Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-03
RAINBOW FOLK LORE.
BELIEFS CONCERNING BEAUTIFUL
LUMINOUS PHENOMENA.

LUMINOUS H0cNOWENA
Divine Honors and worship Paid to ths
Bow-various Names Given-A MesseD.
ger from Heaven-Tbe 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 have left on 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 honors and wor-
ship have been paid to it. Ancient Greeks
Of Delos offered cakes of -four, meal and
dried fruits to the rainbow. Iris, the
charming and swift messenger Of the gods,
was the rain bow in early mythology, and
one of the lesser diyinities 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 sun in ancient
| Peru, and niche was reserved for it in
| the Quito temples In Tahiti it is one OF
the children of the God Taaroa.
~ r5a a tho 6oifv hin calf
| i1 is often believed to be in some way con-
nected with him, as many of modern
names for it indicate. Caribs consider il
the ''basket of the God Joulouka;'
| Samoyedes, "the edge Of the garment OF
supreme being" and kamschatkans,
s.the God Biloucay." Its name in San.
Indra," God of the Elements. In Finnish
| it is called ''Ukko's bow Tsigane peas
ants call it the ''ring Of Goo" and Scla-
vonians the ''seal of God;" Croatians, the
belt ''rod, -" ''foot," or "stave Of God, "
while to inhabitants of Archangel, the
Walloon country, and to Arabs and
Czecks it 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. Mark g
! bow" in parts of Italy and France; est
Martins ring" in other localities Of
France, and his ''bow'' in still other
places, and in Spain also. In Belgium it
| is called ''St Michael's humble bee;" in
| France est. Demands CROWN" and in
Lorraine his ''body;" in Provence and
Dauphny his "bridge." 1t is est. Leon
ards CROWN in one place, his carriage"
| in another Basque folk lore records its
| name as the EARN of St. John" One
Arab name is the 'bow of the prophet"
In accordance with the tradition that
the rainbow was q sign and promise to
Noah, we find it 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, 'sNoah'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 way to the
celestial regions, the luminous bow is
named in accordance with these beliefs.
In old French and in modern Finnish dia-
lects it is the Celestial arch," while in
Spanish it is the Heavenly bow" in Ar
deche, the "bridge of the Holy Spirit;''
in Welsh, the s'erch of the Trinity" and
in central Russia, the "bow of pardon. "
Ancient Eddaic lore named it "Bifrost,
the bridge between heaven and earth, "
over which the gods journey. Later
Greek mythology represented 1t as the
| road to the gods by which Iris travelled.
"Arcanum non Trim, sed viam 1ridis
dixit," says Suevius.
In Austria Hungary, the rainbow is the
bridge by which st. Elias descends from
heaven, and the thunder is the sound Of
his chariot wheels. Central Asian tribes
also call it ''St Elias Bridge" and Rus
sian peasants of Kazan name it the "In-
clined Bridge" In one portion Of France
it Is said to be the shadow Of bridge
which exists between earth and heaven.
In Greenland and Slavonia it is the road
of souls, and Is thus COMPOUNDED with the
Milky Way. WEIGH tradition represents
man in the moon climbed to his elevated
perch. It is the way by which saints de-
scend to earth to punish and reward men,
according to Lettonian traditions. Souls
Of the just ascend to heaven thus in many
beliefs, and it is frequently named . lad
der. Ukraine peasants say the angels de-
scend by it to draw water from the earth
to replenish the heavenly reservoirs, whence
fall the copious showers. New Zealanders
thought it ladder by which their chiefs
climbed into the sky, and Philippine
Islanders, 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 hberate q cap
tive there imprisoned.
Contrary to this idea Of q celestial ORR
gin, the rainbow is sometimes regarded as
demoniacal. The Karens Of Burmah
point 1t out to their children as q demon
that will devour human souls. The I'M
fortunate possessor Of these will, they say,
die a sudden and violent death. 1t is also
said to devour human beings, which
causes it great thirst, and it is then that
it is seen over pond drinking the water.