Mythology According to Her Promise

Mythology

According to her promise to keep the people's fields well-watered, the Rain Goddess generously endowed the plains with her blessing. All manner of fruit flourished there, from oranges and figs to yams and barley. Her sporadic waters mingled with her husband's, the Sun God's, warm and gentle light. However, the Storm God, jealous of the love between his brother and the Rain Goddess, frequently intervened and attempted to sabotage their noble efforts. The Storm God and the Sun God had for years vied for the love and affection of the gorgeous Rain Goddess, whose beauty was surpassed by no one. When it came time for the Rain Goddess to choose her husband, the Storm God vowed perpetual revenge, for he had been passed over, rejected in favor of his younger and more handsome brother. The Sun God's dashing looks attracted to him many goddesses, and the Storm God was weary of his brother's perennial successes. Hot -tempered by nature and less reliable than his brother, the Storm God possessed one feature his brother did not, one trait that gave him an edge with the Rain Goddess: he had the ability to arouse her passions and force her floodgates to open. Whenever the Storm God wished, he could taunt and torment the Rain Goddess until she would cry and fight back and when she did, the Storm God felt as if he mitigated some of his pain and humiliation and believed that he regained his pride.

When the Storm God argued with the Rain Goddess, their voices rose in tumultuous union, causing crashes of thunder and flashes of lightening. More than kissing the plains with her waters, the Rain Goddess would flood them and the people often cursed her for her irregularity. In contrast, her husband the Sun God was reliable and even when great puffs of cloud obstructed his light, the Sun God helped their crops to grow and thrive and kept their families warm. Yet the people knew that the sun and the rain were both required for healthy fields.

One day the Storm God picked a particularly harsh fight with his sister-in-law. Calling her the worst names he could, insulting her honor and degrading her spirit, the Storm God beckoned forth all the clouds he could and harnessed the wind, thunder, and lightening to use against her in battle. Hearing his brother insult his wife, the Sun God began to brandish his armor and prepare for war.

Storm clouds gathered, thick and black and completely obscuring the sun for hours. The people ran inside and hid in their huts while the torrential downpours pelted their roofs. Frightened, the children hid under their sheets while their parents tried to bolt down the windows to keep their homes dry. For hours more, the storm raged but neither the Rain Goddess nor the Storm God would back down. The Rain Goddess stood her ground in spite of her tears and when she saw out of the corner of her eye that her husband was preparing for battle the Rain Goddess could barely suppress her smile. Her cries subsiding, the Rain Goddess embraced her husband.