Introduction to the Rainbow Gathering
This page is one of a three-part series. The rainbow culture page contains a primer about the culture of rainbow gatherings. The rainbow songs page contains lyrics and streaming audio of rainbow gathering songs.
This page aims to provide an introduction to the rainbow, with a narrative of my experience of gatherings around the world.
I am a late comer to "rainbow". The first rainbow gathering of all times took place in Colorado in 1972. Given my location at the time (Southern California) and my mom's hippie tastes, I could easily have been there as a toddler. But it took 33 years from that first gathering until I attended a rainbow.
On my first visit, I was what is known as a "rainbow tourist": I had only come for three days, to check it out. From the hippie village where I lived in the "rainbow region" of Australia, it was a three-hour drive on country roads, then one hour on rough dirt through a state forest. My friend and I arrived at the welcome center and left his car. As we hiked in, we were greeted with smiles and calls of "welcome home, brothers". There were children playing near tipees, adults hanging a tarp over 15-foot long tripods to build a large communal space, others bathing in the river.
At meal time, a conch shell was blown and all gathered around the "main fire". As the sun started to set, a hundred people joined hands in a circle and sang this song:
We are circling, circling together,
We are singing, singing our heart song,
This is family, this is unity,
This is celebration, this is sacred.
After three collective incantations of the sound "Om", all sat down. Servers sprayed their hands with sanitizer and went around serving big dollops of delicious Indian-style food.
After dinner, the fire was lit. Ten or twenty people started playing hand drums, bells and make-shift instruments. Many danced to joyful tribal beats. Not far, some displayed their skill with fire sticks.
Just down the hill, in the "chai tent", chai was served most of the night to a pulsing crowd. Throughout the camp, other crowds sang or talked around other fires. I loved the simple songs, whose beautiful verses, endlessly repeated, invited you to sing along.
During the day, I worked in the kitchen and sat in workshops or "talking circles", learning what I could about gatherings and the "rainbow family". I could not believe that such a beautiful tradition existed. The next week, I came back on my motorcycle for a few more days. The atmosphere of cooperation and "brotherly love" was so uplifting that I decided to make it a point to attend at least one gathering every year.
Since that time, I have had a chance to see other sides of rainbow gatherings; the sweet feeling I had at the very beginning has had a little sour mixed into it. But I still don't know any other large meeting of people on earth that offers such a refreshing break from the dominant culture.
Below, I briefly present the gatherings I have attended so far. And at the bottom of the page I am assembling a collection of rainbow links with resources for those with an interest in the rainbow.
Nymboida National Park, Australian Gathering 2005
Nymboida had a very committed crew from the strong and colorful Byron region family. This is where I first heard Kevin and Aneira play and the family sing. This is where I met writer and rainbologist Marcus Endicott, who says that he taught me everything I know about rainbow! This is where I first had amazing midnight treats hot from a "rainbow oven", a bush oven made from an oil drum, rocks and mud. This is where I first met people who were expert at throat singing, a vocal art I had been curious about for years.
I didn't notice "drainbows" at Nymboida, nor did I even know the word. I attended a "brothers' circle" that focused on men's relationship issues. In parallel, women attended a sisters' circle. Later the two circles merged into a "relationships circle". I also followed the invitation to a "plant circle", hoping to learn something about botany; instead, I found myself in the middle of an exchange by psychedelic substance experts.
I remember baths in a wide river; dancing by raging fires to the sound of drums; watching fire twirlers; soaking in the atmosphere of the chai tent; merging in Bagdi Katan, a communal song led by two young Israelis, and in other rainbow songs, such as Here We Are Once Again, all new to me.
The Golan, Israel Gathering 2006
This gathering took place in the Golan (in a territory that traditionally belongs to Syria) on gorgeous arid hills overlooking Kineret, a.k.a. the lake of Tiberius.I joke that this was less a rainbow gathering than a "rambo gathering" (I take credit for coining that phrase, now common, in November 2006). I arrived on the second day of seed camp. The main meadow hadn't yet been chosen. I am not sure if there was ever a consensus, but the site was chosen two days later, three miles from running water. Apparently, for this gathering, some long-time focalizers had stepped back to leave place to the younger generation. Some of the choices struck me as more of an exercise in survival than practical planning to include a wide range of people. This was a very young gathering, with most participants in their twenties. At that age, many young Israelis have a lot of energy as they have just finished the army. Perhaps as a result, there was a bit of a boot camp ambiance during the time I was there. I remember how every time someone with a backpack was seen approaching the camp, on the count of three, all would shout "welcome home!" After a while, this got a bit much for me.
I was also surprised by how everyone huddled to camp in one tight spot, cramming their tents in the most impractical places. Just by hiking 200 yards away, I was able to land a five-star campground all for myself. An Israeli man who liked to play the darbouka drum later joined me. After being confined to our tents by three straight days of rain, we left and drove to the desert at the far south of the country.
Washpool, Australian Gathering 2007
Someday, I might write something about this gathering, which I very much enjoyed. I arrived on the second day of seed camp and had to leave a few days after full moon.New Mexico, North-American Gathering 2009
(Work in progress)
To get a sense of the US national gatherings, I stayed for one week of seed camp, for the week of official gathering, and for one week of clean-up.
Here are the coordinates for a couple of locations of the gathering. To see a photo of each location, drop the coordinates into Google Maps, select "satellite view" and zoom on the green arrow.
Main Circle: N36 02 13.2 W106 47 08.1
Green Path: N36 02 09.0 W106 46 35.2
New Zealand, World Gathering, Dec'09—Jan'10
Work in Progress! I have not even really started!
On this sample you can hear Isaac playing in the background to Brother Bear's flute. On
this second track, you can hear more of Isaac's playing, as well as his voice. You have to picture everyone sitting on their butts on a hill on a cold moonless night. Playing must have been really uncomfortable, and there are a few odd moments, but you get an idea of the energy that Isaac can raise with his banjo.
Vision Council. In talking circles at this gathering, a green stone was passed. It was called "the ponamu", Maori for "jade". The stone passed counter-clockwise as that is the sunwise direction in the southern hemisphere and it is the tradition for the talking stick to pass sunwise.
I did not attend any workshop during the gathering. But, as a prominent "rainbologist" friend says, all of rainbow is a workshop! And I did sit in the circle for five of the six days of vision council. That was the ultimate workshop in communication and group decision-making, as well as a sobering experience about the rainbow meaning of "community".
On 13 January 2010, on the sixth day of vision council, Jade called for a consensus on Argentina once more. The stone passed in silence anti-clockwise around an eight-person circle—from Jade (Australia) to an American brother, to Cinderella (Quebec), Bertha (Germany), Father Ted (Quebec), Adrian (Australia), Falcon (Quebec), a Czech brother who thought this was the first day of vision council, and back to Jade. (All names have been changed.) Even though I had supported the Argentina story all along, I wasn't so excited about the vision council's proceedings after the consensus was made; it seemed to me that no attempt was made to cater to the needs of the people who had talked so long in favor of a "pure" gathering in Africa.
Big Booty. Everyday, there were many workshops on a number of off-the-wall themes from esoterica to deep ecology. A Kiwi guy led a loud workshop in "laughter yoga". And one brother focalised a circle of games, of which the most successful was a fairly hilarious memory game called "big booty". This sample will give you an idea.
G-Funk. This was the first time that Aaron Funk—the creator of the famous G-Funk theatre at US gatherings—came to a world gathering. He focalized a theatre in the middle of the forest; the talent show on New Year's Day was a huge success!
Capitalism. There was actually a large US contingent at this gathering. Outside of the US, gatherings tend to be centralized, with one single kitchen serving everyone at the gathering. In the States, there are many kitchens. Everyone runs their own movie. So when Tenali and Daniel (of Kickapoo fame) set up a bakery, and when that self-funded bakery turned out beautiful food at a time when the main kitchen was faltering, it was a clash of cultures: free enterprise on one side, community on the other. Many people chose the pizza and cookies at the bakery. Fast food always wins! Especially when that's where the "cool kids" are hanging out. The bakery was resolutely non-vegetarian, which disturbed a number of international rainbow purists.
At this gathering, my lady companion and I decided to "go gypsy" (i.e., to stay with our vehicle and hike in everyday) as we had just bought a beautiful old van.
A couple of days before the close of the gathering, an Emina Estima van (rego EDU670) parked near us. The young Kiwis (one guy, two girls) who came out had all the right hair and clothes. One of their bumper stickers read "Be the change you want to see in the world". In the morning, after they had left to walk up to the site, I noticed sheets of toilet paper on the grass behind their van, where the girls would have gone to pee. And candy wrappers. And a banana peel. I guess they were hoping to change the world one sheet of toilet paper at a time. "What are you grateful for today", asked another of their bumper stickers. Mmm. Irony?
On the topic of T.P., on the last day I had normal stools for the first time in four weeks.
"I think the rainbow bug has left me," I told my lady companion. This was probably true in more ways than one. The last two gatherings had left me a bit disappointed with the community experiment. It didn't seem to be working: too few working hands, too many people lounging or smoking dope.
We left and treated ourselves to a day at Maruia Springs, a hot springs resort an hour's drive from the gathering parking lot. The outdoor pool (rotenburoo) and bath house there were built in the Japanese style. This was my best hot springs experience since leaving Japan in 1993 after five years in that country, pursuing the money god but already hankering for something else—the very hankering that eventually brought me to rainbow.
Shopping List
This is a wishlist of things to bring for a time when I can get to a gathering with my own wheels. If you're flying in, it's worth considering buying some of these items when you land, even if you'll be leaving them behind.- Shovel. A shovel gives you instant royalty status. It signals that you're someone who works, not a drainbow. Your shovel might also be your "pass" to get food during clean-up.
- Sharpie (a.k.a. texter). To write your name on the possessions you don't plan to "donate to the family" (such as your shovel).
- Mattock. Required to dig a decent sh_tter.
- Hand saw. If you anticipate being part of construction or firewood missions.
- Tomahawk. Useful for making stakes. The back of the tomahawk makes a nice hammer.
- Large tarp. To build a large hang-out space or put a buffer between your camp and the next group.
- Lots of rope for tarps, tripods, lashings, clothesline, etc.
- Work gloves. Your hands will thank you.
- Solar shower and carabiner to improvise a pulley.
- Low chair. Only a few inches above the ground, but a bum-and-back saver for circles at Australian gatherings, where these wonderful seats are common.
- Bags of lemons, apples and oranges for something fresh when the kitchen is running low on fresh food.
- Cans of chick peas (and tinned fish if you're not vegetarian) for when the kitchen runs low on everything, or for when you're not feeling social.
- Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!
- Did I mention sanitizer?
- A "billy" (metal tea pot) to boil water on communal fires
- gas stove for tea on rainy days
- a five-gallon drum to store an emergency supply of drinking water
- more items to come as I think of them.
Rainbow Gathering Links
My rainbow links now live at the bottom of my page about rainbow culture.If you enjoyed this page, please share, bookmark or comment.