneck, a missionary and for a long time superintendent ("ephorus") of the Batak Church, recorded two particularly expressive myths in his major work on Batak religion. What is significant is that the "tendi" themselves are responsible for their idiocy: