Evening capital., 1888-03-21
RAINBOW FOLK LORE.
BELIEFS CONCERNING BEAUTIFUL
LUMINOUS PHENOMENA

Divine Honor. and worship Paid 70 the
Various Names Given--A nEessen-
ser 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 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 w0r-
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 rainbow In early mythology, and
one Of the lesser divinities in Olympus.
In Samoa the rainbow is recognized as
the village god, and Pava lgod of wary
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 elouds.) 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 Cor It in
the Quito temples. In Tahiti it is one Of
the children Of the God Taaroa.
When not regarded as the deity himself,
iC is often believed to be in some way con-
nected with him, as many OF modern
names for it indicate. Caribs consider 1t
the stbasket of the God JouIouka;''
Samoyedes, ssthe edge Of tgze garment OF
supreme being,n and Kamschatkans,
s'the God Biloucayn It's name in San
scrit was the "arm'' or the sbow OF
Indra, = God OF the Elements. In Finnish
it is called ssUkko's bow;' Tsigane peas
ants call it the '.ring of God, y and Scla-
vonians the "seal Of God;'' Croatians, the
ssbelt, = rod, . foot, . or ssstave OF God, -
while to inhabitants Of Archangel, the
Walloon country, and to Arabs and
Czecks it Is the "bow Of God. y It is
known in one part Of France as the
'sgirdle OF God .
Others credit the saints with power
through it. Various saints have been Sc
lected as patronymic. IN is est. Marks
bow in parts Of Italy and France; ssSt.
Martins ring'' in other, localities Of
France, and his "bowH In still other
places, and in Spain also In Belgium it
is called ''St. Michael's humble bee;' in
France ssSt Bernard's CROWN and In
Lorraine his body in Provence and
Dauphny his ssbridge." It is s'St. Leon
ards crown in one place, his carriage
in another. Basque folk lore records its
name as the 'tarm Of st. john Ono
Arab name is the bow Of the prophet" !"
In accordance with the tradition that
the rainbow was sign and promise to
Noah. we find it connected with his name
in many place, and frequently shall also
find it in weather indication. Sicilans
call it .sNoah's arch;'' provincial Rus
SLAMS, s'Noah's legacy" and it is named
the .boat Of the Holy deluge'' in FraDche
Compte. 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 ~heaven1y bow;" in Ar
deche, the ssbridge of the Holy Spirit,
in Welsh, the "arch Of the Trinity, and
in central Russia, the Hbow Of pardon. I"
Ancient Eddaic lore named 1t tBifrost,
the bridge between heaven and earth, "
over which the gods journey. Later
Greek mythology represented it as the
ssArcanum non rim. sed yiam Iridis
dixif > says gnevius.
n Austria Hungary. the rainl1ovv q fhe
bridge ~ which ~ Fiiaa descends from
heaven. and tbe fhunfler Il the sound If
his chariot wheels. Central Asian tribes
also cali it ssSt. Elias, Bridue.,, and Rus
sian peasants of Kazan name IL the sIn-
c1ined Bridre.u In one portion OF France
It Is said to be the shadow Of bridge
which exists between earth and HEAVIER.
II Greenland and glavonis, IL is the road
- e,,ls ana 8 fl,,, ,sft t1,o