The Tibetan countryside is dotted with colorful flags strung from mountain peak to mountain peak, on rooftops, and along paths throughout the countryside. These Tibetan flags, prayer flags actually, represent blessings on the surrounding countryside and all the people in the world. Text and images made by using woodblock printing depict the prayer associated with each flag.
The tradition of Tibetan flags date back to the region's original religion, Bon, which was practiced even before Buddhism came to Tibet. These prayer flags are made of cloth and are hung horizontally (called lung ta, meaning wind horse) and darchor, which are hung vertically on poles in the ground or on rooftops. Hung in high places and based upon the earliest Tibetan nomads' reverence for horses, the Tibetan flags call forth the strength of the horse and the speed of the wind to carry prayers from earth to the heavens.
Tibetan flags are hung in precisely ordered sets of five, each flag in a different color representing the elements and Five Buddha Families, or qualities of the Buddha as believed in Tibet's Vajrayana Buddhism:
- Blue is space and sky representing the Akshobhya Buddha
- White is wind and air representing the Ratna Sambhava Buddha
- Red is fire representing the Amitabha Buddha
- Green is water representing the Amoghasiddhi Buddha
- Yellow is the earth representing the Vairocana Buddha
Traditionally, the Tibetan flags are decorated with a Ta (a strong and powerful horse) with three flaming jewels on its back which represent the three cornerstones of Tibetan philosophy – the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Mantras and prayers of good fortune and long life surround the Ta.
These beautiful Tibetan flags of prayer are hung in the mornings when the day is sunny and windy for the best results. Hanging them at the wrong time is said to bring bad luck to the person hanging them for as long as they are hanging. Originally part of healing ceremonies conducted by Bonpo shamanic priests, the Tibetan flags were thought to bring health and harmony through the balance of the five elements
On New Year's Day, these sacred Tibetan flags are replaced with new ones to symbolize the welcoming of life's changes while acknowledging that all beings are part of a greater cycle that is forever ongoing.