Why Color Matters?

In science, colour is simply a property of an object that causes visual sensation due to the reflection of light, as a result of which we see things as either red, blue, green, white or black.

But human civilization has travelled beyond this nomenclature, connotations and significance that today, colour not only is a visual symbol but is also widely acknowledged as a pictogram of human perceptions and thinking to characterize emotions, religion, art, politics or mythology. 

It is virtually a form of non-verbal communicative language that expresses the meaning of things without having to communicate. Adversely, due to its stimulation of our senses, colours have widely implicated and impacted our belief system, impression, visual attractions and even on purchasing decisions. Some colours cause a lasting influence on our sense organs to an extent that they can sway our thoughts based on how they soothe or irritate our vision and ultimately cause either change of actions or reactions.

As much as the colour is used as an identity to signify some meaning across the world, in a country that follows Vajrayana Buddhism as its state religion, colours form an integral part of our belief system that is strongly pulsated with religion and spiritualism. Therefore in Bhutan that ubiquitous prayers flags found fluttering over the bridge, across the mountain range, around the stupa (chöten), fortress, or temples shares the religious ideals and insights utterly grounded on Buddhism. 

The colours of white, yellow, red, green and blue (commonly in this sequence) which are simply universal represents the 5 elements of Nature viz. air (wind), earth, fire, water and space respectively. Buddhists believe that to have harmony in the environment we share and to bring fortunes and good health to oneself and other sentient beings, these elements have to be perfectly balanced. As the wind blows, the blessings of the Buddhist scriptures, mantras or sutras inscribed on it will be moved along with the wind to unlimited space and anything that gets touched results in the accumulation of better fortunes, eternal peace and happiness.

Prayer flags of 5 significant colours were erected on the school campus

Unlike any other nation, Bhutan’s capital Thimphu, the only capital city in the world (I guess), doesn’t have traffic lights, a signal that uses red to ‘stop’, yellow to ‘slow’ or green to indicate ‘go’. As a substitute, we have human traffic regulated by the city traffic police.

Traffic police regulating the vehicle movement in Thimphu  (Photo source: Click LINK)

But like the world, we do have yellow school buses, the colour which signifies ‘safety’ and scientifically is visible under dimmer conditions (as its “lateral vision to detect yellow is 1.24 greater than red”). Similarly, the machines used for earth-moving and road-building used in our country are also yellow to indicate warning and safety.

Road widening in process with the help of a yellow crane

Another interesting fact of its influence of colour is entrenched in our tradition and a cultural system where colours are largely used as a symbol to represent rank by the colour of the scarf (kabney) we wear (alongside patag that denotes power for officials of higher rank). Embedded in our unique Bhutanese etiquette, popularly branded as ‘Driglam Namzha’, the colours of the scarfs are worn as follows:

Saffron: His Majesty the King and the Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot)

Orange: Lyonpos (Ministers)

Red: Dasho and male members of the Royal family

Green: Judges

Blue: Members of Parliament

White with red stripes (khamar): Gups (village headman)

White: Ordinary citizens.

Village head headman (Gup) with khamar kabney during one of the school functions

This is me, wearing a white kabney, a scarf worn by ordinary citizens (men in particular)

In general, the yellow colour which signifies the temporal authority of His Majesty the King (as decorated in our National flag) and the colour red is regarded as divine colours due to its association with the monk’s rob, the followers of the Buddha and thus, symbolizes renunciation and separation from the materialistic world. White that connotes purity (the colour of a dragon on our national flag) and ceremonial scarfs (khadaar) is significantly another colour that matters a lot.

The hills and mountain ranges, revered as spiritual homes to the local deities are adorned with prayer flags

The National flag of Bhutan. Yellow signify temporal power of a king, orange denotes spiritual tradition and Druk (the dragon is the native name of the Kingdom)

While understanding that the knowledge of how colour matters is imperative in our lives, what I share here is just a piece from its oceanic vast. As much as realization is important, learning about its importance is necessary because as long as human civilization survives, colours can be one fundamental element and a communicative tool to distinguish religion, culture, politics and societal influences. Thus, as the name is to a person, so is the colour to life.   

“Color is not just color but mood, temperature and structure” – Van Day Truex