Vexing Thoughts about Vexillology

Vexillology is the scholarly study of flags. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum and the suffix -ology, meaning "study of". The vexillum was a particular type of flag used by Roman legions during the classical era; its name is a diminutive form of the word vela meaning sail, and thus literally means "little sail".

(Like you didn't know that.)

I had a Morocco (flag not shown left) Moment in class yesterday which is annoying because I haven't had one of those since I left - wait for it - Morocco. It came in response to why Canada has a maple leaf on its flag which came in response to the question "what's that flower on your flag?"

Did I mention that there is a poster of world flags in my classroom? No? There is.

After I disabused my students of the notion that a leaf is a flower (for the botanically challenged, it is not), I - out of politeness rather than a gnawing interest about the Turkish flag (shown - sort of - above left) - inquired as to its origins. Which brings us to my Moroccan Moment ...

In Morocco, I could ask any given number of individuals - say, five - a simple question - say, what time is it? - and receive any given number - say, five - different answers. It was, to say the least, annoying. And as I am loath to suggest that this is an Arab trait (since Turks are not Arabs and would probably poke your eye out with a baklava fork for even suggesting such a thing), I'll make no attempts at cultural or racial or religious parallels but say that I've now experienced a Turkish Moment.

To recap: I - out of politeness rather than a gnawing interest about the Turkish flag (shown - sort of - above left) - inquired as to its origins. Seven students and seven - well, six because one is a sullen pouty thing who doesn't talk - different answers. After about 15 minutes of violent vociferous inter-necine warfare discussion, the two interpretations which tied for the most likely correct response - as decided by my students - were:

1) The star and crescent moon are symbols of Allah and the Prophet Mohammed (respectively).
2) The red background is a symbol of the Prophet Mohammed's blood - the actual battle in which he spilled his blood no one knew.
3) The star and crescent moon are just that - a star and a moon - which represents the sky - or heaven with a big H - reflected in a sea of blood, which brings us to ...
4) the red background represents the blood (i.e. "sea of blood") of those martyrs killed to create Turkey - the actual battle in which they spilled their blood no one knew.

Wow. Needless to say, there were five - well, four because one is a sullen pouty thing who doesn't talk - other knowing pronouncements on the flag's design & symbolism but those two students who swayed their peers with their own theories and won the day were the two who ultimately spoke the loudest.

So, for the record, let me introduce the Turkish flag (shown - sort of - above left): the star and crescent moon are pre-Islamic symbols - they've been found on coins dating as far back as the 300's in the (then) Greek city of Byzantium to honour the moon goddess (i.e., not Allah and not the Prophet Mohammed). And red? - red is a cardinal directional colour as well as red the colour of the Caliph Umar I who ruled in the 7th century.

So there you go. Of course there are a host of other theories - I like the one about the Ottoman emperor who dreamt that the star and crescent moon just appeared on his chest and then got bigger and bigger and bigger - and at least one includes Atatürk, who is credited here for pretty much everything except inventing the kebab. Although he undoubtedly perfected the kebab. And yes, perhaps I'm being unduly unfair since Turkey has a long and sometimes chequered past, and it's easy to see how things can get gobbled garbled over time.

My class' homework - which they will never do - is to research the history of the Turkish flag (shown - sort of - above left) and report back what they find. I'm not expecting any presentations which include the words "pre-Islamic" or preclude the words "sea of blood". With seven students and seven - well, six because one is a sullen pouty thing who doesn't talk - responses, I suspect that it won't take long for my patience and my interest to flag. How vexing.