The coat of arms or national seal of

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, originally introduced in 1964,'' Wappen Benins'' (German Wikipedia) was readopted in 1990 after being replaced in 1975. At the top of the emblem is the national crest that consists of two horns with

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

in the ear and filled with sand. These are reputed to stand for prosperity. Below the crest is a shield that contains the actual coat of arms of Benin. The shield is broken into four quadrants. The top left quadrant contains a castle in the style of the Somba, representative of the history of Benin. In the top right quadrant, is the Star of Benin, the highest award of the nation. Below this is a ship, that stands for the arrival of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

s in Benin. In the lower left quadrant is a

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

. The shield is supported by a pair of

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

, the national animal of Benin. Below the shield is the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of Benin (Fellowship, Justice, Work) in French.

Official description

The

constitution of Benin The Constitution of Benin was adopted by referendum on 23 December 1956. The constitution is made up of a preamble, twelve titles, and 160 articles. Preamble (Preamble text comes from thEnglish translationof the Beninese Constitution via the Const ...

puts for the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of the coat of arms as follows: *Quarterly, #In the first quarter a Somba castle or; #In the second argent the Star of Benin proper, which is a cross of eight points azure, anglé of rays argent and in fess point sable; #In the third quarter argent a palm tree vert charged with a fruit gules; #In the fourth quarter argent a ship sable sailing on a sea azure with a sewn upon the line of quartering a lozenge gules *Supporters: two panthers or spotted; *Above the shield: two cornucopias sable, ears of corn coming therefrom; *Motto: Fraternité - Justice - Travail in letters sable on a scroll.

People's Republic of Benin (1975-1990)

In 1975, the People's Republic of Benin (as the country was then known - see ''

history of Benin The History of Benin since the 16th century, for the geographical area included in 1960 in what was then called the Republic of Dahomey before becoming the People's Republic of Benin. Colonial Benin (formerly, République du Dahomey/Republic ...

'' for more details) adopted a new coat of arms which reflected the country's adherence to Marxism-Leninism. The symbolism of the flag was as follows:"Coat of arms of Benin"
Flags of the World *Green symbolized the

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

of the country *The

red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

symbolized

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

*The corn cobs represented agriculture and farmers *The cog-wheel represented industry and the working class The coat of arms also featured the initials of the country: RPB (french: République populaire du Bénin).

Gallery

File:Coat of arms of Béhanzin.svg, Royal coat of arms of King

Béhanzin Béhanzin ( – 10 December 1906) is considered the eleventh (if Adandozan is not counted) King of Dahomey, modern-day Republic of Benin. Upon taking the throne, he changed his name from Kondo. Biography He succeeded his father, Glele, an ...

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

(c. 1890 1894) File:Coat of arms of Dahomey (1958–1964).svg, Coat of arms of the

Republic of Dahomey The Republic of Dahomey (french: République du Dahomey; ), simply known as Dahomey, was established on 4 December 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy, it had been French Dahomey, part of ...

(1958 1964) File:Sceau du Dahomey.svg, Seal of Dahomey (as defined by law in 1964)

Footnotes

External links

Coat of arms of Benin In The World All Countries Coat of arms
National symbols of Benin

{{Heraldry-stub