The flag of Eswatini was adopted on October 6, 1968 after

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

(formerly known as Swaziland) gained independence from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

one month before. The design by

King Sobhuza II Sobhuza II, (; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona; 22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was the Paramount Chief and later Ngwenyama of Swaziland for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history. Sobhuza was ...

features a black and white shield, with a staff and two spears, on a field of blue, yellow, and red horizontal bands.

History

The flag is based on the military flag given by King Sobhuza II to the

Swazi Pioneer Corps Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people The Swazi or Swati ( Swati: ''Emaswati'', singular ''Liswati'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, inhabiting Eswatini, a sovereign kingdom in Southern Africa. EmaSwati are part of the Nguni ...

in 1941 to remind them of the nation's military traditions. On 25 April 1967, the day the pledge of oath was taken by the king, the flag was hoisted for the first time. The College of Arms in London registered the flag on 30 October 1967. The first official hoisting of the flag was conducted on this day.

Specifications

The flag is rectangular with length and breadth in a ratio of 3:2 respectively. The red stands for past battles, the blue for peace and stability, and the yellow for the resources of Eswatini. The central focus of the flag is a

Nguni shield A Nguni shield is a traditional, pointed oval-shaped, ox or cowhide shield which is used by various ethnic groups among the Nguni people of southern Africa. Currently it is used by diviners or for ceremonial and symbolic purposes, and many are pro ...

and two

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

s, symbolizing protection from the country's enemies. Its color is meant to show that white and black people live in peaceful coexistence in Eswatini. The flag has five horizontal stripes—two blue stripes at the top and bottom while the center stripe is red. Two thin yellow stripes border the red stripe. On the red stripe is an ox hide combat shield from the traditional Swazi Emasotsha Regiment, laid horizontally. The shield is reinforced by a staff from which hangs ''injobo'' tassels—bunches of feathers of the

widowbird ''Euplectes'' is a genus of passerine bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It contains the bishops and widowbirds. They are all native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is believed that all birds in the genus are probably polygynous. The gen ...

and the

lourie Lourie is a name from Scotland, Northern England and Ireland. It often appears as Laurie and Lowry. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Lourié (born 1892), Russian composer * Don Lourie (born 1899), American football player ...

. These feathers are used only by the king. Above the staff are two ''assegais—''local spears, a Swazi fighting stick and three royal Swazi ornamental tassels called ''injobo'', which are made from widowbird and lourie feathers. In 2011, the color of the tassels were changed to black to match the widow birds' natural color.

Other flags

File:Flag of Swaziland (c. 1890-1894).svg, 1890–1894 flag File:Flag of Swaziland 1894.svg, 1894–1902 flag File:Flag of Eswatini (1968-2011).svg, 1968–2011 flag File:Royal Standard of Swaziland.svg, Royal standard of Eswatini

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eswatini, Flag of Flags of Africa

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags introduced in 1968