Saffron (color)

This article is about the colour. For other uses, see Saffron (disambiguation).

"Bhagwa" redirects here. For the village, see Bhagwa, Jammu and Kashmir.

"Saffron yellow" redirects here. For the RAL color, see Saffron yellow (RAL).

Saffron is a shade of yellow or orange, the colour of the tip of the saffron crocus thread, from which the spice saffron is derived. The hue of the spice saffron is primarily due to the carotenoid chemical crocin.

Etymology

Saffron threads from Iran

The word saffron ultimately derives (via Arabic) from the Middle Iranian ja'far-. The name was used for the saffron spice in Middle English from c. 1200. As a colour name, it dates to the late 14th century.

Variations

Deep saffron approximates the colour of India saffron (also known as bhagwa or kesari).

In Rajasthani, this colour is called kay-ser-ia. The word derives its name from kesar, a spice crop from Kashmir.

In nature

Stigmas (i.e., flower threads) from saffron crocus are plucked, piled, and dried.

Plants

• Byzantine meadow saffron (Colchicum × byzantinum) is a hybrid flowering plant.
• Cape saffron (Cassine peragua) is a flowering tree with saffron-coloured bark.
• Cobra saffron (Mesua ferrea) is a tree found in southern Asia.
• Meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale) is a flowering plant found in Europe.
• Mediterranean meadow saffron (Colchicum cupanii) is a flowering plant found in central Mediterranean basin.
• Saffron buckwheat (Eriogonum crocatum) is a species of wild buckwheat endemic to the Conejo Valley.
• Saffron spice is derived from the flowers of the plant named saffron crocus (Crocus sativus).
• Saffron plum (Sideroxylon celastrinum) is a flowering plant found in North, Central, and South America.
• Saffron thistle (Carthamus lanatus) is a thistle native to the Mediterranean basin.
• Spring meadow saffron (Colchicum bulbocodium) is a flowering alpine plant found in Europe.
• Steven's meadow saffron (Colchicum stevenii) is a flowering plant found in the eastern Mediterranean.

Birds

A male saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola)

• The saffron-billed sparrow (Arremon flavirostris) is a bird found in South America.
• The saffron-breasted prinia (Prinia hypoxantha) is a passerine bird found in eastern South Africa and Swaziland.
• The saffron-crested tyrant-manakin (Neopelma chrysocephalum) is a bird found in the Guianas, southern Venezuela, and the northwestern Amazon basin.
• The saffron-crowned tanager (Tangara xanthocephala) is a bird found in the montane forests of South America.
• The saffron-headed parrot (Pyrilia pyrilia) is a parrot found in the montane forests of South America.
• The saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America, and is common in both open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon basin.
• The saffron siskin (Spinus siemiradzkii) is a finch found in Ecuador and Peru.
• The saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) is a toucan from South American's Atlantic Forest.

Aquatic animals

A male saffron shiner (Notropis rubricroceus)

• The saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) is a commercially harvested fish in the North Pacific.
• The saffron-coloured clam (Tridacna crocea) is a bivalve found in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The saffron shiner (Notropis rubricroceus) is a fish found in Tennessee River drainage.

Amphibians

• The saffron-bellied frog (Chaperina fusca) is a frog found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and the Philippines.

Insects

A saffron milkcap (Lactarius deliciosus)

• The saffron-winged meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum) is a dragonfly found in North America.
• The saffron beetle (Calosoma schayeri) is a beetle found in Australia.
• The saffron sapphire (Iolaus pallene) is a butterfly found in Africa.
• The saffron skipper (Poanes aaroni) is a skipper found in North America.

Fungi

• False saffron milkcap (Lactarius deterrimus) is a fungus found in Europe and Asia.
• Saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) is a edible fungus found in Europe.
• Saffron ringless amanita (Amanita crocea) is a Amantia found in Europe.

Viruses

• The Saffron Scourge is another name for yellow fever.

Religion

Bhagwa colour flag, used by Hindus.

Flag of the Sikh religion- the Sikh - Nishan Sahib.

Theravada monk in Thailand

Hinduism and Buddhism associate saffron with the pious renunciation of material life.

Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes (although occasionally maroon — the color normally worn by Vajrayana Buddhist monks — is worn). The tone of saffron typically worn by Theravada Buddhist monks is the lighter tone of saffron shown above.

Saffron holds symbolic meaning in Sikhism, representing spirit and sacrifice. Originally a shade of yellow called basanti, the field of the modern Nishan Sahib is saffron. Turbans worn by Sikhs most often blue or white, but saffron is common.

Political uses

The Flag of India (since 1947) is saffron, white and green

Bhagwa Dhwaj, used as the flag of the Maratha Empire.

In politics, it was used Indian independence movement, and it was chosen as one of the three colours of the Indian national flag after independence in 1947, and is used by Hindus. India saffron, representing courage and sacrifice, was chosen for one of the three bands of the National Flag of India, along with white (peace and truth) and what is now called India green (faith and chivalry). The Flag of India is officially described in the Flag Code of India as follows:

The colour of the top panel shall be India saffron (Kesari) and that of the bottom panel shall be India green. The middle panel shall be white, bearing at its centre the design of Ashoka Chakra in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, described the significance of the Indian National Flag as follows:

Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.

The use of saffron in the national flag and as political symbolism is has been opposed. One line of opposition asserts that the color is sacred and should not be politicized. Another source of opposition comes from Islamists who claim the color is forbidden in Islam and strongly prohibited to be worn by the males.

Saffron turbans are associated with the Khalistan movement in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India.

Because Therevada Buddhist monks were at the forefront of the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests, the uprising has been referred to as the Saffron Revolution by some in the international media.

Today in India, saffron is the official color of the Bharatiya Janata Party, India's largest center-right party, and the largest political party by registered member count in the world.

Clothing

Saffron-coloured cloth had a history of use among the Gaelic-Irish. A saffron kilt is worn by the pipers of certain Irish regiments in the British Army, and the saffron léine in the defence forces of the Republic of Ireland. The latter garment is also worn by some Irish and Irish-American men as an item of national costume (though most wear kilts, believing them to be Irish). Its colour varies from a true saffron orange to a range of dull mustard and yellowish-brown hues.

The Antrim GAA teams are nicknamed "The Saffrons" because of the saffron-coloured kilt which they play in. The Old Irish word for saffron, cróc, derives directly from the Latin Crocus sativus. In Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries, men wore léine, a saffron-coloured loose shirt that reached down to mid-thigh or the knee. (see Irish clothing).

Literature

The colour saffron is associated with the goddess of dawn (Eos in Greek mythology and Aurora in Roman mythology) in classical literature:

Cymon and Iphigeneia c. 1884 by Frederic Leighton - saffron suffuses the canvas at sunrise

Homer's Iliad:

Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of Okeanos, to bring light to mortals and immortals, Thetis reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her. (19.1)

Virgil's Aeneid:

Aurora now had left her saffron bed,

And beams of early light the heav'ns o'erspread,

When, from a tow'r, the queen, with wakeful eyes,

Saw day point upward from the rosy skies.

Other media

• The lyrics of Donovan's 1966 song, "Mellow Yellow" repeat the line, "I'm just mad about Saffron".
• In the Pokémon franchise, in the region of Kanto there is a city named Saffron City.
• The Gates is a site-specific art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 metal "gates" along 23 miles (37 km) of pathways in Central Park in New York City. From each gate hung a flag-shaped piece of deep saffron-coloured nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12, 2005 through February 27, 2005.

See also

• Saffron, spice of the saffron crocus
• History of saffron
• RAL 1017 Saffron yellow
• List of colours
• Saffron Type System, an anti-aliased text-rendering engine