🇮🇩 The colours of Indonesia
6 meanings recorded, 10 colours tied to the country and 1 colour city.
Indonesia’s colours are red and white, seen in its flag of two horizontal bands. Red stands for courage or the body, while white stands for purity or the soul. These colours have deep roots in Indonesian kingdoms and are officially named Sang Saka Merah Putih.
Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.
- The flag is called Sang Saka Merah Putih, meaning 'The Heirloom Red-White'.
- Red and white were used by the Majapahit Empire and earlier kingdoms.
- Red stands for courage; white stands for purity or the soul.
- The flag’s design has remained unchanged since 1945.
- Strict laws protect the flag from disrespect or misuse.
The colours of the flag of Indonesia
The Indonesian flag is made of two equal horizontal bands: red on top and white below. These colours are officially named Sang Saka Merah Putih. Red is said to represent courage, while white stands for purity. Another view is that red symbolises the body and physical life, and white the soul or spiritual life, together showing a complete human being. These meanings are both official and widely accepted. The flag’s design has not changed since it was first raised at independence in 1945.
How the colours were chosen of Indonesia
Red and white have been important in Indonesia since at least the 13th century, first appearing in the banners of the Majapahit Empire and possibly earlier in the Kediri era. These colours were used by many kingdoms and leaders across the archipelago, including the Batak, Aceh, Bugis, and Balinese. In the early 20th century, red and white were revived by students and nationalists as symbols of resistance to colonial rule. The modern flag was first flown in 1928 and became the national flag at independence in 1945.
Official shades and rules of Indonesia
The flag’s proportions are set at 2:3. Laws describe when and how the flag should be flown, including on national holidays and at official buildings. The flag must not be damaged, altered, or used for commercial purposes. There are penalties for disrespecting the flag, including fines and imprisonment. No official shade of red or white is specified in the sources.
The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Flag of Indonesia", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
What colours mean in Indonesia
Customs vary by region, faith and family; these are the meanings most often recorded.
The flag is called Sang Saka Merah Putih, the Red and White. Red is commonly read as courage and white as purity. It was raised at the declaration of independence in 1945.
Politics and protestCouragePrideSource: Flag of IndonesiaYellow is the colour of Golkar, the party that ruled through the Suharto years. Its banyan tree symbol sits on a yellow ground.
Politics and protestSource: GolkarOn the south coast of Java, visitors are warned not to wear green to the beach. Folk belief holds that it is the colour of Nyai Roro Kidul, the Queen of the Southern Sea, who takes those who wear it.
Danger and warningFearSource: Nyai Roro KidulThe batik of the Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta is dyed in soga brown with indigo and cream. Some court patterns were once reserved for the royal family.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: BatikMuslims, the majority, wrap the dead in a plain white shroud, the kafan. In Bali, Hindus wear white to temple ceremonies and cremations.
Mourning and deathPurity and peaceGriefSource: Islamic funeralIn Bali, a black and white chequered cloth called poleng is wrapped around statues, shrines and large trees. It shows the balance of opposites and marks a place as guarded.
Sacred and holyProtection and healingAweSource: Balinese textiles
Colours tied to Indonesia
Yellow
Turmeric
A golden yellow dye and spice from the rhizome of a tropical plantColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +5
Red
Brazilin
A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye · 🇧🇷 Brazil +4
#FF7800
Safety orange
A vivid orange used for high-visibility and safety markingNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +4
Black
Ebony
A jet-black hardwood valued for its smooth finish and rarityColour named from nature · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5
Red
Dragon's blood
A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +3
Purple and violet
Mangosteen purple
The deep reddish-purple of ripe mangosteen fruit rindColour named from nature · 🇲🇾 Malaysia +4
Blue
Butterfly pea blue
A vivid blue from the butterfly pea flower, used in Asian food and drinkColour named from nature · 🇮🇩 Indonesia +5
Blue
Indigofera tinctoria
A shrub whose leaves yield natural indigo dyeColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +5
Yellow
Cosmos sulphureus dye
An orange-yellow dye from the flowers of the Cosmos sulphureus plantColour named from nature · 🇲🇽 Mexico +5
Brown
Gambier
A yellow-brown plant extract used as dye, tannin and traditional medicineDye · 🇮🇩 Indonesia +4
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Safety orange: George Armstrong, Public domain, source
- Turmeric: J.M.Garg, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ebony: CaptMondo, CC BY 2.5, source
- Dragon's blood: Andy Dingley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Indigofera tinctoria: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Butterfly pea blue: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mangosteen purple: VpuipV, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cosmos sulphureus dye: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yogyakarta Id: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, source