THE BOOK
THE “SPIRIT OF TRUTH” IN NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE
The “Rainbow Warrior”
Throughout the ages, the rainbow has meant many things to many peoples. Though we in modern, scientific societies understand that it is refraction of light that produces the colour spectrum, yet we still marvel at its beauty. For many earlier cultures that did not understand such scientific principles, its appearance would have produced feelings ranging from awe, reverence and veneration; to possibly even fear.
Since we generally equate the term Rainbow Warrior with Native American beliefs, a brief look at just one of their many prophecies will provide a sure stepping-stone on the path to discovering Who the Rainbow Warrior actually is. Interestingly, the dove is often associated with the rainbow in Indian teachings.
“The old woman and the boy looked to the east and saw a great rainbow flaming in the sky. The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things said the old wise one. It is a sign of the union of all peoples like one big family. Go to the mountaintop . . . and learn to be a Warrior of the Rainbow, for it is only by spreading love and joy to others that hate in this world can be changed to understanding and kindness, and war and destruction shall end.”
‘In my dream I seemed to be floating in the sky looking down at a land of many round hills. On the top of each hill was a group of Indians. Some of them were lying on the dry grass, with their fingers digging into the ground despairingly. Others lifted their arms hopelessly to the sky. Women were huddled together, weeping. All were wearing old, cast-off white men’s clothing, just rags. Their faces were filled with a deep sadness, and their skin seemed drawn over the bones, so I felt both bodies and souls were hungry.
‘There seemed to be growing a strange light up in the sky. Looking up, I saw the sunlight flashing on the wings of a beautiful white bird, a dove. The dove circled down from the sky, its body and wings pure as new fallen snow. Fluttering and circling it came slowly, but there was a feeling about it of immense power, as if all that was in the sky centred upon it.
‘As the dove came near the top of one of the hills, a strange and remarkable thing happened. The Indians there suddenly sprang to their feet, gazing up at the dove. The white men’s rags fell from their bodies and disappeared. --- As the dove dipped low again and again, other dark-skinned peoples rose joyously from hill after hill and marched up into the sky following the beautiful white bird. I saw many costumes in my dream, but I did not know what they meant or what tribes they represented...
‘Slowly a bow formed in the sky, a rainbow of people marching to glory, a rainbow of unity and vision so marvellous in its sense of beauty and joy that I can never forget it nor hope to see anything its equal.’
(Warriors of the Rainbow, p.15-20.)
As with many cultures historically, the Native Americans, too, regarded the rainbow with awe and reverence. For them it was a symbol of hope and promise, as the two quoted prophecies indicate. Its influence, therefore, strongly shaped their views and their perceived connections to both their ‘Animistic’ and Spiritual worlds.
Notwithstanding the material science of light refraction, many earlier cultures understood a far deeper significance in the meaning of the rainbow than science currently recognises today. Many who subscribe to religions with foundational connections to the Old Testament of the Bible, such as Judaism and Christianity, will accept the premise of the rainbow possessing ‘greater spiritual significance’, by virtue of the story of Noah and his association with the ‘rainbow promise’ from God! It is thus that greater spiritual significance that is singularly important for all of mankind, irrespective of whether we might still belong to a jungle tribe, or we cruise the streets of a modern metropolis with all our digitally- derived communications-devices.
Since the colour spectrum is made of white light, the Rainbow Warrior is thus the Warrior of ‘Light’, or, more specifically: The Warrior of “The LIGHT”.
If we now scribe an instant path in Biblical narrative from Noah’s sure belief outlined in the Old Testament to the end of that exalted Book i.e., The Revelation, there we will discover the origin and singularly sacred importance of the rainbow. Of course, we may also recognise that neither the one in the jungle tribe --- who nevertheless would still hold the rainbow in awe --- or many of those in the’ digitised, scientific west’, of whom many would nevertheless also marvel at the beauty of the rainbow, would necessarily even accept the huge spiritual significance of what we shall state next. Yet vitally significant it is.
‘After this I looked, and saw a door opened in the heaven; and the Voice
that I had first heard like a blast speaking with me said’, “Come up here
and I will show you what must happen.”
‘After that I immediately became inspired; and observed a throne set in
the heavens, and upon the throne an Occupant. And the Occupant in
appearance resembled in brilliancy a jasper and a sardius stone; and the
throne was encircled with a rainbow like the sparkling of an emerald.’
(Rev. 4 1-3)
‘Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from the heaven, robed in
a cloud. And the rainbow encircled his head...’ (Rev. 10:1. Fenton
Bible both, Italics mine.)
Now, does the “religion of Islam” place the same importance on the actuality or perhaps ‘spiritual symbolism’ of the rainbow? From website /r/Islam: To a question:
“Just curious but what does Islam say about rainbows?”
To which the online Islamic ‘scholar’ replies:
“The Bible mentions rainbows were introduced by God as a promise to
humanity that he won’t cause a global flood again. In Islam there is no
such mention of it either in the Quran or in the Hadith.
On a somewhat related note, Some would argue that the above is a
scientific error because it implies the law of refraction didn’t exist before
the flood. It does go against one of the premises of science, the uniformity
of nature and the immutability of natural laws, but that doesn’t mean it is
a scientific error because science cannot prove the above premise, it just
accepts it axiomatically.”
To answer that from the Biblical perspective only, one must look at the Scriptures which say that before the Flood ‘a mist watered the land at night’, but after the great inundation water also fell during the day which provided the necessary refractive conditions to produce a rainbow. Despite any arguments for or against the relevant Scriptures not being part of our particular brief, we should at least ask this question:
Is this a case of the spiritual or even “Divine” explanation of the origin of the rainbow being part of All of The Truth, but absent from the Koran?