Are Flags innately Human?

Flags are part of humanity for as long as we know ourselves. It was a tool of belongingness as well as a tool of differentiation and a blank canvas we projected ourselves onto. That being said are flags innately human?

by Prashray Mishra on August 11

Flags, hmm… what are they, a signalling device, a decoration, an overdecorated piece of cloth and why are they even a thing. And why are they in so many shapes and colours and designs or why are we compelled to hoist one of these on Mount Everest for that matter? Well, these are some of the questions that come to my mind when I think about the flags. So, I decided to dive deep this time to figure out why we as a species are so enchanted by this highly decorative but still piece of cloth?

Well for starters, flags and humans go way back, like before the invention of textiles, and in its antiquity can be traced back to the Assyrian and Ancient Egyptian empires, where the field signs or standards that were used in the warfare can be categorised as flag-like though they were usually made up of metal plates adorned with the motifs representing the armies which were then attached to a pole for easy display, a trait that modern flags inherited from their ancient ancestors.

It allowed the armies to differentiate between enemies and allies and avoid confusion on the battlefield. The flags gained prominence during the times of Roman Empires where flags were routinely used not only by enemies and allies but also between the different legions within the armies.

The modern flags trace their origins back to the Indian subcontinent or the Chinese Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE), where the flags were usually treated with the same respect as their ruler and boosted mythical figures like dragons. The only national flag now that boasts such a pattern is the Sovereign state of Bhutan.

Whereas the flags flown in the Indian subcontinent were either triangular or stacked triangles. The predominantly Hindu kingdoms of the subcontinent flew the Saffron, red or white flags adorned with religious motifs like sun, moon or the Swastika. The colours were also religiously associated with the use of Kumkum (red powder), Sindoor (saffron coloured powder), Akshat (white cloured powder) and Chandan (yellow/white powder) were and still are used in religious ceremonies in not only Hinduism but in every Indian subcontinent originated culture and religion.

The black triangle flags were flown by the Delhi Sultanate and were indicative of their Afghan origin whereas the green triangle flag adorned with the crescent moon motif was flown by the Mughals where the moon was a religious reference to Islam due to its holiness in its connection to the divine month of Ramzan.

And it’s around this time we saw the power of the flags to unite people under the same banner and create a sense of pride and belongingness. The flags were now not just used as signals or a tool to differentiate between the enemies or the allies, the flags were now projecting ideals, religious affiliation and by extension politics.

But just as easily the flags can create a sense of us, it can also create a sense of them. A terrifying example of this was the Nazi Swastika flag.

The Swastika flag in its origin was the flag of the right-winged Nazi political party. When Hitler ascended to power thanks to the adoption of the Enabling Act of 1933 by the Reichstag in March of 1933, Hitler did two things, firstly with then-President Paul von Hindenburg issued a decree that mandated that the German imperial flag ( Black, White and Red) to be flown together with Swastika flag, which later completely replaced the imperial flag as the state flag of Nazi Germany and second he banned Jews from flying them driving a wedge between the Germans and the Jews.

Post World War 2 and post all the atrocities, nearly half a century later and still, the Nazi flag has the power to make millions of people uncomfortable and fearful.

An on the flip side is the Ethiopian flag, which became a symbol of African freedom, as the Ethiopian kingdom now the Ethiopian Republic is the only African nation that was never colonised by Europeans. As a result after the decolonisation of Africa, Ethiopia was idealised by emerging African states and the Ethiopian flag became the source the the ‘Rasta colours’ or commonly Pan-African colours.

‘The Rasta Colours’ adopted from the Ethiopian national flag symbolises the unity of the African people as race, culture, heritage and traditions.

A flag can thus transcend the representation of nationalism, statehood and religion and become a symbol that projects ideology, belief and emotions which unites the masses.

A flag throughout the time represented a sense of belongingness, a sense of affiliation, a sense of self-identity, even though what makes a flag changes, the meaning of the symbology is adorned with changes, what it represents…that never changes… a sense of affiliation and self-identity.

Whether is a flag of a nation, a revolution or the flag of your favourite football team ( even American) it creates that same sense of belongingness and affiliation to the ideology, belief or fandom.

A flag always unites the people and give them a sense of affiliation, self-identity and belongingness. Even when a flag inspires fear and hate, it still unites us to be collectively repulsed by it. The Nazi Swastika flag is a befitting example.

No matter what ideology or message a flag may project, its significance in human life can always be traced back to the innate human desire to belong, to be affiliated with something greater than itself.

And maybe this is why you know… we made it a tradition to hoist flags on Mount Everest or the Moon because then it doesn’t matter whether it is an American flag or an Indian flag or the flag of the Galactic Empire, all that matters now is that it is a flag of humanity. And when looked through this lens, no matter how counterintuitive it may seem, the flags are innately human.