According to legend Eskimos are supposed to have 100 different words for snow; these are supposed to describe the grainy, fine, wet, half-frozen and many other types of snow depending on their physical state. Now we do not wish to exaggerate but, after a glance into the German Duden (dictionary of the German language), we could assume similarly that there exist many different words in German for rain: constant rain, torrential rain, downpour, drizzle, sleet, summer rain, acid rain, soft hail shower and many more.
In some regions of Germany the summer of 2017 has already been said to be the most rain-swept summer since weather records began. Floods, high waters and destroyed houses and streets are the consequences of the constant rain which has afflicted some areas. We are not unfamiliar with this dimension; unforgettable until today is the North Sea flood catastrophe of 1962 in Hamburg, likewise the “flood of the century” in Saxony and Lower Saxony in 2002.
In the history of mankind rain, as a cultural phenomenon, has had and still has the most diverse forms and influences: at this point we would like to talk about hydraulic empires, royal rainmaking, the beginnings of meteorology and, last but not least, the rainbow.
A Short Cultural History of Rain or Why Rain assists Democracy
Hydraulic empires, royal rainmaking and Galileo Galilei
That rain plays a critical role in enabling democracy is a rather unknown dimension of this common precipitation. And yet the German sociologist Karl August Wittfogel (1896 – 1988) formulated exactly this theory in his book “Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Chinas” (The Economy and Society of China) in 1931. He examined different ancient cultures and societies, including the realms of the Egyptian Pharaohs on the Lower and Middle Nile, the ancient Chinese empire and its taming of the Huang He and the Babylonian Empire and its regulation of the Euphrates and the Tigris. “Hydraulic empires” was the name he gave them.
According to this a crucial factor for “hydraulic empires” is infrequent rainfall and, as a consequence thereof, the necessity to distribute and regulate water resources. These societies often had highly-developed irrigation systems, a national cult with a powerful body of civil servants and priests and a centralised form of rule or a “hydraulic despotism”. It seems as though, “societies which rely on artificial irrigation systems … [develop] less frequently into democracies than those whose agriculture is based on natural precipitation,” writes Kathrin Passig[1]. And goes on to say that, “whoever controls the irrigation system has the country under their control. Rain, however, is uncontrollable. Where fields get enough water on their own, centralised systems do not thrive as well.”
With certain restrictions the Netherlands can be named as an example of a “hydraulic empire” in the western world. In their constant struggle against the “Blanker Hans” – an old term for the storm tides of the North Sea – they have had to unite their city-states efficiently and administer them strictly in order to be able to protect their regions from floods.
A further example of rain which is of fundamental importance for a form of rule is the “Fon Iuang” and its relationship with the Thai monarchy. Fon Iuang[2] is the term for the artificial rain in Thailand which dates back to an initiative of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-2016) and which directly translated means “royal rainmaking”. During a journey to the northeast region of Thailand in 1956 the king observed that there were clouds present, but no rain fell from them. He financed a project which aimed to develop a non-toxic chemical which should bring the clouds to release rain. The project was a success and this method has been implemented in areas of Thailand with low precipitation from 1972 up to the present day. A patent has also been filed in the USA since 2003 for this “weather modification by royal rainmaking technology”. For many Thais the royal rainmaking continues to be one of King Bhumibol’s greatest accomplishments
The beginning of modern meteorology can be dated back to about 1600 when Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) constructed the first thermometer. For it was not until appliances had been developed to measure weather and make predictions that we began to understand how weather phenomena originated. We are still acquainted with the Galileo thermometer today: in a glass cylinder mercury expands at high temperatures and contracts at lower ones. Then in 1644 Evangelista Torricelli, one of Galilei’s pupils, developed the barometer and, at the same time, the French philosopher and physicist Blaise Pascal provided the explanation for air pressure. Thus all three of them together helped meteorology to achieve its first important milestones and enabled it to be developed further.[3]
It's "meimeling" in Münster
Although intuitively you may perhaps rather think of Hamburg, it is Münster which is known for its frequent rainy weather in Germany. A proverb says: “It’s raining in Münster, or the bells are ringing; when this happens together, it‘s Sunday”.[4] In a local Münster dialect called “masematte” there is also the term “meimeln”, which means fleeting light constant rain.
In Catholic Christianity, however, it is Saint George who is responsible for good weather, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers: the Fourteen Holy Helpers who can be called upon in prayer as patron saints. These also include Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers during bad weather, thunderstorms and hailstorms, and of mariners, bus and taxi drivers and greengrocers. [5]
In addition the rainbow plays a special role in many cultures: in Christianity as God’s central promise not to repeat the great flood. In different mythologies it is the bridge between the gods and the human world. And it was, and still is, also used widely as a flag; by the Incas, during the German Peasants’ Wars, as an international symbol for homosexuality and also as a symbol of the peace movement with the Italian word “pace” for peace.
More rain in the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek
[1] “Die hydraulische Internetgesellschaft” (The Hydraulic Internet Society), Kathrin Passig, Zeit Online (5th August 2013), http://www.zeit.de/digital/internet/2013-08/social-media-passig-hydraulische-gesellschaft (last accessed: 02.08.2017)
[2] Fon Iuang, Wikipedia, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon_luang (last accessed: 02.08.2017)
[3] Meteorological instruments, https://web.archive.org/web/20041221174416/http://www.schaepp.de/wetter/meteorologie/in.html (last accessed: 02.08.2017)
[4] Rain – folkloristic aspects, Wikipedia, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regen#Volkskundliche_Aspekte (last accessed: 02.08.2017)
[5] Fourteen Holy Helpers, Wikipedia, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vierzehn_Nothelfer (last accessed: 02.08.2017)