Madalorine color schemes

I found this information in a posting on at the BFFC site and thought I would share it here.I have no idea of how accurate it is but still thought it might get a "eyebrow" raise for those doing research on a Mandorline armor.
*quote*"In Mando'a tradition, beskar'gam (Mando'a armor) is painted to reflect a Mando's personal driving force. Black represents Justice, Green is Duty, and Gold is Vengeance."*quote*

red = honoring a father
gray = mourning a lost love

I think this has been posted here a couple time. I know we have a list over on the Mercs site, but Karen has said that there may be more info in the next RC book, Order 66.

If we don't see anymore wording on colors in the future, she has told me that colors really had no meaning before she began writing about it. So other then the colors already mentioned, you could pretty much make up your own meaning. I know at Mercs we use white to mean leadership and sacrifice.

So with mine, I'm part justice. What about the yellow and silver?

I got it!

Yellow = clergy
Silver = assassin

I'm a preacher with a gun. Watch your step.

David.

Do people actually follow this when they make their mando armor?

The Clayster said:

Do people actually follow this when they make their mando armor?

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Quite a few do actually.

I remember a list floating around originally that pretty much said:

Red: General
Blue: Lieutenant
Green: etc.

I think they need to stop altering what the colours mean, to me they are painted "cool," not in any specific paint scheme to design your mando.

I dunno, my favourite colours are Purple and Grey, that would make me look like a depressed clergyman or something.

There are a couple of problems with this, first you're going to run out of basic colors before you run out of "driving forces" for mandalorians- what happens once you get "meanings" for the basic ROYGBIV, brown, white, black, gray, gold, silver, copper? Then you are forced into shades and tints of regular colors? And eventually you're going to get shades that are open to interpretation:

"My armor isn't red with blue, it's burgundy with Aquamarine. The bugundy means his fighting for animal rights in the galaxy, and the aquamarine stands for his desire to pay off his student loans."

"No, IMHO its Maroon with Turquoise, which means you're fighting for the wrongful imprisonment of your mother, and your fighting to stop the encroachment of Western Culture in the Middle East, because thats what the list says."

Seems silly to attach meanings to colors. Now I haven't read True Colors yet, but could it be that the color meanings are something regional, or different for different clans? That would make it a little more believable then one big list the entire Mando culture follows.

Now I don't mean any of this as a knock on anyones thoughts or whatever, I'm just being logical about it. I really like Karen Traviss' work on the Mando culture so far. This just seems... not the most well thought out idea.


Phil

Jusik - Skirata's height, a head shorter than any clone - was swamped by Munin Skirata's green armour. Green for duty, black for justice, gold for vengeance: Mereel had opted for dark blue and Ordo for dark red, simply as a matter of taste, but when they decided they had a specific cause then they might change the livery and add sigils. The word uniform didn't have much meaning to Mandalorians.

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- Karen Traviss - True Colors

That says to me that whilst armour colour HAS a meaning not every Mando wearing that colour is doing so to make a statement or announce a cause etc. Some will be wearing the colour simply because they like it.

i agree
what if a mandos just fighting to fight like kotor age mando they faught because mandalore said to and that was enough for them

In the old era they were recently beginning to include other species, and needed something to keep them in-line. That's why they used the more uniform-like armour.

As I'm making that particular era Mandie, I think I'll stick to the rank schemes rather than the other... just to be more accurate. New recruits used the Blue/white scheme until they achieved more respect and were worthy of the honour of the red/white one and so forth. In many sources it's stated that, like the Jedi, each warrior coloured their armour after their own preference, like in Open Seasons.

I think it depends on each fan's point of view on this.

GCNgamer128 said:

I remember a list floating around originally that pretty much said:

Red: General
Blue: Lieutenant
Green: etc.

I think they need to stop altering what the colours mean, to me they are painted "cool," not in any specific paint scheme to design your mando.

I dunno, my favourite colours are Purple and Grey, that would make me look like a depressed clergyman or something.

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The thing to remember here is that colours as ranks for Mando's was used when Mandalore the Ultimate was err... Mand'alor, back during the KOTOR era when Mandalorians had an army and were hell bent on conquering the galaxy. In the era that Karen Traviss is writing about Mando's aren't soldiers but warriors and as such they don't need military style ranks or to wear colours associated with those ranks.

OrtharRrith said:

The thing to remember here is that colours as ranks for Mando's was used when Mandalore the Ultimate was err... Mand'alor, back during the KOTOR era when Mandalorians had an army and were hell bent on conquering the galaxy. In the era that Karen Traviss is writing about Mando's aren't soldiers but warriors and as such they don't need military style ranks or to wear colours associated with those ranks.

Click to expand...

Actually, the reason for the uniformality is explained in the comics, and it makes perfect balance with the Tales of the Jedi comic and the more recent material by KT. Basically, the thing goes as follows - especially what I can write without spoiling too much for those who might wish to read on this.

The original crusaders during the Sith War (Tales of the Jedi: Sith War) made from the majority of one species that spoke the same language and were born or adopted into each of the clans. They wore armour designs that were different from one warrior to the other. Following their defeat, Mandalore the Ultimate rebuilt them into the Neo-Crusaders. Due to the lack of warriors, needed to start a new crusade, he started recruiting from the outside. Following each planet conquered, new recruits joined.

Without dress-codes like the Republic used, and with so many species and cultures mixed into one army, the Neo-Crusaders became a force of ill-disciplined mess. A Mandalorian Commander named Cassus Fett suggested to counter this the Mandalorians needed similar uniforms and more specific boundries than they used to have -- thus, the Neo-Crusader armour.