Rainbow Family
Encyclopedia
The Rainbow Family of Living Light (commonly shortened to the Rainbow Family) is a loosely affiliated group of individuals committed to principles of non-violence and egalitarianism
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
. They put on events known as Rainbow Gathering
Rainbow Gathering
Rainbow Gatherings are temporary intentional communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace, love, harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream popular culture, consumerism, capitalism and mass media.Rainbow...
s.
Origins and practices
The Rainbow Family was founded in 1968 as an extension of the Human Be-InHuman Be-In
The Human Be-In was a happening in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the afternoon and evening of January 14, 1967. It was a prelude to San Francisco's Summer of Love, which made the Haight-Ashbury district a symbol as the center of an American counterculture and introduced the word 'psychedelic'...
in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
. Since 1972, the Family has been holding their annual Gatherings in National Forests during the first week of July each year. Regional Gatherings are also held throughout the year in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as are national and regional gatherings in dozens of other countries. These Gatherings are non-commercial, and all who wish to attend peacefully are welcome to participate. There are no leaders, and traditionally the Gatherings last for a week in length, with the primary focus being on the Fourth of July in the U.S., when attendees pray
Pray
Pray may refer to:* Prayer, an active effort to communicate with a deity or spiritIt may also refer to:-Places:Italy* Pray, Piedmont, a comune in the Province of BiellaUnited States* Pray, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community-People:...
, meditate, and/or observe silence in a group effort to focus on World Peace. Thus, the name Rainbow Family of Living Light. Most gatherings elsewhere in the world last a month from new moon to new moon, with the full moon being the peak celebration. Rainbow Gatherings emphasize welcoming people of all races, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s, ethnicities, and social status, with the common thread being a spiritual focus towards peace, love, and unity.
Those who attend Rainbow Gatherings come from all walks of life, and work together on a variety of goals, among which are intentional communities, ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
, and an expanded tolerance for others. Attendees refer to one another as Rainbows, or often as Brother or Sister to help reinforce the emphasis upon their belief system that all people are not only related as part of the human race, but as members of a family, and should thus be given the respect deserved in such a relationship. Group Councils, the only form of government, are held regularly, with attendance being open to all interested parties and decisions being reached through consensus. Further, money is never exchanged at Rainbow Gatherings. Instead, everything that you need is free, and anything you want can be obtained in barter - usually at Trade Circle. Someone holding a magic hat walks around (usually with others playing musical instruments and singing) and collects donations to buy supplies for main supply. As the peaceful and egalitarian practices of the Rainbow Family often set it apart from the many cultures outside of each gathering, the area within has become known to participants as "Rainbowland" for the duration of each event. In critical contrast to this, the world outside of gatherings is referred to as "Babylon."
The imbibing of alcohol (often viewed as a substance that encourages violence and disharmony) is highly frowned upon within Rainbowland. Thus, at U.S. gatherings, drinking is most often limited to the first camp, known as "A Camp," found just past the main entrance of each gathering. However, other recreational drugs are tolerated within the main camp.
Goals
The organization is a loose international affiliation of individuals who have a common goal of trying to achieve peacePeace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
and love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Those who participate in, or sympathize with, the activities of this group sometimes refer to the group simply as the "Family." Rainbow Family participants make the claim that their group is the "largest non-organization of non-members in the world." In addition to referring to itself as a non-organization, the group's "non-members" also even playfully call the group a "disorganization." There are no official leaders or structure, no official spokespersons, and no formalized membership. Strictly speaking, the only goals are set by each individual, as no individual can claim to represent all Rainbows in word or deed. Also contained within the domain of Rainbow Family philosophy are the ideals of creating an intentional community, showing respect for indigenous peoples and culture, practicing ecology and environmentalism, embodying spirituality and conscious evolution, and practicing non-commercialism.
The Gatherings
The Rainbow Family is most widely known for its large annual American Gatherings (i.e. U.S. "Nationals" or "Annuals") which are held on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(or "B.L.M.") land. These U.S. Annual Gatherings usually attract between 10,000 and 25,000 participants.
In addition to these larger U.S. Annuals, the Rainbow Family also holds Gatherings throughout the year in dozens of other countries. "World Gatherings" are also held from time to time in various countries. Other Rainbow Family activities include regional Gatherings (or Regionals) and retreats. There are also small, local activities such as local drum circle
Drum circle
A drum circle is any group of people playing hand-drums and percussion in a circle. They are distinct from a drumming group or troupe in that the drum circle is an end in itself rather than preparation for a performance...
s, potluck
Potluck
A potluck is a gathering of people where each person or group of people contributes a dish of food prepared by the person or the group of people, to be shared among the group...
s, music related events, and camp
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
outs.
The Forest Service Incident Management team cost federal taxpayers $750,000 in 2006, and the team handled the Gathering in Colorado that year and other large events in National Forests. By comparison, the Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
festival, unconnected to the Rainbow Family, is a commercial venture that operates each year in the Black Rock Desert
Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert is an arid region in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan...
of Nevada, pays the Bureau of Land Management $750,000 for a permit, and recoups the cost by charging attendees between $210 and $360 . Controversies over the Rainbow Family's 1987 Gathering are discussed in the book Judge Dave and the Rainbow People
Judge Dave and the Rainbow People
Judge Dave and the Rainbow People is a book by US Federal Judge David B. Sentelle about his involvement with the 1987 annual Rainbow Gathering....
.
Controversy
The environmental impact of the Rainbow Family is often significant; easily overwhelming the meager resources available at most National Forest campgrounds. Members of the Rainbow Family have previously used nearby medical facilities and have left significant bills unpaid, as well as costing local animal control agencies who treated parvovirus amongst the dogs at the Rainbow Gathering in 2006. Though the Rainbow Family removes its trash after a gathering, the Forest Service has criticized their cleanup efforts as being only "cosmetic" and "not rehabilitation by any stretch of the imagination." Cleanup crews have had to bury compost piles and cover fire pits.In July 2011 a woman, Marie Hanson, went missing in Washington State after attending a Rainbow Gathering event. The local Sheriff's office reportedly refused to use tracking dogs at the site, stating they were not sure a crime had taken place. In October 2011, human remains and jewelry were found near the woman's campsite.
See also
- Circle Way Camp
- EcoCommunalism
- Ecotopia gatheringEcotopia gatheringEcotopia is an annual summer gathering for activists in Europe, since 1989. Typically, the event draws young environmental activists from both east and west Europe...
- Rainbow GatheringRainbow GatheringRainbow Gatherings are temporary intentional communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace, love, harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream popular culture, consumerism, capitalism and mass media.Rainbow...
- Thing
External links
- Welcomehome.org Rainbow Family of the Living Light "Unofficial Homepage"
- http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/hipstory/hipstory.html The "hipstory" of the Rainbow Family