The Majapahit flag and emblem refers to the royal colors and symbols used to represent the
Majapahit
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
empire. However, the nature of how the colors and the symbols were used and represented is still a subject of study and disagreement among historians.
The red-and-white color combination is flown by the
Indonesian Navy
The Indonesian Navy ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, , Indonesian National Military-Naval Force, TNI-AL) is the naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol I ...
in the Republic of Indonesia Ship (
KRI) as
naval jack
A jack is a flag flown from a short jackstaff at the bow (front) of a vessel, while the ensign is flown on the stern (rear). Jacks on bowsprits or foremasts appeared in the 17th century. A country may have different jacks for different purpo ...
and
pennon
A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the hoist than at the fly. It can have several shapes, such as triangular, tapering (square tail) or triangular swallowtail (forked tail), etc. In maritime ...
, with the name "Lencana Perang" and "Ular-Ular Perang" respectively.
History
The red and white banner is recorded in the Kudadu inscription dated 1294 AD. In the inscription it is said that the red and white banners were flown by
Jayakatwang
Jayakatwang (died 1293) was the king of short lived second Kingdom of Kediri (also known as Gelang-gelang Kingdom) of Java, after his overthrow of Kertanegara, the last king of Singhasari. He was eventually defeated by Raden Wijaya, Kertanegara's ...
troops from
Daha Daha or DAHA may refer to: Places India
* Daha, Karnal, a village in Karnal district of Haryana state of India
* Daha, Bagpat, India
Nepal
* Daha, Bheri, Nepal
* Daha, Karnali, Nepal
Other places
* Daha (modern Kediri, East Java), the ...
who were chasing
Raden Wijaya
Raden Wijaya or Raden Vijaya (also known as Nararya Sangramawijaya, regnal name Kertarajasa Jayawardhana) (reigned 1293–1309) was a Javanese emperor, and the founder and first monarch of the Majapahit Empire.Slamet Muljana, 2005, ''Runtuhny ...
's troops. The Red and White Charter is another name for the Kudadu inscription. It was stated that Raden Wijaya was being chased by Jayakatwang's troops carrying the flag, when suddenly "the enemy's banner was seen east of Haniruh, the colors were red and white" (''hana ta tuṅgulniṁ atru layū-layū katon·vetani hañiru
bāṁ lāvan putiḥ varṇnanya''). This is found on the 3rd line of Kudadu 4v inscription.
When King Hayam Wuruk made a visit to the whole country of Majapahit, the red and white color was noted to be used as a sign of the entourage. Recorded in Nagarakretagama canto 18 stanza 2–4:
Stanza 2
#
#
#
#
Stanza 3
#
#
#
#
Stanza 4
#
#
#
#
Translations:
Stanza 2
# Although numberless, yet the carts had means to be counted, namely by their different marks.
# Naturally the tour of those (carts) went in groups; those drawings (on their sides) were not the same from one ''mantri'' to another.
# The ''rakryan'' (Right Honourable) the honoured ''mantri''-principal, the prime-minister of Majapahit, is the honoured mediator of the Royal Family.
# Even as many as four hundred carts; ''pupulutan'' was their mark, in great numbers.
Stanza 3
# The honoured Illustrious Protector of Pajang, the great number of Her wagons alike had the mark of the ''handiwa'' (sugar-palm), glorious.
# Then, the Illustrious Protector of Lasem, crowded were Her wagons, with drawings: a white bull, splendid.
# The honoured IIlustrious Protector of Daha had for marks: ''sadak'' (betel leaves) with flowers; the carts were glittering with drawings of gold.
# The principal is the IIlustrious Jiwana-monarch, with cars all alike having for mark: ''lobheng lewih'' figures, crowded.
Stanza 4
# Then the honoured Illustrious Tikta Wilwa (Majapahit) Prabhu, His cars were numberless, their marks were ''wilwas'' (maja / bael fruit).
# Of ''gringsing'', ''lobheng-lewih'', ''laka'', alike drawn in gold, were their ''kajang''s (screens), with ornaments.
# All kinds of ''punggawa''s (superior serving-men) conveyed the ''bini hajis'' (ladies of the ''keputren''), and also the Mistress the IlIustrious Sudewi.
# All the followers' wives, those cars were open, the vanguard of the whole group.
From the translation, the colors and emblems used by Majapahit can be classified as follows:
Red and white color are used as the colors of the ''kajang''—meaning the side curtains or the semi-cylindrical roof of the carriages, made of palm leaves tacked together or plaited. The red-white combination is considered the most noble.
''Lobheng lewih'' is the name of an ornate motif for a painting, drawing, or textile. This motif is colored red and white, the combination is called ''gula-kalapa'', which is the opposite of ''pare-anom'', namely the green and gold colors, which Daha uses. The combination of red and white is considered the most exalted in Java.
''Gringsing'' is also the name of a decorative motif, especially for weaving and
batik
Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...
. It was probably white and black-colored, spotted, or dotted.
In Nagarakretagama canto 84 stanza 4 also mentioned banners (Old Javanese: ''dwaja'' atau ''dhwaja''). The color is not stated, Pigeaud argues that such banners have a symbolic color, with red-white (''gula-klapa'') be the most sublime combination.
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
depicted the maritime banner of Majapahit with alternating red and white lines, called it ''Sang Getih-Getah'' (The Red-and-White).
State emblem
The state emblem of Majapahit (''rajasa lancana'') is mentioned in Nagarakretagama canto 18 stanza 4. It is noted that when King Hayam Wuruk went to Lumajang, the king's chariot had a ''cihna'', which means identification mark. Its symbol is the ''wilwa'' (Sanskrit for maja / bael fruit—''Aegle marmelos''). The round shape of the maja fruit was probably associated with the position of the king and capital of Majapahit as the center of the Majapahit
mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
.
Notes
Other flags
Flags with similar design:
File:Flag of Indonesia.svg, Indonesian flag
The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3. It was introduced and hoisted in public during the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 at 56 Proklamasi ...
File:Naval Jack of Indonesia.svg, Indonesian Navy
The Indonesian Navy ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, , Indonesian National Military-Naval Force, TNI-AL) is the naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol I ...
naval jack
File:Historical Flag of Bali.png, Bali Kingdom
The Kingdomship of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20t ...
flag
File:British East India Company flag.svg, British East India Company flag (1600–1707)
File:Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg, Flag of the British East India Company (1801–1874)
File:Flag of Malaysia.svg, Malaysian flag
File:Flag of Liberia.svg, Liberian flag
File:Flag of United States.svg, U.S. Flag
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...
File:Flag of Bikini Atoll.svg, Bikini Atoll flag
The flag of Bikini Atoll, a member of the Marshall Islands, closely resembles the flag of the United States and was adopted in 1987. The flag is symbolic of the islanders' position that a great debt is still owed by the U.S. government to the p ...
File:Flag of Hawaii.svg, Hawaiian flag
The flag of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: '), in addition to the current state design, previously had been used by the kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory of Hawaii. It is the only U.S. state flag to include a foreign country's national flag. ...
File:Flag of Puerto Rico.svg, Puerto Rico flag
See also
*
Surya Majapahit
Surya Majapahit ( Kawi: ꦯꦸꦂꦪꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀, Sanskrit: मजपहितस्य सूर्य) (Surya of the Majapahit) is the emblem commonly found in ruins dated from the Majapahit era. The emblem commonly took the form of an ...
*
Flag of Indonesia
The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3. It was introduced and hoisted in public during the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 at 56 Proklamasi ...
References
Bibliography
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* {{cite book , last=Wasitaatmadja , first=Fokky Fuad , title=Spiritualisme Pancasila , publisher=Prenada Media , year=2018 , isbn=9786024222673 , editor-last1= , editor-first1= , edition= , location=
Obsolete national flags
History of flags
Maritime flags