The coat of arms of

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

, adopted in 1966, consists of a shield surrounded by three spears. On 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. M ...

of the nation, as well as the head of a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

. Behind the shield there are three crossed traditional African

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 fastene ...

s. Under the shield the national motto of Burundi appears on a scroll: ''Unité, Travail, Progrès'' (French: "Unity, Work, Progress").

Official description

The

constitution of Burundi The Constitution of Burundi was adopted by referendum on February 28, 2005 and promulgated on March 18, 2005. On May 12, 2017, a draft revision of the constitution of Burundi was announced. The final draft was announced on October 25, 2017, and p ...

describes the coat of arms as follows: ''The motto of Burundi is "Unité, Travail, Progrès". The emblem of the Republic is a shield charged with a head of a lion, together with three spears, the whole surrounded by the national motto.''

History

The previous coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Burundi The Kingdom of Burundi (french: Royaume du Burundi) or Kingdom of Urundi (''Royaume d'Urundi'') was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of ''mwami'') ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis. Created ...

, used from 1962 until 1966, looked very similar, except that the royal ''

karyenda The ''karyenda'' is a traditional African drum. It was the main symbol of Burundi and its ''Mwami'' (King) and had semi-divine status. The ''Mwami'' was said to interpret the beatings of the karyenda into rules for the kingdom. History ...

'' drum was surmounted on the top as a symbol of the '' mwami'' (king), surrounded by two laurels. The number of spears was four. The national motto was ''Ganza Sabwa'', which is in

Kirundi Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language spoken by some 9 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Rwanda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. It is the official language of Burundi. ...

and roughly means "(the mwami) rules and reigns".

References

National symbols of Burundi

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