HISTORY OF TIBET PRAYER FLAGS
The hoisting of flags to ensure good fortune is one of the many customs within the nomadic communities of Tibet that have changed very little for several thousand years. However, the meaning of this ritual has gradually evolved from being of militaristic to religious significance.
That the original use of flags in Tibet was militaristic is illustrated by the term Ru-dar or banner. Ru refers to gathering of nomads before moving on together to fresh pastures and thus, in an archaic sense this assembly referred to a kind of army. The banners (ru-dar) found in ancient literature were military flags. The flying of flags began to acquire religious significance in the Bon tradition and it may be observed that the actual design of the flags also gradually changed. In the corners of some of these flags were images of a tiger, a snow lion, a garuda, and a dragon, and in the center was a horse, around which was written a Bon mantra and a line which read, "May the horse of good fortune run fast and increase the power of life, influence, fortune, wealth, health, and so forth."
There are many types of Tibetan flags, for example the dar-ding, a long string of flags flown horizontally between trees or buildings, and the dar-chen, a narrow flag which is flown from a pole. Tibetan prayer flags can be of any of these 5 colors, blue, white, red, green, and yellow, which symbolize the sky, clouds, fire, water, and earth respectively. If we relate these colors to the physical elements then the blue symbolizes water, green symbolizes wood, red fire, and white iron. There is also a tradition of flying flags which represent the elements of your own body
Flags are flown on auspicious days such as Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and when the stars are in auspicious arrangements according to Tibetan almanac. Flags are flown by families from all economic backgrounds, and they are flown on such important occasions as the third day of the Tibetan new year, marriages, and official functions. Flags are also hoisted in the event of interferences, or illness, in order to avert further misfortunes.
In some part of Tibet, during the wedding ceremony, the guests gather on the roof of the groom's house and perform a ritual in which the bride touches the prayer flags. These flags are then hoisted on the building housing the protectors near the site for making incense offerings, and from that moment the bride becomes a member of her new family. After the first year of marriage the bride returns to her home and again performs the same ceremony and in so doing she separates herself from her original family
Flags are used as protection against harm when traveling. Before passengers enter a boat to cross a river, they perform a ceremony in which flags are attached to the horse shaped figurehead at the bow of the boat. Prayers are said and incense and grain are offered to the gods. In this way they insure safe passage across the river.
Originally, flag ceremonies were intended to provide benefit in this life, but as they gradually became more imbued with religious meaning, they came to be associated with benefit in future lives and the achievement of spiritual as opposed to material success. Although the actual ceremonies and rituals have changed very little, the significance or content of the rituals has gradually evolved a spiritual element through a mixture of Bon and Buddhist symbolism.
Transcribed from "ME-LONG, The Newsletter of the Council for Religious and Cultural Affairs of H.H. the Dalai Lama, No. 7, December 1990)