Friday, March 7, 2014

Fear and the Rainbow Connection

My Mozambican friend, Ignacio, tells a story of a trip he once made from the city back to his village. It had been raining, but the skies were beginning to clear. He was eagerly pushing on towards home carrying goods he’d purchased in town on the back of his bike. But then he saw something ahead – something so terrifying, something so dangerous, that he dropped everything and leapt off into the bush, running for his life.
What was it that scared him so? Was it a lion? A poisonous snake? No… believe it or not… it was a rainbow.

Now, as an American, I come from a culture that says you may just find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (or perhaps a box of Lucky Charms!). But, as crazy as it sounds, many of my Mozambican friends have been convinced that at the end of the rainbow is a life-draining, blood sucking force that has the power to kill them. Most everyone claims to have a friend of a friend of a friend who was done in by a rainbow. And so men, women and children will often hide out until the rainbow has passed before continuing on their way.
To read more, check out the rest of my recent post at Story Warren. Then be sure and look around their website - they're doing some cool stuff!

 
Grace and Peace,
Alan

No comments:

Post a Comment