Colours in Turkish Culture (Yorturk Magazine No:42)

     Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kafalý

    Along the thousands of years of Turkish History, colours gain specific meanings in Turkish Culture Structure. Also we may say that the colours are in riches in our nation’s people. Sometimes the colours do not have just one meaning they have diffirent kinds of meanings in the way of the expression. In every nations struvture colours have a meaning. But the analysis that we are going to make here are the ones which take place in Turkish Cultural life. Again telling that the diffirent meanings in diffirent nations are not related to our cultures meaning, lets start to explain the colours by order.

   We know that in various times of Turkish History colors are used to point the directions. The four diffirent directions are symbolized by diffirent colours. Black (Kara) = North, Red (Ruddy) (Kýzýl) = South, Sky Colour (Gok) = East, White (Ak) = west are used.

   One thousand years ago the Turks who conquered Anatolia , named seas which take place at north of Tukey as “Karadeniz (Black Sea)”, west of Turkey “Akdeniz (White Sea) (known as the Mediterranean Sea)” south of Turkey “ Kýzýldeniz (Ruddy Sea) (known as Red Sea). And they named a lake as “Gokce Gol (Skyish Lake)” because at east of Turkey there is not a sea that takes place.

   Further more in “Orkun Inscriptions” the name of the government is written like “Turkish Emperorship”, in those inscriptions we come across the “Kok (origin) Turk” clause either. This clause is used to point the east branch of the government.  Again as it is known, the west branch of the “Hun Government” was called “Ak (white) Hun”. In Hungar sources the “Hun”s which go in to Europe are known as “Kara (Black) Hun”s because of being a branch of  “North Hun”s. In Ottoman History when “Kara (Black) Bogdan” is said that meant the north of the Bogdan.  

   Again, the west of the “Altun Orda Emperorship” was called Ak (white) Orda, the east side of that emperorship was called “Gok (sky colour) Orda”. In similar it is possible to see lots of georaphical names such as mountain, hill, river, sea, city and etc. on the basis of those colours in Turkish Geography.

   There is a fifth colour which is used with those four other collours. It is “yellow”. The yellow colour is not used to mention the directions, it is used to point the “centre” which is in the middle of those four directions. If it is analysed by the Government Structure view, the yellow colour means the centre sovereignty and power. The “Turkish yellow” which is used nearby the other yellows is “gold yellow”. As it is known gold protects its value from the world’s very first day as a symbol of power and strength, sovereignty and riches. And parallel to this opinion all the powerfull and congueror monarchs are all depicted with golden throne.

   The “Sky colour” which is written above, is defined as “Turkish Blue (turquoise)” by the foreigners. But we see that another colour is used by the sky colour in the same way in our history. This colour is “green (yesil)”. Yesil (green) colour is written like “Yasil” in Orkun Inscriptions. This clause which forms the origin of the word, is used to mention “Gok Irmak (Sky River)” in China. Besides green colour is used in many geographical shapes alike the colours which are written above.

   The “Yesil Irmak (green river)” in Anatolia is a proof of that. Yasil or Yesil (green), the meaning of life, takes palce in Ottoman Flag colours.  Green, red and yellow, those three colours, are the colours that are used together in our history.

   The composition of those three colours exist in the structure of our history. When the Seljuk Government is newly set, the universe sultan reputed Tugrul Bey, Sultan Alp Arslan and his son Melik Shah used those three coloured flags in their armies.

   According to the Islamic Sources belonging to that period of time, it is told; “If Sultan operates with the Turkmen Armies those three coloured flags absolutely would take place in the army.”

  If a military expedition starts with the caliph’s desire, the black flag which is the symbol of the caliph is used. In Ottomans, those three coloured and cresented flags are used as war flags.

  Those three colours mean; green, life; red, power; yellow, sovereignty. Also the flags of the  Jannisary Team symbolizes those colours of the sovereignty. In adiition to this the Ottoman sultan’s formal flag was in a composion of  those three colours union.

  It is possible to see the written above in War History Museum and in the book of Ottoman flag and soldier suits.

  Nearby the meanings of the colours, we especially see the black colour in a rich  content.On Orhun Inscriptions,” black” word  is written in many places as “Black Nation”.Some linguistics and  east-supporters  thought the word black here as the meaning of  “common people”.

   However ,to be able to evaluate this,it’s essential to find out “White Nation” as  its opposite meaning . White Nation expression in never met.Then  it’s clear that  the way of thinking  equal to “common” is wrong . The real meaning has to be found out.

     Here “black” is used with the meaning of  strong and big. Because at the  Inscriptions, since Black Nation  is a respected,valued  concept, that isn’t possible to come into the common people. As a matter of fact, it’s known that there isn’t clasification amongst Turks.The best example of this is seen in  Oguz King  Epic.

     Oguz Province  originated of  the six sons and twenty four grand sons of  Oguz King. From the other Turkish provinces,as Uygur,Karluk,Kýpçak,Yaðma,Çiðil, Toksý provinces are coming from the generation of  Oguz King’s uncles: Or-Han,Kür-Han,Küz-Han. This custom  in the Epic gets the members of the nation  who grow up from the single  father equal.

     After carrying out this brief evaluation, if the meaning we indicated in Orhun Inscriptions is understood well, the textes will  be more and more powerful .

     Nevertheles, at the structure of Turkish Nation  that hasn’t got any clasification, one person  doesn’ insist upon  nobility over others and  it is certain that where there isn’ t  noble  being common doesn’t exist of course.

     Black colour  has got an other meaning  as it is used in daily life; black-day,mourning, think blackish,clouds’ coming down. In both Orhun Inscriptions and Dede Korkut  black colour  corresponds  a mourning,an ordeal and a sorrow. Black has got an other positive meaning,too.The leader of Karakoyunlular,Black Mehmet Beð and Black Yusuf Beð,The Father of Akkoyunlular Black Yülük Osman Beð ,the Father of Ottomans Black Osman Beð are mentioned in the texts with their namesw and nick-names.

     If it is used in the way,Black Samsun,Black Maraþ;original Samsun,original Maraþ  must be understood first.

     Here, black  directly means  brave,hero and  Alp person. Black colour has got  an other meaning in our literature and language.

     We see that black colour which means sorrow,in some periods of our history , white and grey colour  is also used in the meaning of mourning.

     However  we need an investigation on this subject,where these two colours are used,at the dying events, there exists the situation of  martyrdom.

     We think that, these colours should be evaluated not for a death,but for  cruelty or the situations of martyrdom.

     Nearby the colours we explained,we also see the ways of using  which seems similar to these colours.The first colours  being reminded are Yaðýz and Boz.

 Yaðýz-place was told in Orkun inscriptions with the meaning of black expression of the land. It is the color of soil. If it is used as the color of horse , it means black horse. The word “yaðýz”  is known in our language as yaðýz hero, black hero, the sign of bravery.

 Gray color  is a color consisting of the mixture with both black and white ,a color looks like leaden color. It was used in the texts as the color of soil and horse .As response of white color ,the word “kýr” is used  as the color of horse. However together with “kýr”; “ala-kýr, bakla-kýr, boz-kýr, kýrçýl, demirkýr, gök-kýr” expressions tell the mixture of the colors concerning the white  in the color of horse.

 Furthermore, ”doru” is mentioned in the texts as the color of horse. ”Doru” is the color of chestnut in fact. But nearby doru, there are additional colors as it is in “kýr”. Because horses are not always in” kýr, doru, yaðýz “and white colors; they consist of mixed colors in themselves.

 Therefore, we know the horse colors in the form of “yaðýz, doru, light doru ,date doru”. As another color of horse, white (al) color exists. It looks like red color or it can be said  “doru” inclined to red.

 In addition to this color, there is “Kula” horse. Kula horse is seen as the mixture of red and gray. If it is needed to express a point here, the expression horse’s coat is one of  the signs  of our thousands of years’ culture history .In Turkish culture history, that the colors are in a rich meaning is in the form everybody can see in this short article.