File:Ladakh Tribal Art & Rituals 10.jpg

English: Prayer flags are integral to Tibetan Buddhist traditions, serving to promote goodwill and compassion across the universe. These sacred flags demand reverence. Their roots may intertwine with the ancient Bön traditions of Tibet, where shamans utilized plain flags in healing rituals, and tales of the Buddha's prayers adorned battle flags of divine warriors known as devas and asuras. A more mundane origin story suggests the dissemination of Indian Buddhist Sutras globally via cloth pieces. Today, they are a familiar spectacle across the Himalayas. The flags are colored in five hues—blue representing the sky, white symbolizing air/wind, red for fire, green denoting water, and yellow for earth—and are traditionally adorned with woodblock prints of images and texts. Typically, the flag's center features a Lungta (mighty horse), emblematic of swiftness and the transmutation of misfortune to good, bearing three jewels on its back that represent the Buddha, Buddhist teachings and the Buddhist community. Images of four sacred animals – dragon, garuda, tiger and snow lion – can appear in the corners. Covering the rest of the flag are versions of the 400 or so mantras (powerful ritual utterances) and prayers for the life and fortune of the person tying the flag. When the wind blows the flags, it spreads the blessings, good will and compassion embodied in the images and writings across the land. Eventually the prints fade and the prayers become part of the universe, and the prayer flags are renewed.