People of the Rainbow: A Nomadic Utopia

2. Roots, Rock, Rainbow

We, Sisters and Brothers, children of light, friends of Nature, united by our love for each other and our yeaming for peace, do humbly invite Everyone everywhere to join us in expressing our sincere desire, thru prayer, for peace on earth & harmony among all. -Traditional Invitation to a Rainbow Gathering, 1991 Men, women and children-all of whom together hope to follow the timeless path of love and wisdom, in affectionate company with the sky, winds, clouds, trees, waters, animals and grasses-this is the tribe -Gary Snyder, Eorth House Hold, 1969 The Rainbow Family of Living Light is an "intentional group" whose members purposefully gather together to enact a supposedly shared ideology (Erasmus 1981 ).1 The Family follows a strong utopian tradition in North America that dates back almost to the time of Western conquest. and it has emerged as the largest utopian community in America. It is a "revitalization movement." a "deliberate. organized. conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture" (Wallace 1956. 265. 279). The self-described purposes of its "Gatherings " are both to further the cause of world peace by prayer and to create a i 2 • Roots, Rock, Rainbow peaceful and cohesive nonhierarchical society that can serve as a model for reforming "Babylon," the industrialized world. North American Gatherings, often referred to in the United States as "National Gatherings," are held annually, officially commencing on july I, and ending on july 7. Including setup and cleanup, the Gatherings actually last about two months, climaxing at noon on july 4 with a silent meditation for world peace: "In that silence , each one of us is left to listen to the wind, feel the earth turn and watch the clouds and sky with our brothers and sisters in the peaceful Cathedral of Nature" (Beck 1991). Rainbows also gather to socialize, communicate, and celebrate life with other Rainbows. Members call the Rainbow Family "the Family," "the Rainbow Nation," or "the Rainbow Tribe." Anyone can be a member. Indeed, some Rainbows claim everyone is, and has always been, a member. All living things are members. The problem, they say, is getting the message to people who have not yet accepted it. It's a doctrine consonant with Sufi and Taoist belief (e.g., Idries 1970; Wong 1990, 17-18). In practice , anyone who attends Gatherings or considers themself a Rainbow, is a Rainbow. While this policy of open membership has, over the years, presented the Family with a host of problems,2 Rainbows would not have it any other way. Many of those who convened the first Gathering drew inspiration from the Vortex Festival, a free music festival held near Portland, Oregon, in 1970. While the Rainbow Family'S roots certainly are not embedded in a single rock festival, the Vortex festival acted as a catalyst to bring many would-be Rainbows together. The founders envisioned the Gathering as being different, however, from the rock festivals of the late I960s and early I970s. like the Vortex Festival, it was to be noncommercial. The Rainbow Gathering would convene without bands or a central stage. The audience themselves would be the attraction. Unlike San Francisco's 1967 "Be-In," which like the Rainbow Gathering was to be "a gathering of the tribes," the Rainbow Gathering would be in a remote "wilderness" setting. The invitation encouraged people to "join with us in Gathering together for the purpose of expressing our sincere desire that there shall be peace on earth, harmony among all people" (Oracle 1972). The Gathering was to last for four days: On the fourth day there would be a silent meditation for world peace. It was to be a unique event, a great festival of prayer. There were no plans for subsequent Gatherings. In 1972, more than twenty thousand people attended the first Gathering in Colorado . Initially, Governor john Love ordered them barred from the site. After hundreds of arrests, about four thousand people marched toward the police roadblock, chanting, singing, and blowing bubbles (Hipstory 1990;jodey, Winter 1988). They were prepared to have their Gathering in jail, if need be. Faced with massive civil disobedience , the authorities let the crowd pass, and the Gathering went on. The Rainbows, without advance planning, held another Gathering the following year in Wyoming, at which time the participants decided to hold yet another Roots. Rock. Rainbow • i i Gathering the following year in Utah. Hence. the...