In my country Ghana, we know where rain comes from. It comes from God. No, not from the gods as the ancestors had us think previously. It turns out the ancestors lied. And no, it does not come from )domankoma or Onyankop)n, but from the Christian God and Islamic Allah, but mostly from God. This is because we are Christians now, the majority of us, aren't we?
So whenever it rained, our heartfelt gratitude goes to God for allowing the rains to water our crops. For we know that "every good and perfect gift comes from above". We are told on Sundays and reminded of it regularly so we won't forget to show God our appreciation for the rains he sends. But rain isn't the only thing God blesses us with. He also gives us sunshine and rainbows. The sun shines and warms our indigenous bodies when after sleep we drag it out for another 12 hours of labour. The sun is good for drying our clothes, selling pure water and for trotro business. Market women sing joyous songs when the rain remembers the days for active market, like Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday. But rains on a Sunday morning is always the best. For school boys and girls, it is better for the rains to come on Monday mornings. It doesn't matter why, but there's something about a good Monday morning and rain, especially the kind of downpour that lasts till 11am, that makes sense to a school boy or girl.
As for rainbows, they are God's special message and sign of peace.
I mean, rains are good for our crops, for cuddling at night and for eating hot pottage but too much of it makes it difficult to do anything. And that is why whenever it rained so heavily and God became sorry for flooding our cities and spilling our dams, he would display his rainbow to signal that all was well and that things just got a little out of hand. According to the ancestors, there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and if only one were to be brave enough to trace where it emanates from the ground, one would find this pot and never become poor again. But whether this is true or not, we have never been able to prove. One thing is certain though, that rain, sunshine and rainbows come from God. At least that was what it used to be until the Americans decided to mess with nature. Not until they took God's symbol of peace and used it to start cultural wars.
At home, we have complained to God about it through constant prayers and supplications. Our message is clear and simple, we do not associate with the rainbow. It is demonic, to say the least and must be eschewed with the most intense religious fervor. And God, must have heard our cry. Why won't he, aren't we his favorite nation on planet earth?
You can imagine my surprise then, when last Friday it rained heavily here, in many parts of the country with thunderstorm and lightning and later a brilliantly coloured rainbow floated above our city into the sky. I mean it had been so long since we had heaven bless us with such amount of rains but why add the rainbow? Isn't God sensitive to our plight? I questioned. Why would he do this to his favourite nation? Well, if this isn't a betrayal. He is the almighty God, so he sure must be aware of our proposition on the matter concerning displaying rainbow colours publicly. He must be aware that we have put in the effort to document our hatred for anything rainbow-colored-endorsing. So if he knows, why display a rainbow over our cities? Is God gay?
"Oh but that's just nature", said my friend and most devout Christian brother I know Aaron. "We cannot fight nature or fault God for showing us the rainbow", he added. I wanted to ask why not, but Aaron was not done yet. "It is not the colours we are fighting with but what it is used to represent. The people, and the things done under that umbrella, those are the things we condemn." I nodded vaguely at his remarks, not sure what to say, my earlier questions having evaporated suddenly.
A couple of days later it was announced on the news that the vice president of the United States of America would be visiting the country as part of a continent wide tour.
With joy and mixed feelings, we welcomed her at Kotoka, mounted a beautiful traditional podium for her to speak to us as the wind blew mercifully to echo her beautiful accent. Later that evening, when the moonlight was gone and the night sky was speckled with city lights, we saw the rainbow shoot to the sky and clothe the Jubilee House, the seat of Ghana’s presidency. Aaron shouted with pleasure at the sight "Wow, Whitman and wonders, oh my God!"
