The Majapahit flag and emblem refers to the royal colors and symbols used to represent the

Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

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 (, TNI-AL) is the Navy, naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol Indonesia's lengthy coastline, to enforce and patrol the territorial waters and Exclus ...

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 pu ...

and

pennon A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the Hoist (flag), hoist than at the Fly (flag), fly, i.e., the flag narrows as it moves away from the flagpole. It can have several shapes, such as triangular ...

, 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 c.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, Kertanega ...

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 and his regnal name Kertarajasa Jayawardhana was a Javanese emperor and founder of the Majapahit Empire who ruled from 1293 until his death in 1309.Slamet Muljana, 2005, ''Run ...

'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 Hanyiruh, 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 a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

. 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 (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 the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

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 (, ) 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 establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

Notes

Other flags

Flags with similar design: File:Flag of Indonesia.svg, Indonesian flag File:Naval Jack of Indonesia.svg, Indonesian naval jack File:Historical Flag of Bali.png,

Bali Kingdom The Kingdomship of Bali ( Balinese: ᭚ᬓᭂᬭᬚ᭡ᬦ᭄ᬩᬮᬶ; romanized: ''Kĕrajaan 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 ...

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 The national flag of Malaysia, also known as the Stripes of Glory (, also "Stripes of Excellence") is composed of a field of 14 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton bearing a crescent and a 14-point star known as ...

File:Flag of Singapore.svg, Singapore flag with the addition of a crescent moon and five small stars arranged in a pentagon File:Flag of Siam (1916).svg, Short-lived early

Thai flag The flag of Thailand (; , meaning 'tricolour flag') shows five horizontal stripes in the colours red, white, blue, white and red, with the central blue stripe being twice as wide as each of the other four. The design was adopted on 28 Septembe ...

identical to modern Trairanga based on Majapahit colours (1916–1917) File:Flag of Thailand.svg, Modern Thai flag (1917–current)

References

Bibliography