"Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes"

In 1970, members of the Rainbow Family began travelling around the United States to circulate, by hand, the first invitations to a national assembly of peace and harmony. By July 1, 1972, thousands of people began showing up in Colorado to attend the first official Rainbow Gathering.

Each summer since, thousands of people have come together and brought about a temporary community in different national forests around the country. The event culminates in an elaborate prayer for peace on July 4.

On the Big Island, a smaller regional group puts together the local Rainbow Gathering every year. The 2012 event began on Feb. 2 and ran through Feb. 13, 2012. Internet savvy attendees were invited to Kamilo Point in the district of Ka‘u by www.welcomehomehawaii.org for the 12 day event. Mike Dominguez, one of the Big Island Rainbow Gathering organizers and a national attendee for more than 10 years, believes that every type of person can come together in peace.

"Rainbow is rainbow because it's every spectrum of light," Dominguez said when asked about what the event means to him. "It represents every tribe, every religion, every person on this planet. You know what I mean?"

Before the Big Island Rainbow Gathering gets underway, seed camp is set up to begin preparing the kitchen, the latrines and other necessary conditions for hosting the hundreds of people that have been known to show up.

"At nationals," Dominguez explained, "people are at the gathering, people are at the gathering maybe a month before. If you wanna get technical, scouts come in like four or five months before."

It is important to organizers and attendees that the land is respected and that everyone gathers in the spirit of peace and harmony. "There are no National Forest [sic] on the Big Island," explains the Hawai‘i regional gathering website. "We gather on State Land. Hawaii Law- No one can block access to any coast line for Fisher man & woman…Be respectful Malama Aina! [sic]"

As part of a thanks giving for the use of the land each year, local Rainbow Family members clean up the beaches along the Ka‘u coast. Another attendee who goes by the gathering name, Heart, explained that plastics and trash from the North Pacific Gyre wash up on the shores. One year, the volunteers cleaning the Ka‘u shores loaded multiple pickup truck beds with industrial size garbage bags, according to Dominguez.

"There are no official organizers or leaders at Rainbow Gathering," an article titled "The Politics of the Rainbow Gathering" on the www.welcomehome.org Rainbow Family of Living Light website says. "All work, including all management of the work of others, is done by volunteers. Even the gathering council…does not generally appoint or establish roles at gatherings."

Despite this informal organization of individuals, a culture has developed among those who have been to multiple gatherings. There are morning and evening circles that bring many gatherers together for prayer and meditation. A vocabulary and ways to teach it to others have also

developed.

"We had Rainbow Jeopardy one year," explained Tiana Dominguez, another long time Rainbow gatherer. "Some people would say, use subjects like Rainbow terminology. Like ‘What is blissware?'" It turns out that blissware is what gatherers call eating utensils, plates and bowls. Another common term used is "zuzu," or a sweet snack.

Other terms are used to describe the different personalities that inevitably interact during a gathering. "There's always some people who wanna just, like, they just wanna get everything they can get for free, ya know?" said Rainbow veteran Petey. "That's why they get ‘drain-bow.'"

Everyone who was interviewed from the seed camp agreed that there will always be differences among people at gatherings. Dominguez acknowledged that there will be different thoughts and different desires.

"We're pretty much just coming together and recognizing each other as brothers and sisters and we're not killing each other," Dominguez said in summation of his thoughts. "It's all about coexistence. We all gotta put our little part in to make the tribe work, to make the gathering work, you know?"