the rainmaker - university of hawaiʻi...village cn..me to pay her homage, to teu her of their...
TRANSCRIPT
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!SI THE XXth CENTURY
t.he battle. Attacks by the British against the lowerRhine I\nd by the 3rd U8 Army between Trier Qndthe upper Roor were co·ordinated with the main thrust.By the middle of l\'1ur h the Allics hud oecupit..'
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THE RAl~"MAKER 2 3
milker, had to apply means known againHtdryn 'S;; and scan;ity of crops: sacrifices, exor-ei'Llls, I"'oec ·~illn.. Jr. i1l1l stubborn drou ht, orf'llllle;.os rain. all uther methods failet! ant! thespirit:; were not to be moved by any pcr,;uasion,supplicatiou, or thrcnt,s. thcrl' \\'ali, according toIcgend, one last, i1lfalliIJIc means, whidl was"uppused to hanJ bc('n employed now nnd againin the dltys of Illothers and grandmother: thes:lerifil:ing of the wcathermaker himself by thecUllll1lllnit,y. The mat,riurch, it was said, hndstill witnC'ssed neh III I eveut,.
:\ luong the listeners there also erouched thehoy Kllecht and be. ide him It little girl, ealll·JAda. He likeJ t,his child Ilnd often Il('companied:lIld protectpd her. not out, of n fedin!! uf l"vt:really-he did not know anyt hing ;tbou!. thatvI'!. he WllS "till n. child himself-uut l'eel1u"l'~II(' was the daughter of t h(' rainmaker. Furhim. tho rainlllakl:'r, Knecht felt grl'nt VelH'l'Il-tiun alld urlllliratilJll, Tl('xl III till' great,grand-muther Ilnu ht'l' daught('r for nu one as 1Il11t'IIas for him. Xow the wentherllluker WrlS "fat,her IInappl'of\('hrtlJI", man, it was not easy furII hoy to ~et duse to him: oIll' had to lI"e cir,cuitou routC'", nnd (,nt' of 1hI: cireuit,ous I'outl'~t,o thc w('athl'nnll!;,'r was 1\:I\I'cht',; CUllf'l'rn furhis child, As uft('n a::; he cOlllel. hp fetehed h('l'(rum the w athernHlker's but, \l'hil'll lay FllnH'way ofJ, to sit with her in thc ('\'ening ill fronlof t,he old wonmn's hut and liskll to the storie~.Il nd then took hel' home again.
Turu responned to the boy's advances wit,hvery sparing :stlPS, he did not make it easy forhim. But the youngster was always aft.er him.~ometime Turu growled and ungraciously :senthis pur 'uer on bis wa,y; sometimeli, however, hebeckoned him and kept him at hi.' side t,hrough-(lut 1he day, letting himscli be served by him,showing him tbis and that" letting him gue 's,tes ing him, tclling him the names of herbs,ordering him to fetch wakr or uuild It fire,and for (',,'eryt,hill e, he did he hnd ecrtain knacks,Becr ts. formulas, which the boy was lIdjuredto keep seerrt,. And finally. when Kncdl1 wasf\, little older, he krpt him entirely at hi." F irlf',acknowledging him afl his di, ciplo and fet/'hinf!him from t,ho boys' sleeping hOlllie t,o live inhis own hilt. This marked Knecht opp.nly inthe eye of all tho people: he was no longl'f nboy, he wus a disciple of the weathermaker,and tbat meant that., if he stuck it and proveda.ny good, he would become his successor.
A wpalth of traditions lind e-'"periene,', allInankind's knowledge of nat,ure, had not, onlyIn be maintained and applied but abu (Hlsspd(,n, A grent., closdy knit .'Ylitell1 of expe['i 'nec:;,(Jbl;l'rvat.ions, in~tinets. llnd rri
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28. THE XXtb CENTURY
Hvster,n, ruled bv laws and aceeti-. rble to the mint!. It ~as the fir I,precognition of the great cerels,of t·heir dignit,y and depth us wella their knowableness. whichbrushed the youth like a spectralhand in this fore I, coolness be-t ween nighL and morning on therock over the thousancl whisperingt·r etops.
For Knecht it was the first timel.hut he became aware of the voice of the mind.its enticement, its demand, its magic wooing.:\lany a moon had he seen wandering acrossthe sky, mlCl many an owl hooting had he heardat night, aml from the month of his master,taciturn as he was, he had hearel many It worduf ancient wisdom or lonely meditation-in thepresent hOllr, however, it was new and dif·fpren(" it was t.he presentiment of lho wholewhich hael st.J'll(.:k him, the fetlillg for relat,ion:llIlHl cOllncctiOll!", for the f:lystem which includedhimself and made him core ·pollsible. He whohad the key to this should be able not only torecognize an animal by its tracks, a plant byits roots or !'ired, he should be able t·o graspthe whole of the world, t·he till", the spirits,the people, t.he animals, remedies and poisons.everything in it.s entirety, and be able to readfrom any purl, 01' sign every other part. Therewere good hlllltt'lTIcn who could recognize morethan others from a track, a dropping, from ahair or trace: from a few tiny hairs they couldtell not only from what kind of animal the."eamo but al. 0 whether it was old ur young.male or fp.Hlnle. Others could, from u cloudformation, from a smell in t.be a.il' , from Iteertnin behM'ior of animals or plautll, tell whatthe weather would be for days in advance; hismast!'!' WA.." llnl11f1t.r-hed in t.hif< and almost in-fallible. Otbers again bad some innate skill:there were boy:> who were alJle to hit 11 birdwith n. stone at thu·ty puee~, they had notlearned it, thl?y could simply du it., it was notthe rOf:llIlt of ollsciotHl effort but of mugic or
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THE RAINMAKER 286
,\' -t among th few who bore rc~poll ibility alldw 'rp abl to judg(' a man of his type.
1[(. had 1I1!;0 Ill',,! U ired t hf' ex rel'ienee that11l1'n of illlelled ,;olllchuw gil'e otTen'(' to theo her,' IIl1d eau c a certaill curious killd offI\'t'rl:li n IImong t,helu. that, IIlthough they lin'!'I'spect I fl'om n dj tUllp lind all '
n rul would much rn Ill'l' I'a." II dl('lltrJ.nd let t hems('h'es bc ex plpi \(·d 1'.1' a rog III ,thlln a ccpt aid rCllderpri splfks.,.ly,
~leal1\yhil he d(;','elo!X'd mal y a fa('ldty inhim>-f'lf, among thpm nlso SOIlle- which 11'1'p
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THE XXth CENTURY
be am mol' > than he him If ever WnIl; it waslear tha hi grandfath 1" pirit had I' turned
to him. Knecht xp rieuced th in piring,atisf tion of un \'ing pI d on t h urn of hikn wlcdg and faith in Ihe futur , and ofknowin~ u. man. doubly hi. on, lipan WhOIDhe cOllld onf'r his ani 'C fln.v day if it b ametoo mil h for him. How \"er, that first pllpil.wh 111m d out badly, C IIld no I.i pu!:'heilnl ir I all of his lif flnt! his houaht: he
C III U man wbo, althou h no highly han redin t h \'illllge, wus n \" ,rth I x remeh-popul I' and not withou illnllcnce amollg many,h hat! JIlarried, enjoy I favor as n. Aort ofhuff0011 unt! practical joker. was even 'hiefdrllmlD I' in the drummer' ehorwl. and I' .maincd a !' cret nmv and cn\'icr f th I' in·maker froUl whom the lalt I' bad I ulierIII 11,)" a millor and also major injury.
T 11 I'~N came n. yenr-]{lIc q;lickly apf'c'nrin' fI d ,0quickly di, flN)1:' r' g lirrbt~ ,glowed in II fir of11 Rligh 11 v cl i fIrrf"n cO](lr from tllllt f Ihold,thl' I' 01' stnr!'.
'oon hp hear,1 gronm,. !lcr am ,nnd C',clflma.lions of l,prror ('omin~ fr m ol.h I' hutR; otherllhfld not 'Cl:'d too, hnd CIll1ed out til new•. hadalartnl'd I h unslI I' til)g and th ,I Jler·. feorAnd )lnni \V 1'(" annu I "f'izp the wholf' ~;1I' ge.~iabinlZ d('epl.v, I(neC"h t ok il uJlon him. plf.Tt \Vas he more I.)'nn anyone elst' at whom tbidisaster At.ruck, hC'. Ihl' ~ninmalicl': he, who wasHO to . p ak rp, pOI'~ihle for t.he orc'l'r in Ihe ~k:vflnd in the air. lIilhcrlo h. hud alway I adfl.reknowl d!'! or II I' moni ion f gTc'a di,lI~t('l':-{J clR. hail·t" mfl. vi len t
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THE HAI~~fAK8R l! 7
und La.k'n uwu.::lll.rc OU thil:l occasion? \-,,,'liyhu,l he no poken a word to anybody aboutth,' durk, port.t.'ntQus premollition which, aft ..rall, hC' hud had:
1"01' a few lUore mOUlc:ntll he rcmaillC'J, hisf'lce l'llised towurd l·he conI illlllllg rain of stu 1''',I hell he bOll'ed his heaJ, slgheJ unce morc fJ'1I11Ja twa.vy hean, and then \\'ulkeJ rapidly thrOllgl1
f' the I1lght il to til villng', to the hut I' 1/1C'Inntriarch.Here hull' tho village wa:l air ady asscmbled,III II subdurd turmoil, in II pnraJyzed, hull'·sUPllI'cssc
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288 THE XXIii n~:-.rTUHY
WINTER came Ilnd weill, It dulUp andrather ruild winter, Nu nwro stnl's f~lI,no gr('at or unusual thing hap[)('ncd,
the fears of tb ' \'illagc WNO allaycd, the hUlltc'r"went regularly in search of bout.y, the bllndlesof sl.iflly frozen pelt" ml.lled .·vel'yll'hcre illwindy, cold wcatllN ngnillst tile st.icks frull'whirh they w(,l'r suspellded U\'t'r thc hilI,.., "IIlong llinootll p'Jles luads of wuod wc're dl'llll'lIucro Ih snuw from Ihe foro0 Haorilicf'd, yun wtlltnkuIllY plaee in (,hc SUllle bOllI', and tho hrl:'t t.hingyou will delUH nu i t hu t Illy uody uc l)Ilrl1l:dllnd the nshcll be strewn O\'er III
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EO K REVmW2 "
t twir :ill/lie axe", Lo h,ll! wit h t,h" Wl/oJ pile fort he burning. The raiJ10Julicr t ok hi plae inth OJiudlc of the el arin' and thp dignitarieforllled a lim II circle al' und him. t.l1C crowdst.lInding n littl further Lack iu It large circlc.
c\" rybody I ept an irre olut , embarra cdsilcne , the rainlllaker hims II began to speak."1 hav b n your rainrnnl PI', he aid, 'J didmy work for mllny y aI', a, Vi' II flS I could,,~ow tbe demoll arc agai.n t OJ , I ha\'c fail dill C\Tcl'ythil.1g. That i \l'h,}' l hn vo ofTer dmpolf as a acrificc. That will reconcile thedemon. Far Vi' II! And \\'h will kill m '? Irccommend Maro the dl'umnll'r. he 'hould be1he right man to do it,."
H fell. il nt, and nobody may d. Turu,hi face dark red under t.hl' heavy fur ap,loaheu around the circlc with t,orment.cd ey s;hi f ther mil d ironically. Finally the ma-triRl'ch stamp d her f ot, angrily, beckoned~I{\I'O and h uted aL him: "l:o ah('ad! Takeyour ax and d it!" Mara, his ax in his hands,:;1,0 d b 'f I' hi form r mll.lcl:, he hat d himm re than ev 1', th tOlleh of irony 011 Ihat,t.l1eiturn old mouth caused him deep pain.He liftcd hi ax and swung it back overhis heau, holding it high whil he aimed,::It nring into the yei! of t he victim and
waiLillg fol' Lilli fo do Lil:! eyetl. Hut 1\.11 hi.rdus d to do 0, t adily 11 kept his y()JX'n and looked ut th man "'ith t.h a.,almost without cxpresl:lion; but whatever ex-pre sion wa discernible bO\'er d bcl wcell pit ylind irony.
Angril.' MaI'O Hung away his ux. "I won'tdo it,," h mumbled, forced his way throughthe ('in·1e of dignilllrie IlDd di,;appellr d in tbec/'Owd. .\ few pcople Littered. The mn/rillr "WlIS pal(' with \\'rulll, over t.h· eowardly, g d-for,nothing Mara 110 Ie than 0\' I' that arrogantrainm k 1'. 'he b kon d on of th ldrs, Ilvencrnblr, quiet man, who 8to d leaning on hisax and seemed to fce) nshllmcd of tho wholuembarra ~ing, eCll. Hp t pp U lip, he n dde Ibriefly alld in a fri 'nclly manner at th victim.tbey had know)l each ot,her tline· ehildhoodduys, and now the vi tim willingly l,lo: d hilleyes, Knecht. clos d thclll firmly and inclin dhis head lightly. The old man Ii it, him withhis ax, and he ollnpspd. 'IIII'll, the n W min·maker, could nol utter a word, only wit.hgesture he intlicut.ru what 'I'll' n CCS"lI1'y, andRoon a pile of wood WfiS bllilt and Lho bodypia cd on it. Th .olemn ritUAl of drillingfir with th two sa I' d tick wa Turu's firstoffieiaJ aeL.
BOOK
Goelhe's "Faust" als AnI ltun~ 2um Leb n(GoetlH"~ .. FolL.t" ru II Gllide 10 Lifo). b.II UWfI"t·1:6!1rrh. (Shall!lhl/i. /915• .II",,, lI'(J8slrr d:: '0., /64 pp.)
Tile nllillM, nlt II ugh not 0 philologi'l by prof -~ioll. present" II book \\ lIicli r('vcnls .'xp,,,,t knowledgeof th slIbj",·t tUl well 11>1 n In... p{'(laj,togic I\lhusinsrn.Known to Illuny l,;ernllUUl in tllo Etu;t Ill! all xcellcl\trN·il('r f {:o tho's works, he is Ilt Ihe SlIm lime 1\disc('I'ning and ofTect ionol l·omlllClllutor. To him.!,Of'lry is not m 1'0 on or omb lIiRllmcnt: h seoks inII Ihe poel's wi8dorn clilleJ from life. From (;oN he's(·Ifissicn) Fou8t I, , "mw>! le,'! IIntl dangel'of ('\,('l\ls throughout Ihe world unl h powil hin lIims('lf a ('leur, firm. InomJ Hubslnlll'cY
Tho ulIIhor Ink Ihose bv the hUlld wllo ho ilotoat thc ide.n of rOfiding Fall t becau 0 it is too difli('ult10 wllierstand, pnrticulurly in its !!ecoml purt. Risbook renll.\' gllid s one through tho drnlllo, Bcrm uySCl'ne, 11.I\cl it is well providod with 1111 po sible 0 .planolionll for which tho ronder miglll k.
Tho rich. insll'ucliva cOl\tontfl of GW;!IL\' R6l1roko'swork shoulJ pro\,' a welC'omo o