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Rainbow Nation is a term coined by Archbishop
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
to describe post-apartheid South Africa after
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
's first fully democratic election in 1994. The phrase was elaborated upon by President
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
in his first month of office, when he proclaimed: "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous
jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' has achie ...
trees of
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
and the
mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembl ...
trees of the
bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of ...
– a
rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
nation at
peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
with itself and the world."


Symbolic identity

The term was intended to encapsulate the unity of multi-culturalism and the coming-together of people of many different nations, in a country once identified with the strict division of white and black under the
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime. In a series of televised appearances, Tutu spoke of the "Rainbow People of God". As a cleric, this
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
drew upon the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
story of
Noah's Flood The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the micro ...
and its ensuing rainbow of peace. Within South African indigenous cultures, the rainbow is associated with hope and a bright future. The secondary metaphor the rainbow allows is more political. Unlike the primary metaphor, the room for different cultural interpretations of the colour spectrum is slight. Whether the rainbow has
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
's seven colours, or five of the
Nguni Nguni may refer to: *Nguni languages *Nguni cattle *Nguni people *Nguni sheep, which divide into the Zulu sheep, Zulu, Pedi (sheep), Pedi, and Swazi sheep, Swazi types *Nguni stick-fighting * Nguni shield * Nguni homestead *Nguni (surname) {{disam ...
(i.e. Xhosa and Zulu) cosmology, the colours are not taken literally to represent particular cultural groups.


Rainbow influence

Rainbow nation as a spoken metaphor for South African unity is uniquely but not deliberately represented by the South African flag, which sports six different colours.


Rainbowism

South African political commentators have been known to speculate on rainbowism, whereby true domestic issues such as the legacy of
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
,
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
, and the like are glossed over and sugar-coated by the cover of rainbow peace. South African politician, academic, and noted poet
Jeremy Cronin Jeremy Patrick Cronin (born 12 September 1949) is a South African writer, author, and noted poet. A longtime activist in politics, Cronin is a member of the South African Communist Party and a former member of the National Executive Committee of ...
cautions: "Allowing ourselves to sink into a smug rainbowism will prove to be a terrible betrayal of the possibilities for real
transformation Transformation may refer to: Science and mathematics In biology and medicine * Metamorphosis, the biological process of changing physical form after birth or hatching * Malignant transformation, the process of cells becoming cancerous * Trans ...
, real reconciliation, and real national unity that are still at play in our contemporary South African reality." It has been argued that rainbowism was associated with a unique, post-apartheid South African socio-political trajectory at the end of the 20th century, which initially contrasted with conventional post-colonialism. Since then, the post-apartheid epoch and associated concepts such as rainbowism and nation building have been displaced by orthodox post-colonialism in South Africa.Wynand Greffrath
The demise of post-apartheid and the emergence of post-colonial South Africa
Journal of Contemporary History. Volume 41. Issue 2. Pages 161-183.


See also

*
Multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
*
Multiracial democracy Multiracial democracy is a democratic political system that is multiracial. It is cited as aspiration in South Africa after apartheid and as existing for the United States. See also * Cultural mosaic * Ethnopluralism * Intercultural relations * ...
*
Nation building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the State (polity), state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long r ...
*
Noahidism Noahidism () or Noachidism () is a monotheistic Jewish religious movement based upon the Seven Laws of Noah and their traditional interpretations within Orthodox Judaism. According to the Jewish law, non-Jews (Goyim) are not obligated to c ...
*
Proudly South African The Proudly South African campaign is a South African 'buy local' marketing campaign and logo. Proudly South African was established in 2001, born out of the 1998 Presidential Job Summit which was convened by the late former President Nelson M ...
*
Rainbow Family of Living Light A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ca ...
*
Rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recognized u ...
*
Rainbow Nation Peace Ritual The day after South African State President F. W. De Klerk announced that the African National Congress (ANC) and other political organisations would be unbanned and Nelson Mandela would be released from prison, a small group of Capetonians too ...


References


External links


Identity and Nation building in post-Apartheid South Africa


{{political history of South Africa Anti-racism in South Africa Desmond Tutu Liberalism in South Africa Multiculturalism in Africa Multiracial affairs in Africa Nation Political terminology in South Africa Rainbows in culture