Not so well known, but often spotted, is the Co than, a kind of traditional flag, which plays an indispensable part in traditional festivals (Co means flag and than means genie) and numerous ceremonies in Vietnam.
The flag is a mélange of different colours, which are believed to reproduce the sun’s spectrum, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. These days even more colours are added to the palette to gladden the eyes of festival goers.
At a funeral, however, only a black and white Co than is used to symbolise the parting of the Am (Yin) and Duong (Yang) worlds.
Just as the Quoc Ky represents the birth of independent Vietnam, it is believed the origin of Co than has its roots in territorial sovereignty aeons ago, in a time when more primal beliefs were prevalent.
One co than is made with five layers of cloth, each of which is a different colour. The outer layer is serrated at the edges to represent the rays of the sun. The flag is a wave of submission to the heavens above. The sun would have been considered the centre of the universe, bestowing life and energy to all humans. Thus, the flag’s serrated edges expressed people’s hopes to harness this universal energy.
Of course, it is the Quoc Ky that ripples in the wind above all national monuments and buildings throughout the county and is waved by cheering Vietnamese sports fans but the co than is arguably just as important in a cultural context.
Look for it above a village’s common hall (dinh), or at a traditional festival, heralding a new season for Vietnamese people, or calling for pilgrims from the four corners of the country to come and celebrate. It is everywhere you look.