In many regions of the world, prevalent winds change direction seasonally, and consequently many cultures associate specific named
winds with cardinal and intercardinal directions. For example,
classical Greek culture characterized these winds as
Anemoi. In
pre-modern Europe more generally, between eight and 32
points of the compass – cardinal and intercardinal directions – were given names. These often corresponded to the directional winds of the
Mediterranean Sea (for example, southeast was linked to the
Sirocco, a wind from the Sahara). Particular
colors are associated in some traditions with the cardinal points. These are typically "
natural colors" of human perception rather than optical
primary colors. Many cultures, especially in
Asia, include the center as a
fifth cardinal point.
Northern Eurasia Central Asian,
Eastern European and
North East Asian cultures frequently have traditions associating colors with four or five cardinal points. Systems with five cardinal points (four directions and the center) include those from
pre-modern China, as well as traditional
Turkic,
Tibetan and
Ainu cultures. In Chinese tradition, the five cardinal point system is related to
I Ching, the
Wu Xing and the five
naked-eye planets. In traditional
Chinese astrology, the zodiacal belt is divided into the
four constellation groups corresponding to the directions. Each direction is often identified with a color, and (at least in China) with a
mythological creature of that color. Geographical or ethnic terms may contain the name of the color instead of the name of the corresponding direction.
Examples East: Green/
Blue (
青 "qīng" corresponds to both green and blue); Spring;
Wood :
Qingdao (Tsingtao): "Green Island", a city on the east coast of China :
Green Ukraine South: Red; Summer;
Fire :
Red River (Asia): south of China :
Red Ruthenia :
Red Jews: a semi-mythological group of Jews :
Red Croatia :
Red Sea West: White; Autumn;
Metal :
White Sheep Turkmen :
Akdeniz, meaning 'White Sea':
Mediterranean Sea in
Turkish :
Balts,
Baltic words containing the stem
balt- ("white") :
Belarus, meaning 'White Russia' :
White Ruthenia :
White Serbia :
White Croatia North: Black; Winter;
Water :
Heilongjiang: "Black Dragon River" province in
Northeast China, also the
Amur River :
Kara-Khitan Khanate: "Black Khitans" who originated in Northern China :
Karadeniz, literally meaning 'Black Sea':
Black Sea in
Turkish :
Black Hungarians :
Black Ruthenia Center: Yellow;
Earth :
Huangshan: "Yellow Mountain" in central China :
Huang He: "Yellow River" in central China :
Golden Horde: "Central Army" of the Mongols
Arabic world Countries where Arabic is used refer to the cardinal directions as (N), (E), (S), and (W). Additionally, is used for the center. All five are used for geographic subdivision names (
wilayahs, states, regions, governorates, provinces, districts or even towns), and some are the origin of some Southern Iberian place names (such as
Algarve, Portugal and
Axarquía, Spain).
North America In
Mesoamerica and
North America, a number of traditional
indigenous cosmologies include four cardinal directions and a center. Some may also include "above" and "below" as directions, and therefore focus on a cosmology of seven directions. For example, among the
Hopi of the
Southwestern United States, the four named cardinal directions are not North, South, East and West but are the four directions associated with the places of sunrise and sunset at the winter and summer solstices. Each direction may be associated with a color, which can vary widely between nations, but which is usually one of the basic colors found in nature and natural pigments, such as black, red, white, and yellow, with occasional appearances of blue, green, or other hues. There can be great variety in color symbolism, even among cultures that are close neighbors geographically.
India Ten
Hindu deities, known as the "
Dikpālas", have been recognized in classical Indian scriptures, symbolizing the four cardinal and four intercardinal directions with the additional directions of
up and
down. Each of the ten directions has its own name in
Sanskrit.
Indigenous Australia Some
indigenous Australians have cardinal directions deeply embedded in their culture. For example, the
Warlpiri people have a cultural philosophy deeply connected to the four cardinal directions and the
Guugu Yimithirr people use cardinal directions rather than
relative direction even when indicating the position of an object close to their body. (For more information, see:
Cultures without relative directions.) The precise direction of the cardinal points appears to be important in
Aboriginal stone arrangements. Many aboriginal languages contain words for the usual four cardinal directions, but some contain words for 5 or even 6 cardinal directions. citing {{multiref|1= ==Unique (non-compound) names of intercardinal directions==