Historical-Genetic Foundations of Colour Symbolism

Аннотация

This article explains the organic connection between the concept of colour, human thinking, archetypal systems, and cultural layers. The symbolic meanings of colours are revealed through colour psychology, philosophical understanding methods, and comparative analyses in historical development. This topic is extensively analysed based on examples related to various folk concepts, religious beliefs, and mythological images. Keywords: Colour, mythology, symbolism, totemic views, religious attitudes, white colour, black colour, red colour, symbolism. from natural phenomena. Similarly, various colours, Introduction: Colour symbolism is an integral part of flowers, and ornaments have captured human human thought and culture, with its roots extending attention. People began to see in colours not only back to ancient mythological concepts, religious aesthetic beauty but also spiritual delight. Over time, beliefs, folk oral traditions, and customs. In the culture colours began to acquire spiritual and symbolic of Turkic peoples, the symbolic meaning of colours has meaning in human consciousness. Thus, like many deep roots, through which people expressed their other peoples, Turkic peoples have since ancient times perceptions of nature, society, and the world. For attributed symbolic and national-spiritual value to example, white colour signified purity and sanctity, colours. while black colour represented sorrow, suffering, and sometimes negative forces. These colours were not METHODOLOGY merely external appearances, but possessed inner Colour is one of the fundamental, permanent, and meaning and aesthetic significance. Similarly, great essential elements of folk culture, playing an important thinker-scholars such as Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Mahmud role in the process of forming, assimilating, and Kashgari, Najmiddin Kubra, and Alisher Navoi preserving in memory a system of concepts with specifically emphasised the role of colours in language archetypal and national characteristics. Over time, and culture. colours acquire complex layers of meaning. For this In modern research, colour symbolism is studied in reason, contemporary research on colour is based on relation to poetic thought, folklore, and religious- the analysis of concepts such as semantics, symbolism, spiritual heritage. The concept of colour emerged from informational value, imagery, myth, and signs. Colour is the earliest stages of human thought, and its semantics no longer merely a physical phenomenon, but has are organically connected to the most ancient symbolic become a symbolic idea with profound content. systems. Colours in mythological consciousness were The symbolic meaning of colours in Turkish history first associated with spatial, temporal, and energetic attracted the attention of Western Turkologist concepts, occupying a central place in the worldview of scholars. For example, Hungarian scholar Professor A. archaic societies. Through anthropological and Alfoldi, German Turkologist Annemarie von Gabain, mythological analysis, the fundamental meanings of and another German Turkologist I. Lude-Cirtautas, as colours, their role in ancient worldviews, their well as the famous writer Goethe, have extensively functions, and their archetypal content are revealed. covered this topic. Since ancient times, humanity has drawn inspiration American Journal Of Philological Sciences 73 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN – 2771-2273) Among the Turkic and Mongol peoples, dividing the appearance but as cosmogonic ideas. The 'Diwan world into four directions and marking them with Lughat al-Turk' provides a classification similar to the specific colours was an integral part of ancient above information but with significant variations: white cosmological views. According to Gabain's writings, represents East, red represents South, blue represents from the Turkic perspective: North, black represents West, and the centre is marked with a yellowish colour (this earth—the human centre, • East — green or blue (sky), meaning the axis of life). The connection of colours with • West — white, the four sacred directions is part of the mechanism for • South — red (al-qizil), creating a world model in the ancient Turkic worldview. • North — black, This model is based on shamanistic and religious foundations. However, because belief theories shaped • Centre — yellow. the colour-related views of both Turkic and European This concept existed in China, Turkestan and Mongol peoples, diverse approaches emerged. This created culture, as well as in ancient Mayan, Roman, Greek and differences related to each nation's culture. Colours Egyptian civilisations, but each people expressed it in acquired deep meaning in religious-philosophical their own distinctive interpretation. thought, serving in each religion and belief system as Among the Mongols and other nomadic peoples, there symbols for understanding divine truth, spiritual were