Rainbow Flags Around the World

If you've been to the Andes, this is all familiar to you! But for newcomers, here's a guide to help you avoid some heated exchanges with the Andean people: no, this is not the gay flag!

The rainbow flag originally symbolizes peace, diversity, hope, and harmony. It appears in several ancient traditions around the world. Through lack of discernment, rainbow flags are most often associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

However, in reality, there are many flags inspired by the rainbow. So, how do you distinguish them from the gay flag?

The peace flag is a symbol found in many cultures around the world, across different eras.

It is notably found in the Catholic religion where it embodies hope: it is the sign sent by God to Noah, to warn him that He will no longer send a flood upon the Earth.

Today, the peace flag is especially popular in Italy.

The gay flag consists of, as you can count, 6 color stripes (not 7, like a true rainbow... A question for two sesterces: what is the missing color of the rainbow?! Bets are open in the comments!).

And as you've likely noticed with your keen, piercing gaze, the colors of the gay flag are inverted compared to the peace flag. In reality, this flag respects the true order of colors of the rainbow: red on the outside and purple on the inside.

But before arriving at this version of the LGBT flag (in 1979), there were other versions, with some variations. For example, in June 1978, the gay and lesbian flag had an additional stripe at the top of the flag. You'll never guess the color... Yes, it was pink.

The Andean flag, or >, is a square checkerboard rainbow flag associated with Indigenous peoples (the rainbow being the emblem of the Inca dynasty). The existence and use of this emblem dates back very far: probably to the very creation of Tiwanaku (1500 BCE).

During the colonial period, its use was forbidden, making it a beautiful symbol of resistance.

The term wiphala actually encompasses a set of flags, as there are many local variations.

The rainbow flag of Cuzco has Incan origins and affirms a connection to nature and Pachamama (Mother Earth). It symbolizes the connection between the gods of water and thunder.

Legend has it that when Manko Cápac, the first Inca (emerging from Lake Titicaca in search of the place to build his empire), arrived at future Cuzco, his sacred staff sank into this fertile land and a rainbow crossed the sky, as many favorable signs: he had found THE perfect place to build >.

Like the gay flag, it starts with the red stripe, but unlike it, it has 7 colored stripes instead of six. And the additional color is... (drumroll) light blue!

Many other causes and personalities have adopted the rainbow as a banner, among them: cooperative movements (including the ICA), the UN with its >, the campaign against Pinochet during the major referendum of 1987 (see the article: >), Indian guru Meher Baba for whom the rainbow represents different aspects of Indian spirituality (karmic formation...), Bene Ohr (Jewish community in the USA) for whom it represents the Kabbalah, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, the Multinational Unity Movement Pachakutik-New Country (Ecuadorian political movement), the Socialist Party of Russian Patriots, the Nohaism (a religious stream of Judaism) for which it represents the 7 Noahide Laws...

Now you are warned. I hope you haven't had a rainbow overdose...!

I think you are now unlikely to confuse the Andean flag, the Cuzco flag, and the gay flag!