Yellow

Ah Yellow it's a nice song by Coldplay and also my favourite colour. But it's also a colour you will encounter a lot on your trips in Asia. It's the colour of some prayer flags in Tibet, the colour of some beautiful orchids, ...

I want to tell you why when you go Thailand you will see a lot of yellow. Walking down the streets especially in the bureaucratic capital Capital you will notice yellow flags, people wearing yellow bracelets and yellow t-shirts.

All because Thai people want to pay respect to their King Rama 9, King Bhumibol. Why is he so honoured? I can answer that question in another post, let me just say he did a lot of good things for the Thai people.

Last year in June 2007 Thailand celebrated the 60Th Anniversary Celebrations of His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne. A lot of activities and festivities all around Thailand to honour this special man. Thailand is preparing itself for another auspicious moment. This year in December the King will become 80 years old. He is already the longest living monarch in the world and his birthday will be celebrated by all the Thai people.

So this year and last year were very important for the royal family and the Thai people. That's why you will notice a lot of yellow flags, which is the flag for the king. Thai people will also wear the yellow T-shirt with the emblem of their king.

So why is the flag of the King yellow and why should Thai people wear yellow T-shirts. Why oh why? Well in Thailand every day of the week has a colour, so according to the day you are born you get a personal colour.

Sunday - red

Monday - yellow

Tuesday - pink

Wednesday - green

Thursday - orange

Friday - blue

Saturday - purple

King Bhumibol was born on a Monday and the yellow colour is his birthday colour. That's why his flag with his emblem inside is yellow and the T-shirts to honour him have the same colour.

On special occasions connected with the Queen, the streets will be covered with blue flags and people will wear blue T-shirts, because the Queen was born on Friday.
Some old palaces, built by Rama 5, are decorated with pink paint, because Rama 5 was born on a Tuesday.

Thai people will not change a T-shirt every day according to the colour, neither will they always wear the same colour because they are born on a special day. It is the yellow T-shirt for the King that is omnipresent and not only on Mondays. More striking in Bangkok and big cities than small villages, but even there in hilltribe villages people wear those yellow T-shirts sometimes (if they are not too dirty).

I also like to walk around with a yellow T-shirt, not really to honour the King, but because it is my favourite colour (yes I am also born on a Monday) and because it's easy for people to spot me in the crowd. That is for my job of course. In a group of foreigners I would be recognizable with such a T-shirt, but not in a group of Thai people, luckily I am taller than most Thai :-).


When I walk around in a yellow T-shirt in China this has not really a meaning, but it used to be a forbidden colour. Yellow was only for the emperor. His clothes and seats would be made by yellow silk. Even his roofs were painted in yellow. So now when I walk around with a group in the forbidden city in Beijing and I wear my yellow T-shirt to be easily spotted, there is no problem. But 400 years ago I would have lost my head!


For Thai people the day you are born is important. Every day is associated with a colour but every day also has a birthday Buddha. Statues of Buddha exists in different postures (4 main: standing, reclining, sitting and walking) and a lot of different positions (hand gestures, attributes, ...). And every position shows a certain step in the life of the Buddha.



You will see on the picture the Buddha from left to right. The first one for Sunday going all the way to Saturday.

Sunday - Reflecting Buddha
Standing and 2 hands crossed on the upper thigh.
After his enlightenment Buddha stays in meditation for 7 days and gets the knowledge about all his previous lives and everybody' lives. He gets the 'Matrix' insight.


Monday -Buddha stopping the conflict
Standing and right hand (or two hands) raised.
Buddha returned from heaven and some relatives were fighting over the rights of water for irrigating their fields. Buddha stopped the fight.


Tuesday - Reclining Buddha
Lying down and his feet on same height (if not is just a sleeping Buddha)
Buddha dies and enters the Nirvana.


Wednesday(daytime) - Buddha with bowl
Standing Buddha is holding the bowl for his alms at the waist. Nowadays monks still have the bowl as one of their only possessions.


Thursday - Meditating Buddha
Sitting and with both hands on his lap.
Before he gets the enlightenment.


Friday - Contemplating Buddha
Standing and both hands crossed at the chest.
Buddha is thinking if and how he has to bring his teachings to the humans.


Saturday - Buddha under Naga snake
Buddha is sitting in meditation on the body of the snake and the heads protect him.
In mythology first a bad creature, the Naga will come to help the Lord Buddha during his meditation. He protects the Buddha for a heavy rainstorm.


Wednesday(nighttime) -Buddha receiving gifts from monkey and elephant
Sitting and opening up his right hand and closing his left hand.
Because in Thai tradition Wednesday evening is connected with full moon, there is a special Buddha for people born on Wednesday evening.
Buddha is resting and animals come to pay respect to him. The elephant offers him a pot of water and Buddha accept his gift. The monkey offers him a bamboo tube filled with honey, but the Buddha refuses the gift (closed hand) because there might be living creatures (bees) inside.


If you look closely at the picture, yeah totally at the end, you will see there is another statue. That is the one in the position called "Buddha subduing the god Mara". Just before he got to the stage of enlightenment the bad god Mara came to disturb his meditation. The lord Buddha gets his right hand out of his lap and points to the ground. Because of all his merit (the good things he did, his good karma) the goddess of earth came to help him and washed away all the evil and Buddha could get his enlightenment. This is the most seen image of Buddha in Thailand. When people don't know the day they are born they can honour this statue.

So on the picture you see 9 statues. In front of every statue is a recipient in the form of a lotus flower. Inside there is oil and a candle. People have to pour oil in the flower to support the flame and so honour their birthday Buddha.


Sow now go ask your mom what day you were born and you know your birthday colour and your birthday Buddha. And remember to wear yellow!