International Color Guide - South Africa

South Africans Refer to Their Country as the "Rainbow Nation" Because of Its Many Ethnic Groups.

South Africa's present flag incorporates elements from other flags, including those of Britain, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (the last two were original independent settlements in South Africa). The use of orange and blue hearkens back to a previous flag, and strips of black, green and yellow refer to the flag of the African National Congress.

South Africans refer to their land as the "rainbow nation," because of its mix of ethnicities and cultures. Many call their flag the "rainbow flag."

The original people of South Africa, the Zulu, use black, red and white in particular in their personal decoration and medicines. Black and red are almost synonymous: They represent both good and evil. White alone is representative of good.

The Zulu also use colored medicines to treat what they see as spiritual illnesses: The cures are used to rebalance the individual with his or her environment. Black and red medicines drive badness from the body and strengthen it against future illness. White medicines help the body to regain its health.

	For the Zulu, the color white stands for goodness and power. White beads symbolize love.
	The Zulu do not like black and consider dark greens and blues to be black. Black beads stand for darkness.
	Red can be either a sign of misfortune or blessing. Red beads represent the red eyes of a distraught lover.
	For the Zulu, yellow beads are a symbol of wealth.
	Blue symbolizes a happy dove. The Zulu classify dark blue as black, and clear blue as white.
	Green represents the sea, nature, water and the sky. It also can signify that something is raw or unripe. Green can also represent illness.
	Pink beads, for the Zulu, represent poverty.
	The Zulu take black medicines to strengthen a person after a death or other misfortune; they follow with a white medicine to take away the effects of the black.
	These colors are symbolically important and are strictly used in this order. Black and red stand equally for goodness and badness; white represents good. Wherever black or red is used, it must be followed with white.