We spoke about the flag of Ethiopia the last time. We have picked the colourful flag of Sri Lanka this time. Read on to know everything about it…
When Vijaya, the first King of Sri Lanka came to Sri Lanka from India in 486 BC, he brought with him a flag with a symbol of a lion on it. From that time onwards, the lion symbol has played a substantial role in the history of Sri Lanka.
In 1948, the flag was adapted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon. However, the flag underwent plenty of changes in 1953 and again in 1972. During the same year, four leaves of the Bo tree were put on the four corners of the Sri Lankan National flag under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne. Prior to 1972, the corners of the flag had symbols depicting spearheads.The four Bo leaves added by Wijeyeratne reflect the fundamental principles of Mettha (loving kindness), Karuna (compassion), Upeksha (equanimity) and Muditha (happiness).
The flag was officially adopted on December 17, 1978. In this version, the green represents Muslims while the orange represents Hindus. The distinguishing mark of the Sri Lankan flag is the golden lion with its right fore-paw holding a sword, giving it the name of ‘Lion Flag’. The lion is set on a crimson background with one golden bo (sacred fig) leaf at every corner. In general, the lion represents bravery, but every design holds a meaning within the golden lion. The curly hair of the lion represents meditation, religious observance and wisdom. The beard represents purity of words; the nose, intelligence; the fore-paws, purity in handling wealth. The sword that the lion holds represents the sovereignty of the country. The handle of the sword stands for the four elements namely air, water, earth and fire.
There are two vertical stripes of the same width and length in green and saffron, the green stripe closer to the hoist, on the left. Between the stripes and the lion, and around them are yellow borders.The crimson background represents the other minority religions and groups, including the European Burghers. It also refers to the country’s rich colonial heritage. The yellow border represents other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Malays.
Together, the lion and the maroon background represent Sinhalese ethnicity and the strength of the country.
Stay tuned for more interesting trivia in our Colour and Culture series!
The Colourful Flag of Sri Lanka Explained! was last modified: May 11th, 2017 by admin
CeylonColourfulColoursFlaggolden lionSri Lanka
The use of animal symbolism in flags is not a new practice in the modern world; the tradition started a long time ago with the birth of civilization. Animals represent different aspects of human nature be it bravery, strength or intelligence. Humankind has always tried to find ways to associate itself with the best qualities nature has to offer. As a result, one of the animals to have featured in many flags in the world is the lion.
Symbolism
The lion is the king of the jungle, and it has everything from strength, agility, and the pride that befits a king. Being associated with royalty is the main reason why the lion has found its way into many flags of nations that practice monarchy up to this day. To them, the lion represents nobility, courage, valor, stateliness, and royalty.
Countries and Territories Featuring a Lion
Bermuda started using its flag in 1910, and the flag is red with a British ensign on the canton side and a coat of arms on the lower side of the fly that has a red lion standing on its two feet wearing armor.
The Cayman Islands also have a lion in their flag, which they adopted in 1958 after gaining autonomy from the British. The flag has the British ensign on the canton side and coat of arms on the fly side that has a tortoise and a yellow lion below it.
Jersey has a white flag with red crosses, at the point where the two lines cross each other stands a coat of arms that has three golden lions. The flag was adopted in 1979.
The Montenegro flag was officially launched in 2004. It is red with yellow borders and a coat of arms in the middle that bears the shape of two eagles facing opposite sides and a yellow lion in the middle with one paw up.
The Spanish flag was approved in 1785 and changed in 1981 to its current design. It has two equal red horizontal stripes sandwiching a larger yellow stripe. There is a coat of arms shifted slightly to the left that bears a lion standing on its hind legs with a paw raised in the air.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands received the current flag in 1985 after separating from the Falklands federation. It has the union flag on the canton side of the flag and a coat of arms aligned to the fly side. The coat of arms has a reindeer, a crested penguin on the right, a sea lion on the left and a golden lion at the center holding a torch of fire.
The flag of Sri Lanka is a green, yellow and red flag with a lion. It has two saffron and green vertical bands on the left, a red rectangle on the right that has a golden lion carrying a sword in its right fore-paw, all bordered by a strip of gold.
Countries and Territories With Lions on Their Flags
Country and Territory Flags With LionsBermudaCayman IslandsJerseyMontenegroSpainSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSri Lanka