Wiphala
Encyclopedia
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
, representing the native peoples
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of all the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
that include today's Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and parts of Argentina, Chile and Colombia. It exists in several modern varieties, which represent the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
(Tawantin Suyu) and each of its former four regions (suyus).
The Cusco Wiphala consists of seven horizontal stripes representing the colours of the rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
.
The suyu wiphalas are composed of a 7-by-7 square patchwork in seven colours, arranged diagonally. The precise configuration depends on the particular suyu represented by the emblem. The colour of the longest diagonal line (seven squares) determines which of the four suyus (regions) the flag represents: white for Qullasuyu, yellow for Kuntisuyu, red for Chinchaysuyu, and green for Antisuyu. There is also an alternate pattern for the Wiphala for Antinsuyu. Additionally a Wiphala also exists for Tupac Katari
Tupac Katari
Túpac Katari or Catari , born Julián Apasa Nina, was a leader in the rebellions of indigenous people of Bolivia against the Spanish Empire in the early 1780s....
and the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army
Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army
The Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army is an indigenous guerrilla movement in Bolivia. The organization descends directly from the original revolutionaries trained by Che Guevara in the 1960s. Their objective is to fight for social equality in Bolivia and amongst its indigenous population...
.
Article 6, section II of the new Bolivian constitution establishes the Wiphala as the dual flag of Bolivia
Flag of Bolivia
The current flag of Bolivia was originally adopted by Bolivia in 1851. The state flag and ensign is a horizontal tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Bolivian coat of arms in the center...
along with the red, yellow, and green banner.
History
In modern times the rainbow flag has been associated with the Tawantinsuyu and is displayed as a symbol of Inca heritage in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. There is debate as to whether there was an Inca or Tawantisuyu flag. There are 16th and 17th century chronicles and references that support the idea of a banner, or flag, attributable to the Inca, but its origins are from symbols and mural designs found in several civilizations of the Andes with thousands of years of history.Francisco López de Jerez wrote in 1534:
"They all came divided up in squads with their flags and commanding captains, with as much order as the Turks."
("todos venían repartidos en sus escuadras con sus banderas y capitanes que los mandan, con tanto concierto como turcos").
The chronicler, Bernabé Cobo
Bernabé Cobo
Bernabé Cobo was a Spanish Jesuit missionary and writer. He played a part in the early history of quinine by his description of cinchona bark; he brought some to Europe on a visit in 1632....
, wrote:
"… the “guión” or royal standard (an ecclesiastical processional banner) was a small, square small banner, of about 10-12 inches (“palmos de ruedo” is a measure from those times and it refers to a small amount/size.), made of cotton or woolen cloth, that was carried at the top of a long flagpole, and was stiff, with no wave on the air; each king painted his arms and emblems (badges) on the banner; because each one (king) chose different ones (paintings on his banner), although the common ones among the Incas had the rainbow [sky arch]"
(...el guión o estandarte real era una banderilla cuadrada y pequeña, de diez o doce palmos de ruedo, hecha de lienzo de algodón o de lana, iba puesta en el remate de una asta larga, tendida y tiesa, sin que ondease al aire, y en ella pintaba cada rey sus armas y divisas, porque cada uno las escogía diferentes, aunque las generales de los Incas eran el arco celeste.)
-Bernabé Cobo, Historia del Nuevo Mundo (1653)
Guaman Poma's 1615 book, El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno, shows numerous line drawings of Inca flags.
The Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden, holds a Wiphala that is dated through a C-14 test to the 11th century. It originates form the Tiwanaku-region, and is part of collection of a Kallawaya-medicine man grave.
Seven colors
The seven colors of the actual Wiphala originate from the visible spectrumVisible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm. In terms of...
. The significance and meanings for each color are as follows:
- Red: The EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and the Andean man - Orange: Society and culture
- Yellow: Energy
- White: Time
- Green: Natural resources
- Blue: The heavens
- Violet: Andean government and self-determination
Andean peoples and social movements
The Andean Wiphala
A flag with a seven-striped rainbow design is used in PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
to represent Tawantin Suyu
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
, or Inca territory. Even today in the city of Cusco
Cusco
Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
, Peru it is common to see the flag around the city displayed even in government buildings and in Cuzco main square. The meaning behind the wiphala has to be found in connection with the Incas and with the cosmovision and philosophy of Andean indigenous culture.
This "rainbow stripe" flag is used as the ethnic flag
Ethnic flag
An ethnic flag is a flag that symbolizes a certain ethnic group. Ethnic flags are often introduced to the ethnic community through the respective cultural or political ethnic movements...
of the Quechua Amerindians, but more often as a pan-indigenous flag.
Unlike the gay pride flag, the Cusco flag uses light blue instead of turquoise. Some have suggested adopting a new flag to avoid confusion with the gay pride flag. There is also a version that has a white stripe between the yellow and green stripes, and a light blue stripe is not used.
The biggest differences is that the gay flag was created in 1972 in San Francisco, U.S. with 6 colors, while the Andean flag is thousands of years old and includes 7 colors.
Social movements in Ecuador and Peru
Today in Ecuador, it is readily identified with the Indian Social movement mainly represented by CONAIECONAIE
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or more commonly, CONAIE, is Ecuador's largest indigenous organization. Formed in 1986, CONAIE has pursued social change on behalf of the region's significant native population using a wide range tactics including direct action...
(Ecuadorian Confederation of Indian nationalities). This organization has had an important role in massive protests in the late 1990s and 2000s which have brought down three presidents perceived as corrupt and responsible for the impoverishment of Ecuadorians. The flag of CONAIE is a wiphala with a mask in the middle from a pre-Inca Ecuadorian coastal peoples known as La Tolita.
The flag is displayed by marches of the CONAIE movement and also it is used by its political faction the Pachakutik Movement (Movimiento de Unidad Plurinacional Pachakutik) which participates in elections and has a considerable legislative representation. The concept of pachakutik, a Quechua word related with the vision and the hope of a better future for Andean people. The MUPP was formed in the 1990s mainly by an alliance of the CONAIE with peasant organizations and urban social movements. It also finds sympathy in local LGBT, feminist and Afro-Ecuadorian circles and activists.
The rainbow wiphala is also displayed is marches of indigenous and peasant movements in Peru.
The Bolivian Wiphala
The AimaraAymara language
Aymara is an Aymaran language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes. It is one of only a handful of Native American languages with over three million speakers. Aymara, along with Quechua and Spanish, is an official language of Peru and Bolivia...
wiphala is a square flag divided into 7x7 (49) squares. The seven rainbow colors are placed in diagonal squares. The exact arrangement and colors varies with the different versions, corresponding to the suyus or Tupac Katari
Tupac Katari
Túpac Katari or Catari , born Julián Apasa Nina, was a leader in the rebellions of indigenous people of Bolivia against the Spanish Empire in the early 1780s....
. It is very prominent in marches of indigenous and peasant movements in Bolivia.
This "rainbow squares" flag is used as the pan-indigenous flag of Andean peoples in Bolivia and has recently occasionally been adopted by Amazonian groups in political alliance.
Bolivian President Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
established the Qullasuyu wiphala as the nation's dual flag
Flag of Bolivia
The current flag of Bolivia was originally adopted by Bolivia in 1851. The state flag and ensign is a horizontal tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Bolivian coat of arms in the center...
along with the previous red, yellow, and green banner in the newly ratified constitution.
Controversy
While popular with Bolivia's indigenous majority that back Morales and MAS, the wiphala has proven controversial amongst the country's traditionally ruling whites and mestizoMestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s that form the political opposition based in the Eastern
Media Luna
The Media Luna or Media Luna Ampliada refers to a group of four departments – Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, and Tarija – in Bolivia which became the geographic area of opposition to the national government led by Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism...
Departments
Departments of Bolivia
Bolivia is divided into nine departments . Each of the departments is subdivided into provinces , which are further subdivided into municipalities ....
. The opposition contends that the indigenous movement led by Morales intends to ultimately replace the traditional tricolor with the wiphala and that its establishment as the country's dual flag is the first step towards this goal. Furthermore many Bolivians, including some indigenous people, feel that the wiphala highlights Bolivia's racial tensions and in fact furthers the divide between the lower class majority of indigenous Aymara, Quechua and Guaraní groups and the minority of upper and middle class whites and mestizos.
External links
- Wiphala Emblems
- Emblema Nacional del Pusinsuyo = Tawantinsuyo
- Non-U. S. based Native American Flags
- History of Wiphala
- "Guaman Poma - El Primer Nueva Crónica Y Buen Gobierno" – A high-quality digital version of the Corónica, scanned from the original manuscript. Has numerous line drawings that illustrate both Inca flags and Spanish flags.