Telegram-herald., 1888-03-27
RAINBOW FOLK LORE
a FANCY ALLUDED TO ~ CLASSICS
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eo& dfinAt t6s water f8VH fso-.S1s aha ft*cfs
Iais ldss = foans IA .atiqaiEy. alias4en - II
beng freQasntly Hlaas ey classical authors
siovsks ssy o. ole was drinks EnGek, that he
..arisks like = rainbow May kgTeps<n
peopse. think tbs rainbow drinks up ths
water Throughout Russia IL ~ generally
believed 70 fscd the clos&s With the water
tbus dr4wA Ia Little Russia II Il called
Vsselss, And - sad to ts = Haaadsn. ~oo.
VITA her bucket. draws water from TIE NV
ers ana waters the earth with IL Estnoaians
say il has balls head. which II thTusts into
the water when il would driRk. In PAS
terrs II IS said u driak up flsa, frogs, etc,
from tie shallow ponds In Cornwall It Is
said 70 bs the devil drinking up the water Of
tho ponds and stresuns la the Fyroi il is
called the drinking bow IN Notisk the
s.arinker az water Children are assured
ia the French department u Cstes du Nerd
that the bow drinks IA the river or Ia the
pond
Ia many places the rainbow Is said % be q
great pump OF tube, drawing water by me-
chanical means 10 IL parts OF Russia II Is
called the ''bent tube and in Hungary the
pump while IN siaySnisn dialect 1t is the
'siphoa' Ia one part Of France 10 Is said To
come from the sea and % pump mp the water
la the streams. In the Chsrkov provinces Of
Russia the bow Is likeDsi 10 tube, VITA Que
end ia the sky and the other in the wells,
while in the Sarotsv government IL Is said To
be controlled by three angels ono OF whom
pumps tho wster, the second feeds the clouds,
and the third sends the rain. In Lottonia.
showers Of fish, frogs, etc, are believed TO
come from the rainbow, which has sucked
them up from ponds aud rivers. Similar be-
liels exist among the Wsnds. IN many parts
OF Russia il is compared 10 water carrier,
dipping its buckets into the ponds ana
streams. In the Charente department OF
France they saw the bow fishes IN the streams,
and representations are drawn from the
selection it makes. Malay Mas say il is the
net of Nadssja fishing in the streams.
Tho rainbow is frequently credited with
great power for good or evil. 1t is wide
spread belief that il hides great riches, or
brings fortune or good luck with II. In
Swabia, it is said 10 rest on bowls Of gold; in
Hungary, that cups OF silver viii be found
where it touches tho earth or water, and the
finder viii divine the future 1t is quite
likely that shoe cast over it win fail on the
other side filed with gold, as it is believed in
Bernc and among Swabian peasants. The
difficulty is to got it over. In Carinthia II is
hat Czech tradition says that if iron or
other base metal he cast into the rainbow il
will turn to geld, and similar things are
recorded Of it in the Tyrol In many parts
Of Germany golden key, or a treasure, is
said to be found where the bow touches the
earth; in Portugal, silver hen, and in mod
ern Greece, a curious byzantine coin, calico
o Constantine coin. ANY one finding this
will be endowed with marvellous power.
% l. sEa+ I'D
with a kind Of Cruel, will be found where the
bow rests. Ii is also believed 10 bcstow
health. Among the Let's, if you can reach
the bow and touch it you viii have the heal
ing power The water found immediately
beneath the arch Will, it is believed, cure
those afflicted with demoniacy. Old women
keep this water in trenches dug in the ground
or in . hollow tree but not in the house,
whore it VIII lose its force or bring some
disaster on the household. II is also said that
locks should not be pAstured where the bow
rests, or they will fall sick German peas
ants say they touch of tho bow will render
plants odorant On the other hand, in some
departments Of France the rainbow is said
to iniuro plants on which it rests To dry UP
vines and TO ruin the harvest. In Bohemia
also it witasrs up the herbagc, say the peas
ants. In the Ukraine, YOU must not put out
your tongue at the rainbow, OF it will dry
it I'D. In Hungary there is Villa or fairy
sitting on tho water where the rainbow
touches il, and whonsoever see sees FIRST will
die. Esthonians say the bow is but the
scythe used by the thunder to chase wicked
souls In Austro- Hungary the sick are not
allowed to lie stretched at full length when
the first bow of spring appears, for ii IS
thought they would die if permitted 10 do
So Many ordinary tasks must not then bc
performed for fear of evil consequences.
Another strange belief has existed, that
the rainbow has power TO change the sex.
This obtains in districts widely separated. A
story from the Mayo tribe in Africa relates
the adventures of young man 80 trans
formed. Slsvonian peasants have a similar
notion, and it is a general belief in modern
Greece among the common people that any
one jumping over the rainbow VIII have their
sex changed Among the Albanians, Ser
vians, and In Upper Loitre, France, it is by
| passing under The rainbow that the sex Is
changed
| The notion that the luminous bow possesses
| 50 great power for good or evil has probably
| led 90 another curious belief. that harm will
| come 10 any one pointing at IT, The ancient
| Hindoo laws OF Maaou forbade this, and IL is
said in the Hartz mountains that God will
| punish any one who points at the rainbow.
| In modern Greece and in AIniehs you will
lose q finger, and in Bohemia the sams disas-
l ter viii occur unless IL Immediately thun-
| derx The Chinese say your hand viii be at
tackled with ulcers. and German peasants tell
| you that you dig out ths angels eyes when
| you point at the rainbow. Ancient Peru
VANS said that the mouth must be kept shut
when a rainbow was in sight or the teeth
| would Be spoiled