The image above ("Deep in prayer at the Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore, India"), by
Steph Peatfield of Londo, is an entry in the Telegraph's Big Picture travel photography competition. When I saw the photo, I was reminded of this photograph of actress Clara Bow -
- that I blogged three years ago (discussed here), and this one from 2010 of a folk quilt in a Colorado museum:
(read the details here), and finally this Halloween outfit from 1918:
The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word "svastika", meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of su- meaning "good, well" and asti "to be" svasti thus means "well-being." The suffix -ka either forms a diminutive or intensifies the verbal meaning, and svastika might thus be translated literally as "that which is associated with well-being," corresponding to "lucky charm" or "thing that is auspicious." The word in this sense is first used in the Harivamsa. As noted by Monier-Williams in his Sanskrit-English dictionary, according to Alexander Cunningham, its shape represents a monogram formed by interlacing of the letters of the auspicious words su-astà (svasti) written in Ashokan characters.Lots more info at the Wikipedia entry linked above.
Addendum: Reader adeus notes that the swastika is in current usage by some units of the Finnish Air Force:
Addendum #2: Updated to add this photo of a Canadian women's hockey team.
The Fernie Swastikas were a women's hockey team that was formed in 1922 in Fernie, British Columbia. Their uniform used as a symbol the swastika, which before World War II was a common religious symbol, and especially a sun sign. In 1923, the Swastikas won the Alpine Cup at the Banff Winter Carnival women's ice hockey championship. There were two other teams called the Swastikas, one in Edmonton, Alberta, and another the Windsor Swastikas of Windsor, Nova Scotia.
And I've just discovered there is a detailed article on the Western use of the swastika in Wikipedia. Those interested can find many more examples there, including this wedding dress from 1910:
Addendum #3: Reposted from 2016 to add this photo of an ancient seal-
"Bar shaped seal showing a man standing in front of a tiger on one side and five swastika on another with pictograms on both sides, 3000 BCE, Terracotta, Harappa, Indus valley civilization. At National Museum, New Delhi, India."Found at the delightful Artefact Porn subreddit.
Reposted from 2020 to accompany a new adjacent post.
My husband and I were looking at old houses to buy in Highland Park, Michigan. We looked at one that was built in the early 1920s (maybe 1919). The foyer was covered in beautiful Pewabic tiles with a swastika pattern, which takes you aback, until you remember that the Nazi party wasn't known in America until the late 1920s, maybe even later.
ReplyDeleteMy mother in law's home, built in 1920 in east central Indiana, has the same type of tiles, on the covered archway on the porch and in the foyer. Ironically, her father in law was a member of the Nazi Party years later (he never immigrated to the USA). She toyed with destroying the swastikas when she purchased the place in 1960, but decided against it. But she does direct folks to come to her home at the side porch, just in case.
DeleteWith google street view you can just make out what decorates the light posts outside of the historic Post Office @ 323 East Broadway, Glendale, CA, United States
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, I remember visiting this post office, sitting in my mother's parked car and through the mirror catching a glimpse of swastikas that ringed the bases of the light posts. As I looked around, I discovered they were 'everywhere' (As an adult I can clearly see that they are 'backwards' when compared to the more familiar Nazi design.) Regardless, I remember being scared, confused and wondering what affiliation my family had with such evil people... It didn't help matters that our family was from Germany originally.
The "backward swastika" is called a sauwastika.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauwastika
DeleteIt's a visually pleasing symbol, but hopelessly corrupted.
ReplyDelete'Hopelessly Corrupted' is a stretch. It is only regarded so in the west. To the majority of the world (China, India, South-east Asia, Africa) It remains a sacred symbol everywhere.
DeleteSome units in the Finnish air force still use the swastika (e.g. Training Air Wing in their insignias. An interesting feat considering the historical baggage that comes with it.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen that one before. Excellent. I've added the image and link to the post. Thanks, adeus for helping make the blog better.
DeleteA blue swastika on a white circle was the Finnish Air Forces insignia from 1918 until 1944. It was based on the good luck symbol of Count 'Carl Gustaf Bloomfield Eric von Rosen who gave the Finnish Air Force its first aircraft. Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Air_Force.
DeleteSome of the early Finnish stamps have a swastika as watermark.
DeleteYes. Replaced by the posthorn in the 1920s.
DeleteAddendum to my comment: The training wing has since been disbanded in 2015 and it is no longer in use. I'm unsure whether the swastika is in active use anywhere anymore.
DeleteSometimes history just irrevocably changes things. The swastika is one of those things. It will never be the same; it can never be reborn.
ReplyDeleteSure it can; all it needs to do is outlast memories and knowledge of WWII.
DeleteThe flag of the Isle of Man (a self-governed island in between Ireland and England) is essentially a swastika (it has the same root meaning). See this picture: http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/isle-of-man-flag.html
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Thanks.
Deletetechnically, that is a triskelion and not a swastika.
DeleteI-)
the swastika was used by one of the native american tribes of the southwest. they stopped using it after the symbol was tainted by events of the pre-mid 20th century.
ReplyDeletei have seen the swastika in one kung fu movie, where it decorated the walls of a temple.
I-)
Swastikas are commonly used in Japan to denote Buddhist temples. For example, the green squares on the right side of this tourist map of Fukuoka city: https://yokanavi.com/assets/uploads/2020/07/20200701_yataimapJPN-01-01-1-1024x729.jpg
ReplyDeleteEnglish-language maps do not use the symbols for obvious reasons. On a related note, I once witnessed an American visiting professor giving a stern lecture to a student wearing a Nazi swastika T-shirt. The professor had no idea of the significance of the swastika in Japan but, to be fair, the T-shirt was clearly the Nazi logo.
That map came from this page, by the way: https://yokanavi.com/yatai/
ReplyDeleteOff topic (sorry) but this post is one of the two that got censored by my free version of Feedly (the other post was the Gingko Sperm one) over the last few days. Anybody around here has similar observations?
ReplyDeletekr
Huh. You're right; same here.
DeleteAlthough I know, and have for many years, that the swastika is a much older symbol than the Austrian Housepainter's use of it... when I visited a friend in Leicester (A UK City with a high Indian/Asian community) She took me to a local area with Indian supermarkets I was brought up short by turning into an aisle and being confronted by hundreds of home shrines adorned with the symbol.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly powerful.
symbol used by MIAC: 'the new brand uses a universal “migration” image to help visitors visualize their journey to the museum.' https://irootsmedia.com/portfolio-item/miac/
ReplyDeleteI-)
It may be completely obvious, but I think it's worth noting that Hitler CHOSE the swastika as the symbol of National Socialism. However, he did this in the context of far-right Germans already using it for some decades.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article about the history: https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/how-why-sanskrit-symbol-become-nazi-swastika-svastika/
I'm sure you're aware, but swastika postcards also tended to be a thing.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of that. Thanks for providing readers with the link.
DeleteAlso: The American Swastika (showing, amongst others, many counterexamples against the surprisingly persistent bit of misinformation claiming that the Nazis were the first to tilt the symbol 45 degrees).
DeleteI am not quite sure why you are making such a big thing of this? From time way back up until about the mid-1930s, it was used as a positive symbol. The Nazi use gave it a negative meaning and it has disappeared from popular use because of that. Are you starting a campaign to bring back the symbol with all its positive connotations?
DeleteTo anon: If you're referring to me, I'm not making a "big deal" about this any more than I would be making a big deal about the Amtrak and amethyst reposts. I reposted this to accompany the Canadian stamps new post to clarify that swastikas are not intrinsically a bad thing (I'm a stamp collector).
DeleteThe meanings and uses of symbols change with times. Years ago, wearing / displaying a rainbow meant you liked 'rainbows and unicorns' and that joy. Now, displaying a rainbow means that you support gay rights.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. MAGA used to mean "Make America Great Again." Now it means "My Ass Got Arrested."
DeleteTo note, The 1st ever translation of Mein Kampf done by Eher Dudgale never used the word "Swastik". It used "Hakenckreuz" or "hooked cross".
ReplyDeleteBut, a person closely related to the church, James Murphy, translated the Mein Kampf and, used the word "Swastik" to absolve the connection of the church to the nazis.
The Silence of Swastik is a good documentary that goes in depth about this issue: https://youtu.be/YxvBFytl5aE
English language version of TSOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HspDwwVv1Fk
DeleteNot only did Hilter and the Nozis commit all sorts of heinous acts, but they also did cultural appropriation.
ReplyDelete