Our Arab popular heritage, its exciting tales and beautiful myths, are the best we can hear or read. Every time we listen to a short story from our heritage, we may learn how that legend began or the secret of its name. Our legend is like a novel about the reason for naming the rainbow by this name, but it is known in brotherly Algeria as “Arous al-Gaith” or “Bride of the Rain.”
Going to the Aurès region in brotherly Algeria, where we see greenery covering the entire place, the story of Bride of the Rain was born. The local inhabitants of that region believed in the existence of gods, like many ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, for example. One of their most famous gods was the god Anzar, the god responsible for thunder, rain, and driving the clouds.
The secret of the ancients’ interest in this specific god in that region was that they believed he was the cause of beauty and greenery. He was responsible for the rain that irrigated their crops and filled their valleys and rivers with water. This god always received all their prayers, hoping he would respond to them.
In this village lived a very beautiful girl named Tayslit. She was fair-skinned, wide-eyed, slender, and filled with shyness that added beauty to her beauty. Her shyness was so intense that the young men of the village were embarrassed to converse with her, considering her an angel who had descended from heaven and should never be defiled.
That idea that took hold in Tayslit’s mind took another turn, namely love of seclusion and keeping away from people. The best places for the girl were sitting on the tops of mountains and between rivers, where the sound of water and its roaring excited her. She would wander within them, thinking of bathing in them while singing with a sweet voice that delighted birds and humans. What beauty this is!
Days passed, and the beautiful village was afflicted with drought and lack of rainfall. Springs dried up, lands turned to desert, and conditions changed. The prayers of the villagers to the rain god never succeeded. Tayslit ascended to the highest mountain peaks where she used to sit among the waters of fresh rivers and sat singing with sorrow, crying over the condition of her poor village, whose state had changed from prosperity to poverty.
Her singing attracted the attention of the rain god who was flying among the clouds. He looked at her to witness her beauty and chastity, her beautiful past and chaste present, and her extreme shyness. He was very impressed by her and the purity of her heart. He sent rain to the village and brought some beautiful clouds that the villagers rejoiced in greatly.
The village became green again for many long years, during which the villagers enjoyed vegetables and water. The rain god remained in the area where Tayslit sat, until his infatuation reached its peak and he asked for Tayslit’s hand in marriage, despite being a god who should not fall in love with a creature.
The god decided to descend to the place where Tayslit sat. He transformed into a handsome young man. Tayslit felt shy and asked him to leave, but he refused. He continued to visit her daily until she began to feel comfortable with him. But he was hasty and asked her again for marriage, but she was afraid, fled, and refused his request.
The rain god was upset and angry at Tayslit’s behavior. She fled to her village and no longer sat in her usual place. He carried himself and flew far from the village until its springs dried up and became a desert and crops died. There was nothing for Tayslit to do but ascend to her usual place and begin singing in an attempt for the rain god to return to her again. As soon as he heard her voice, he abducted her to ascend with him to the sky.
The villagers stood to see what was happening until the rain began to fall again, the lands became hydrated, and the rivers and springs filled. Tayslit transformed into the rainbow that appears whenever the sky rains, adding splendor and beauty to it. Therefore, when rain falls, the Algerian brothers shout “Haslit Anzar.”