The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

contains a shield based on the national flag. Above the shield the name of the country is shown, while below it is the national motto, ''Unité, Progrès, Justice'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

for "Unity, Progress, Justice"). The supporters are two white stallions. The two plants emerging from the lower banner appear to represent

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

, an important cereal grain cultivated in this country where agriculture represents 32% of the gross domestic product. This coat of arms is similar to the old Upper Volta coat of arms (see below), with the Burkina Faso flag replacing the Upper Volta flag in the middle. The coat of arms and its meaning is mandated by Law No 020/97/II/AN.

Official blazon

* one escutcheon bearing in the chief on a ribband argent the name of the country: "BURKINA FASO"; * in fess point an inescutcheon of two bands in fess with the

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag which has the same image as a coat of arms, ''i.e.'' the shield of a full achievement (heraldry), heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag. The term is derived from t ...

, sewn upon two crossed spears; * two stallions rampant argent supporting on each side the escutcheon; * in base, an open book; * below, two stalks of millet with three pairs of green leaves in crescent coming from the bottom, and equidistant to the vertical passing through the points of the shield and the upper ray of the star of the flag, crossed and connected in their bases with a ribbon bearing the motto of the country "Unité - Progrès - Justice".

Historic emblem (1984–1997)

Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist–Leninist revolutionary, and Pan-Africanist, who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his deposition and ...

's 1983–1987 Burkinabé revolution implemented an emblem featuring a crossed

mattock A mattock is a hand tool used for digging, prying, and chopping. Similar to the pickaxe, it has a long handle and a stout head which combines either a vertical axe blade with a horizontal adze (cutter mattock), or a pick and an adze (pick matt ...

and

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

(an allusion to the

Hammer and Sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...

), with the motto ''La Patrie ou la Mort, nous vaincrons'' ("Fatherland or death, we shall overcome"'). File:Coat of arms of Burkina Faso 1984-1991.svg, Emblem 1984–1997

Coat of arms of Upper Volta

This somewhat resembles the current emblem, except that the enclosing shield has a blue background, the inescutcheon is based on the

flag of Upper Volta The national flag of Burkina Faso (french: drapeau du Burkina Faso) is formed by two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green, with a yellow five-pointed star resting in the center. The flag was adopted on 4 August 1984. The flag uses the ...

with the superimposed letters "RHV" (for ''République de Haute-Volta''), and the motto was ''Unité, Travail, Justice'' ("Unity, Labour, Justice").''Guide to the Flags of the World'' by Mauro Talocci, revised and updated by Whitney Smith (1982, ), p. 125. File:Coat of arms of Upper Volta.svg, Coat of arms of Upper Volta

References

National symbols of Burkina Faso

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