The rainbow, union of colors and plural identity in the service of political combat
Gay Pride in New York, July 2019 © Photo: Reuters / Editing: FMM Graphic Studio
Text by: Baptiste Condominas Follow
14 mins
From the LGBTQ + movement, which has made it its banner, to the
South African
Rainbow Nation
through the indigenous movements of the Andean countries, the rainbow is not just a simple meteorological phenomenon of great beauty, it he is a highly political tool which plays on its polychromy.
Because, ultimately, what is more unifying than a rainbow?
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Due to its extraordinary character, the rainbow has always occupied a special place in the collective imagination. In many mythologies, it represents a link between men and gods, a place of passage. The
Dictionary of Symbols
by Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant recalls that “
The rainbow is a path and mediation between the here below and the above. He is the bridge that gods and heroes borrow between the other world and ours
”.
Norse legends make the rainbow the bridge over Byfrost, which leads to the kingdom of the gods.
The ancient Greeks considered him to be related to Iris, the messenger of Olympus.
And for Buddhists, it is “
the staircase of seven colors, by which the Buddha descends from the sky
”.
In the Bible, "
the rainbow is an arc of alliance between God and men
", recalls the historian Michel Pastoureau in his
Green
book
, Histoire d'une couleur
.
After the destructive Flood which floods the Earth, God makes appear a rainbow, "
protector and peacemaker
", sign of renewal and reconciliation.
The South African "Rainbow Nation"
In South Africa, this biblical interpretation of the rainbow is at the very origin of the concept of
Rainbow Nation
invented by
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
, which promotes the idea of a nation where different people live in harmony. communities and "colors" of the country, as opposed to the apartheid regime. The rainbow evoked by the man of the Church is not a simple multicolored motif, it is "
above all a religious reference which refers to the episode of the Flood
", points out Dominique Darbon, professor of science politicians at Sciences Po Bordeaux and director of the Les Afriques dans le monde (LAM) laboratory. “
It's the idea that we are entering a new era
. "
This biblical reference is all the more relevant, recalls the researcher, that the country was itself founded on a religious subject. "
At the dawn of the Battle of Blood River in 1838
[which pitted the Boers against the Zulus, Editor's note]
, the Afrikaners propose an alliance to God and it is on this founding pact that the whole mystique of apartheid is built
" , explains Dominique Darbon. With his idea of
Rainbow Nation
, Desmond Tutu then proposed "
a new founding pact for the country, a reconciliation against the sin of apartheid and the guarantee not to go back
". An idea very widely accepted in South African society today.
In a country and at a time when religious references are omnipresent, Desmond Tutu employs a metaphor that "
speaks to everyone
". And the symbol is strong: "
The rainbow is a bridge connecting the two shores
", recalls the researcher. “
It's the sun after the dark storm, and it gives birth to the new South Africa.
The major notion of
Rainbow Nation
has been a milestone since, and South African politicians have taken it up. It appears in particular in the inauguration speech of Nelson Mandela: “
We are committed to building a society in which all South Africans, whether black or white, can stand and walk without fear, sure of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation, at peace with herself and with the world
.
"
Men painted in the color of the South African flag at a cultural festival in Durban in 2017. AFP - RAJESH JANTILAL
An idea that can be found even in the current South African flag, adopted in 1994 during the first multiracial elections.
Composed of several colored bands, it is intended to be more representative of the history and of the various ethnic groups of the country than its predecessors.
And the central Y- or V-shaped motif can be interpreted as "
the convergence of the various elements of South African society that make the road together and in unison,
" says the government on its site.
In a divided country, the rainbow emerges as a symbol of union, harmony and reconciliation.
It is also, in certain indigenous cultures of South Africa, such as the Xhosa, associated with hope and a bright future.
The Bolivian wiphala, flag of indigenous movements
But it is not only in South Africa where the rainbow has passed from the domain of the sacred to invite itself into political space. In Bolivia, the wiphala - a square multicolored checkered flag - is an important emblem for indigenous peoples. It is systematically brandished during
demonstrations by indigenous communities
. And it has even become an official symbol of the Plurinational State, present in administrations and enshrined in the Constitution in 2009, where it is erected as a "
sacred symbol of the community system based on equity, equality, harmony. , solidarity and reciprocity
”.
A highly political motive that was particularly talked about during the electoral crisis of 2019, when
Evo Morales
fled the country.
Some opponents of the ousted president in particular trampled and even burned the wiphala, causing many Bolivians to react with anger and support for this multicolored banner.
Because over the years, the wiphala has become inseparable from Indigenous identity, struggles and political representation.
But if this symbol in its best known form dates from the 1990s, there are many variations and its history is intrinsically linked to that of the country.
Supporters of former Bolivian President Evo Morales demonstrate with wiphala in La Paz, November 18, 2019. AFP - JORGE BERNAL
The anthropologist Vincent Nicolas recalls that there is "
a great diversity of wiphalas which goes back to very far in time
". And they take part of their graphics from the royal banners of the colonial period, he believes. "
There are elements of Spanish heraldry in certain colors or patterns
." Under the colonial era, these colorful banners were “
widely distributed among the population
” who reclaimed them and reappropriated them. They become an important element of the local culture, exhibited during civic-religious and business celebrations.
But during the war of independence, the symbols of the monarchy are destroyed. "
The royal flag disappears in the big cities but this destruction does not reach the villages
", underlines the specialist of Bolivia. These emblems are perpetuated in the countryside and sometimes become political banners for rural communities, used in particular "
during the indigenous uprisings against the local government considered abusive
". They will thus accompany revolts and indigenous movements.
The 1990s marked a turning point for the symbol. "
At that time, there is a tendency to homogenize and standardize the wiphala thanks to the work of the historian German Choquehuanca, who proposed a unique model with these diagonal tiles
", explains the anthropologist. And the choice of the rainbow is not innocent, it is “
a pre-colonial motif found in Inca architecture or craftsmanship
”. The colors are then chosen and ordered, and each of them is assigned a particular meaning "
linked to the Andean vision of the world
".
"
It is a form of invention of tradition
," sums up Vincent Nicolas.
We invent a new object but from multiple traditions with an Inca and Spanish heritage.
Even if the colonial inspiration of the flag is controversial, due to the political will to make the wiphala a purely indigenous symbol, points out the researcher. Since then, this modern wiphala has firmly established itself in marches and demonstrations, relegating the older (and often less orderly) forms to religious festivals.
But if it has invaded the political field, we must not forget that the wiphala has always had a combative character, insists Vincent Nicolas.
“
During the colonial era, these flags were raised to mobilize the population whenever power was in danger.
Since then, they reappear cyclically at the time of crises, as was the case in 2019,
”recalls the anthropologist.
Symbol of struggle, source of stakes and political conflicts, the colorful wiphala also appears as a compendium of Bolivian history.
The emblem of social struggles in Europe and the United States
In Europe and the United States too, the rainbow is closely linked to social struggles. He is notably associated with the movement of alternative cooperatives to capitalism in the 1920s. The theorist of the social economy Charles Gide proposes the rainbow to represent the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), considering that it symbolizes in particular “
Unity in diversity
” and makes it an image of international cooperation. The rainbow was then used in several social movements over the century, mainly in the 1960s.
Multicolored flags appear in protests against nuclear weapons in Britain and the rainbow motif becomes a symbol of peace after a parade in Perugia organized in 1961 by the pacifist Aldo Capitini. It also makes its emergence in the fight for civil rights, with the concept of "Rainbow Coalition" set up by Fred Hampton, activist of the Black Panthers. The idea is then to bring together under the same banner organizations representing different communities (black, white, Hispanic) victims of discrimination (political, social, economic). The rainbow then represents the variety of these groups and their alliance. A notion then taken up by the Reverend Jesse Jackson with the “Rainbow PUSH Coalition” which fights for equal rights for racial minorities,small farmers, the unemployed, homosexuals.
The Reverend and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and the logo of his organization "Rainbow PUSH Coalition" in the background, during a press conference in 2007. Getty Images via AFP - WIN MCNAMEE
The presence of this motif in various protest causes probably inspired the American artist Gilbert Baker for the rainbow flag of the homosexual community, created in 1978. “
It is part of the continuity of the counter-culture, the 'social and cultural heritage of the movements of the 1960s and 1970s which saw the expression of critical and alternative points of view
, ”notes Guillaume Marche, professor of American civilization at the University of Paris-Est Créteil.
“
It is a symbol of diversity, of coalition, of multiplicity
.
"
The artist and activist explained it himself in a 2015 interview, available on the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) website: “
We needed something beautiful, something that came from us. The rainbow really matches our diversity in terms of race, gender, age, all of those things. Moreover, it is natural in that it comes from the sky.
“What is more, the rainbow is a joyful motif, underlines Guillaume Marche. “
The LGBT movement is unique in that, although it has demands like any social movement, it also celebrates life, joy and sexuality.
"
But one of the interesting aspects of this symbol is the fact that "
the colored branches represent an idea, a force and not a group of people
", underlines this specialist of contemporary social movements in the United States. Red for life, green for nature, blue for art, etc. Claiming and political, the multicolored flag "
was a way of saying:
'This is who I am'", Gilbert Baker told in 2015. It will quickly become the emblem of the LGBT community in the United States, appearing in the pride marches and accompanying the constitution of gay and lesbian enclaves in major American cities.
American artist Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag, during the Stockholm Pride March in 2003. AFP - FREDRIK PERSSON
The 1990s marked a turning point in the dissemination of the rainbow flag, with "
the internationalization of struggles for dignity and human rights, the growing influence of the United States and the defeat of the Soviet Internet, the AIDS epidemic which will push LGBT activists around the world to meet… All of this will help this symbol spread,
”points out the professor of American civilization. Today, the rainbow flag is recognized worldwide as an LGBT emblem. "
There was an effect of democratization and normalization of the symbol
", underlines Guillaume Marche, a symbol which is at the same time a sign of recognition, of belonging and of support for the cause.
It has even since gone through a number of variations to more specifically represent different communities or LGBT groups.
Thus, there is a lesbian pride flag whose rainbow is a variation of pink, a blue-pink-white trans pride flag, genderfluid, pansexual, asexual, agenre, or even pride flags. bear community on a variation of chestnuts.
These symbols are all inspired by the rainbow pattern, but with changing colors.
Proof that the polychromy of the rainbow is infinite and adapts to all struggles ...
► To read also:
When we only have color to express ourselves
Marxist red or Trumpist red?
Blue, the undeniable color of power
Green, pro-abortion, Islam ... sharing green
From proscribed to "yellow vests", the color of the unloved
Black, the banner of radicalism
Life, peace, innocence: white, a universal color
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