, 1888-03-22
RAINBOW FOLK LORE.
BELIEFS CONCERNING BEAUTIFUL
LUMINOUS PHENOMENA.

Names GIven-A NIessen-
ger from Heaven-The Road of Souls
A Demon.
Many curious beliefs concerning the
rainbow-the most beautiful of the lumin-
GUS phenomena of the sky or air-have
prevailed in all ages, and do still survive
The ancients lave left IN record many of
these strange beliefs. They grew and
spread during the Middle Ages. The
symbolism of Christian art employed the
rainbow as an ornament Christ being
frequently shown seated on the many
colored arch of heaven.
The bow has been recognized as the
deity himself, and divine honor n wor-
ship have been paid to it. Ancient Greeks
of Delos offered cakes of flour, meal and
dried fruits to the rainbow. Iris, the
charming and swift messenger of the gods,
was the rainbow in early mythology, and
one of the lesser divinities in Olympus.
In Samoa the rainbow is recognized as
the village god, and Pava god of war;
appeared in its shining arch. Mozambique
Turks regard it as the bow of Mouloucou
genius of good, and Turks as the bow of
Cousa angel Of clouds.) In the Philip
pine Islands vows are addressed to it, and
after rain prayers are said to it. 1t was
one of the servants of the sur in ancient
Peru, and a niche was reserved for It in
the Quito temples. In Tahiti It is one of
the children of the God Taaroa.
When not regarded as the deity himself,
it is often believed to be in some way con-
nected with him, as many of. modern
names for it indicate. Caribs consider it
the basket of the God ~Joulouka;''
S~amoyedes, "the edge of the garment of
supreme being" and Kamschatkans,
the God Biloucay." Its lame in San
scrit was the ''arm'' or the ''bow of
Indra," God of the Elements. In Finnish
it is called "Ukko's bow;" Tsigane peas
ants call it the ''ring of God" and Scla-
vonians the "seal of God;'' Croatians, the
''belt,'' "rod, " foot or "stave of God"
while to inhabitants of ArchangeI, the
Walloon country, and to Arabs and
Czecks 1t is the ''bow of God" 1t is
known in one part OF France as the
'girdle of God"
Others credit the saints with power
through it. Various saints have been Sc
lected as ~patronymic. In is "St. Marks
bow" in parts of Italy and France; "St.
Martins ring'' in other localities of
France, and his Chow" in still other
is called 5 Michael's humble bee;" liz
France "St. Demands CROWN" and in
Lorraine his body in Provence and
Dauphny his bridge" 1t is 'St. Leon
ards crown in one place, his carriage"
in another. Basque folk lore records its
name as the farm of St. John" One
Arab name is the ''bow of the prophet"
In accordance with the tradition that
the rainbow was a sign and a promise to
Noah, we find 1t connected with his name
in many place, and frequently shall also
find it in weather indication. Sicilians
call it ''Noah's arch;'' provincial Rus
SLAMS, "Noah's legacy" and it is named
the "boat OF the Holy deluge" in Franche
Compile. Regarded in many lands as a
messenger from heaven, or u way to the
celestial regions, the luminous bow is
named in accordance with these beliefs.
In old French and In modern Finnish La
lects it is the Celestial arch" while in
Spanish it is the Heavenly bowl in Ar
deche, the bridge of the Holy Spirit;''
in Welsh, the ''arch of the Trinity" and
in central Russia, the chow of PARDON
Ancient Eddaic lore named it "Bifrost,
the bridge between heaven and earth,' ~
over which the gods journey. Later
Greek mythology represented it as tho
o to the gods by which Iris travelled.
"Arcanum non Trim, sed viam -Iridis
dixtt," says Suevius.
|, In Austria-Hungary, the rainbow is the
bridge by which St. Elias descends from
heaven, and the thunder is the sound o.
| lie SllGl w "htOlo. u <ADlh hAlDNs
also call it "St. Elias Bridge" and Rus
sian peasants of KaZan name it the 'In
clined Bridge" In one portion of Franc,
1t is said to be the shadow of a bridg,
which exists between earth and heaven
In Greenland and Slavonia it is the road
of souls, and is thus COMPOUNDED with tn,
Milky Way. Welch tradition represent,
the rainbow as the way by which the
man in the moon climbed to his elevated
perch. 1t is the way by which saints de-
scend to earth to punish and reward men,
according to L%ertonian traditions. Souls
of the just ascend to heaven thus in many
beliefs, and it is frequently named a lad
der. Ukraine peasants say the angels do
to replenish the heavenly reservoir, whence
fall the copious showers. New Zealanders
thought it a ladder by which their chiefs
climbed into the sky, and Philippine
Islanders, n stairway by which the souls
of those dying a violent death assembled to
heaven. An Indian folk tale relates that
mice climbed its threadlike steps to
heaven, gnawing them to liberate a cap
tive there imprisoned.
Contrary to this idea of a celestial orr
gin, the rainbow is sometimes regarded as
demoniacal. The Karens of Burmah
point it out to their children as a demon
that will devour human souls. The I'M
fortunate possessor of these will, they say,
die n sudden and violent death. 1t is also
said to devour human beings, which
cnuses 1t great thirst, and it is then that
1t is seen over a pond drinking the water.