The flag of

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

has a centered

emblem of Brunei The national emblem of Brunei is featured prominently on the flag of Brunei. It was adopted in 1940. There are five main components to the national emblem: the flag, the royal parasol (ceremonial umbrella), the wings, the hands, and the crescen ...

on a

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

field cut by

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

diagonal stripes (

parallelogram In Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a simple (non- self-intersecting) quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equa ...

s at an angle). The yellow field represents the

sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

. The

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

consists of a

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

facing upwards, joined with a

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunburn, sunlight. The term ''umbr ...

, with hands on the sides. Black and white stripes run across the flag. In

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, yellow is traditionally the color of

royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

, and the royal standards of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and the flag of Sarawak, along with the presidential

flag of Indonesia The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3. It was introduced and hoisted in public during the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 at 56 Proklamasi ...

, all use a yellow field as well. The crescent symbolizes

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, the parasol symbolizes monarchy, and the hands at the side symbolize the benevolence of the government. The black and white stripes represent Brunei's chief ministers who were once joint-

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

s and then – after the sultan came of age – senior advisors: the

Pengiran The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indones ...

Bendahara Bendahara ( Jawi: بنداهارا) is an administrative position within classical Malay kingdoms comparable to a vizier before the intervention of European powers during the 19th century. A bendahara was appointed by a sultan and was a heredi ...

(First Minister, symbolised by a slightly thicker white stripe) and the Pengiran Pemancha (Second Minister, governing foreign affairs, symbolised by black), with the white stripe being roughly 12% wider than the black one. On the crescent is the national motto of Brunei in ar, الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى; , meaning "Always render service with God's guidance". Below this is a banner inscribed with the name of the country in Jawi: ; ''Brunei Darussalam'', which means ‘Brunei, the Abode of Peace’ It is one of the few national flags incorporating a diagonal line, with other examples including the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

History

The flag in its present form, except for the crest, has been in use since 1906 when Brunei became a British protectorate, following the signing of an agreement between Brunei and Great Britain. Even though Brunei was only nominally independent after this, Bruneians retained certain symbols, like the flag. The crest was superimposed in 1959 after the promulgation of the Constitution of 29 September 1959. The design was retained when the country gained full independence on 1 January 1984 as ''Brunei Darussalam'' (Brunei, Abode of Peace).

Other ensigns and flags

Personal standards

The standard of Her Majesty the Raja Isteri is light yellow, incorporating the Sultan's crest on red background at the centre of the standard. The Perdana Wazir has also a personal standard granted to him by His Majesty the Sultan. The standard is white superimposed in the centre with the state crest in light yellow. The crest is supported by ''si kikil'', a

kris The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...

crossed by its sheath. The personal standards of the Pengiran Bendahara, Pengiran Digadong, Pengiran Pemancha and Pengiran Temenggong (senior ministers) are white, green, black and red respectively. The Sultan had also bestowed personal flags to lesser officials known as Pengiran Cheteria and to Pengiran and other subjects. Among the Pengiran and dignitaries who are authorised to use personal standards are: # Descendants of a sultan, down to four generations, # Descendants of a ''wazir'', down to three generations, # Descendants of a ''cheteria'', down to two generations, # From '' menteri'' (non-noble officials) to ''damong'' (chiefs). Their personal standards incorporate the state crest in red on a yellow background at the top left corner of the flags.

Colors

References

External links

*
National Flag and Crest
Government of Brunei Darussalam
National Flag and Crest
Prime Minister's Office

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunei, Flag of Flags introduced in 1959 National flags

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 ...

1959 establishments in Brunei