Last Updated on January 10, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
Historical queer code language meets LGBTQ Christianity in the new Polari translation of the Rainbow Christ Prayer. It has lines such as “Rainbow Crystal, you sparkle up the world” and “Blue is for self-expression, the cackling fakement of fairy. Liberator Crystal… motivate us to screech for justice.”
Gay men, drag queens, lesbians and other outcasts spoke Polari for centuries, so it is often considered improper and irreverent by anti-LGBTQ religious conservatives — and a point of pride for queer people. The Polari prayer disrupts the dualism between the sacred and the supposedly profane.
Only a few words are changed in the Polari version, so English readers can enjoy the quirky yet unexpectedly beautiful and poetic quality of the “Rainbow Crystal Meshigener Muttering.”
Colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the Rainbow Christ Prayer by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry and gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. It matches the colors of the rainbow flag with the seven models of the queer Christ from Cheng’s book “From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ.” The prayer has been translated into 17 languages, with Polari added in June 2023.
The Polari translation of the Rainbow Christ Prayer is by New York artist Erich Erving. This is not the first time that Erving has translated or “transduced” prayers into Polari. He scandalized conservatives when his Polari version of the Evensong prayer was sung by student priests at Cambridge University for LGBTQ History Month in 2017. Q Spirit did a previous article about his “Bona Breviary of the Fabulosa Innocents” and other projects. A graduate of Columbia University, he displays his work on his “Sparkle and Munge” Instagram account. The title means “Light and Darkness” in Polari. In addition to his role as printmaker, Erving is a clergy spouse whose husband works as a priest at an Episcopal church.
Most people don’t understand Polari, so the Polari words become as mysterious as a Latin Mass. This article continues with more info after the prayer.
Rainbow Crystal, you embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows serve as bridges between different realms: heaven and earth, east and west, queer and non-queer. Inspire us to remember the values expressed in the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
Rainbow colors troll together to make una sparkle, the mudge of universal consciousness. Hybrid and All-Encompassing Crystal, you are our Mudge, both human and divine. Free us from rigid categories and grant us the gracie of interwoven identities. With the rainbow, lead us beyond goolie-and-white thinking to experience the whole spectrum of life.
Rainbow Crystal, you sparkle up the world. You make rainbows as a promise to support all life on earth. In the rainbow space, we can varda all the hidden connections between sexualities, genders and races. Like the rainbow, may we embody all the colors of the world! Larlou.
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Polari: Translated by Erich Erving.
Rainbow Christ Prayer / Rainbow Crystal Meshigener Muttering
Polari is a code language or “cryptolect” used in British gay subcultures at least since the time of Oscar Wilde in the 19th century until the repeal of sodomy laws in 1967. Its origins can be traced back to the 17th century “molly slang” used by men who have sex with men.
Speaking Polari was both a necessity and a form of initiation. It enabled LGBTQ people to identify each other, build relationships and communicate while hiding from others in societies where homosexual acts were illegal. Sometimes Polari speakers also used it to openly flaunt their queer identity.
Polari mixes words from many sources, including Italian, Latin, Romani, Cockney rhyming slang, and Yiddish. Stigmatized people on the fringes of society spoke it. Polari is especially associated with gay men, drag queens, female impersonators and transgender women, but it was also used by some lesbians, actors, circus and carnival workers, sailors, criminals, sex workers and others. Some Polari words have entered mainstream usage, such as “butch” (masculine) and “camp” (deliberate exaggeration to amuse others). The history and current uses of Polari, including Erving’s work, are discussed in the 2019 book “Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language” by linguist Paul Baker.
A controversial Polari version of the entire King James Bible has been produced by the Manchester chapter of the Sisters of Perpetua Indulgence, a protest and street performance charity that uses drag and re-purposed religious imagery to promote tolerance of LGBTQ communities.
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Calendar series by Kittredge Cherry. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, events in LGBT and queer history, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of faith and our allies.
This article was originally published on Q Spirit on June 21, 2023.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
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