Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1888-06-06
RAINBOW FOLK LORE.
BELIEFS CONCERNING BEAUTIFUL
LUMINOUS PHENOMENA.

Divine Honors and Worship Paid to the
Dow-yarions Names G'vcn-A Messen-
ger from Heaven--Tho Road OF Souls.
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
colured arch of heaven.
Tine 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 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 it's shining arch. Mozambique
Turks regard it as the bow of Mouloucou
genius of good, and Turks as the bow of
/
pine Islands vows are addressed to it, and
after rain prayers are said to 1t. 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.
When not regarded as the deity himself,
| iG is often believed to be in some way con-
nected with him, as many of modern
names for it indicate. Caribs consider it
the 'sbasket of the God Joulouka;"
Samoyedes, s'the edge of the garment Of
supreme being" and Kamschatkans,
1.-THE God Biloucay." Its name 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 Cod" 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 chow 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 'bow'' in still other
places, and in Spain also. In Belgium 1t
! Is called "St. Michael's humble bee;" in
France "St. 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 farm Of st. John" One
Arab name is tho "bow of the prophet"
In accordance with the tradition that
the rainbow was sign and a 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, ''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 O 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 bows" 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 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
bis chariot wheels. Central Asian tribes
also call it est. 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 a 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
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 Lettonian 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 de-
scene by it to draw water from the earth
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, stairway by which the souls
of those dying violent death assembled to
heaven. An Indian folk tale relates that
mice climbed it's threadlike steps to
heaven, gnawing them to iberate a cap
tive there imprisoned.
Contrary to this idea Of q celestial ORR
gin, the rainbow is sometimes regarded as
demouiacal. The Karens of Burmah
point it out to their children as demon
that will devour human souls. The I'M
fortunate possessor of these win they say,
die q sudden and violent death. It is also
said to deyour human beings, which
causes it great thirst, and 1t is then that
it is seen over pond drinking the water.
| F. S. Bassett in Globe Democrat.