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Why Is Green A Forbidden Colors in Indonesia? Cultures and Myths

If you want to travel to several places in Indonesia, you might ever heard people saying that you should avoid using green colored clothes.

Why Is Green A Forbidden Colors in Indonesia

You may be confused, but this prohibition is widely believed by Indonesian people. So, why is green a forbidden color in Indonesia? To know more about the reasons, read explanation below.

Where You Should Avoid Using Green Colored Clothes

For your information, several Indonesian people are also loves green colored shirt. You can still use green clothes when travelling to Indonesia. However, if you want to go to a certain places, you will be advised not to use green.

This is especially believed if you want to go to the beaches in southern part of Java Island. People went to the beach in southern part of Java Island or known also as “Pantai Selatan” or Southern Sea are not allowed to use green colored shirt.

If you believe with this rule, you may also want to avoid using green colored shirt when travelling to beaches in Indonesia and when climbing to the mountain.

Read more about color in Indonesia:

Why People are not allowed to Use Green in Southern Beaches

Indonesian government actually never issued a law about wearing certain colors when going to the beach. However, the local people believe that you are not allowed to use green color when going to the beaches in southern part of Java Island.

If you go to the beaches in southern part of Java, you will notice that the sea is more dangerous and have more waves and wind than the beaches in northern part of Java. This is normal because the sea is facing Indian Ocean.

The ban of using green color is more emphasized in Parangtritis beach and Pelabuhan Ratu beach. These two beaches located on the southern part of Java Island. People said that if you wear green color, you will be dragged by sea waves, drowned to the ocean and then passed away.

People say that this happen because of Nyi Roro Kidul, the Queen of Southern Sea. She is believed as a supernatural ruler of the Southern Sea. She is always pictured using green clothes, so if you also wear green color, you will be dragged by her into the sea.

Read more about Indonesian culture:

Logical Explanation about the Myth

Even if you don’t believe the myth, it is still not recommended to wear green clothes when you go to the beach or mountain in Indonesia. You better use bright colored clothes such as yellow, red, orange, purple, etc.

Especially if you want to swim in the sea. This is because if you are swimming too far to the sea, you can be dragged by the waves. If you wear green color, people will have difficulty to identify and save you.

That’s all the explanation about the answer to the question why is green a forbidden colors in Indonesia. I hope the article will be helpful and can expand your knowledge on Indonesian language.