Last modified: 2023-06-03 by zachary harden
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5:4, image by André Coutanche
Flag adopted 12 December 1962, coat of arms adopted 16 December 1962.
According to the very precise construction details contained in the Nepalese
Constitution, the proportions of the flag are 4:3 plus width of the blue border
(which makes the upper pendant longer than the lower because of its sharper
angle).
Christopher Southworth, 13 May 2003
The moon in the upper part represents the royal house. The sun in the lower part symbolizes a branch of the Rana family, members of which acted as prime ministers until 1961.
The charges are now said to represent the hope that Nepal itself will last as long as the sun and the moon. The style of these heavenly bodies was streamlined on December 16, 1962. The coat of arms still portrays these charges with facial features. Crimson is deemed the national color.
Motto on their coat of arms: "The mother and the Mother Earth are more important than the heavenly kingdom."
Sources:
Alter (1986) Banderas y escudos del mundo (Flags and coats of arms of the world). Madrid: EASA (1986).
Flags. Philadelphia: Running Press (1994)
The Observer's Book of Flags. London: Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. (1966)
Juan Vaquer, Jr., 25 February 1999
The faces were removed in 1962, I believe.
John Ayer, 30 September 2000
Some other attributions have been reported to FOTW concerning the origin and meaning of the flag:
The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags
and Anthems Manual London 2012) provides recommendations for national flag
designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for
their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm
version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the
official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC
believed the flag to be. For Nepal: PMS 186 red, 287 blue. The vertical flag is
simply the horizontal version turned 90 degrees clockwise.
Ian Sumner, 11 October 2012
Prior to the adoption of the present national flag on Dec 16 1962, flags with faces were used in Nepal:
Image based on Flaggenbuch:
image by Jaume Ollé, 27 June 2001
Image based on Flags of All Nations:
image by Jaume Ollé, 27 June 2001
Nozomi Kariyasu, 27 June 2001
Information on a more ancient representation of the Nepali flag can be found in MM. Lupant's book:
The first reproduction of the Nepali flag found by M. Lupant is shown in a book published by Perceval Laundon in 1928 (Nepal, vol. 1, pp. 233-236, Constable, London). The flag was crimson with a green border. It was made of two superposed isosceles triangles. The two points could have symbolized the royalty and the Rana family. The moon symbolized the King and the sun symbolized the Rana family. Moon and Sun expressed the hope that the Nation shall live as long as them. The faces are both shown with ears and a symbol in the middle of the forehead (probably one of the coloured spots used by Hinduists, whose name I forget), and the face in the upper triangle has a small neck putting it above the moon.Ivan Sache, 27 June 2001
History of the Nepal flag
Here's little bit about Nepal flag. The
national flag of Nepal is the only non-quadrangular national flag. The flag is a
simplified combination of two single pennants that represent, for some, the
mountains of Nepal while for others the Hindu flags. The flag was adopted, with
the formation of a new constitutional government, on December 16, 1962. The
individual pennants had been used for the last two centuries and the double
pennant since the 19th century.
See also discussion about the
Kirat flag.
Dilip Rai, 30 May 2010
Probably the answer is easier, if the question is asked the other way round:
Why are all national flags (except for the Nepali one) rectangular?
The pretty uniform shape of the national flag can be probably explained by the
fact that the national flag has its origin in a limited area (Europe and
Mediterranean), as ship flags. Certainly there had been different shapes in the
early times, but rectangular clothes of an approximate proportion of between
1.5:1 and 2:1 seemed the most practical ones, so the countries "standardized"
this shape. Afterwards the ship flags had been adapted for terrestrial use.
National flags of countries outside Europe only developed after European
national flags had standardized their shape, so they were imitating the
rectangular shape as well as some of the symbolic elements (vertical/horizontal
stripes, for instance). Older national symbols were transformed to the
"European" flag shape, for instance in Ethiopia, where the originally separated
red, yellow and green pennants were transformed into a horizontal triband of
rectangular shape. Nepal retained the original shape of its flag (basically two
pennants one above the other). The first origin of this flag is probably
elusive. However, other flags in the Indian area also showed non-rectangular,
often pennant-like shape, see
in-princ.html#alpha. The Nepali flag is
probably the only one surviving, something like a "living fossil". Usually
living fossils survive in rather secluded areas, such as Nepal (not having
coastal access, and being mountainous) or Switzerland (the same), still sticking
to the square shape of its flags.
M. Schmöger, 17 July 2004
The triangular shape reflects the historical shape of flags used by kingdoms
on the Indian subcontinent. Even today the flags flown on the masts of temples
in India are predominantly triangular.
Armano Grande, 19 March 2008
As far as I can find out the flag of Nepal will retain its current shape, and
amongst national flags it is indeed unique. A pennant with its lower edge at
right-angles to the hoist, is now obsolete in Western society, but was not
unknown in medieval times when it was called a "pavon". Such a shape is,
however, still seen in the East - witness the "dhvaja" of Hinduism - but the
only other "double pavon" (a term introduced by the Editors of the
DoV) I can think of - although there
will doubtless be different examples - is the flag of the former Princely State
of Dewas, India.
Christopher Southworth, 27 May 2009
image by BlinxCat, 20 March 2022
Kingdom-era cotton painted flag measuring around 12x18 inches, the exact maker is unknown but it was supplied to a flag store in Ohio, this variant has differing faces on the sun and moon and a more straight shape.
BlinxCat, 20 March 2022
image by André Coutanche (flag image) and the Wikimedia Commons, 22 June 2020
It was reported on June 13, 2020, that the political map of Nepal was changed by the House of Representatives. The unanimous decision on
Constitution (2nd Amendment) Bill No. 2077, also sought to amend Schedule 3 of the Constitution to update the national coat of arms by incorporating Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani in Nepal’s map. It is worth noting
that these areas are under Indian administration at the time of the passage of the legislation.
Zachary Harden, 22 June 2020
image by Jan Oskar Engene, 20 December 2006
Nepal has seen political turmoil for some time, the latest developments seeing
the King hand over his powers to a parliamentarian government and the government
signing a peace treaty with Maoist rebels. Apparently searching for a new
national emblem has formed part of these developments. The front page of "The
Rising Nepal" newspaper reported on December 18 that a new national emblem
"incorporating national unity and people's sovereignty" has been adopted.
According to the newspaper, the new emblem "reflects spirit of loktantra marked
by inclusiveness and gender parity." The description of the emblem is as
follows: "It is round in shape with national flag on the top of its centre
encircled by rhododendron, the national flower. Inside the circle lies Mt.
Everest, hill, map of Nepal and handshake of a man and a woman. Below the circle
reads the Sanskrit verse 'janani janmbhumisch sworgadapi gariyasi' which means
the 'mother and the motherland are greater than heaven'."
Three artists are named as the people behind the new emblem: Nabindra Man
Rajbhandari, Himalaya Gautam and Krishna Shrestha.
It seems clear, then, that the national flag is not undergoing any changes.
Jan Oskar Engene, 20 December 2006
The coat of arms in use before 30 December 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Coat_of_arms_of_Nepal.png)
consists of a white cow, a green pheasant (Himalayan Monal), two Gurkha soldiers
(one carrying a kukri and a bow, and the other a rifle), peaks of the Himalayas,
two crossed Nepalese flags and kukris, the footprints of Gorakhnath (the
guardian deity of the Gurkhas) and the royal headdress. It also contained the
same red scroll with the national motto. This coat of arms was preceded by the
Emblem of Nepal.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Nepal.
Esteban Rivera, 20 January 2008
image by Eugene Ipavec, 30 May 2006
Red six-pointed star (like a Magen David, filled)
bordered white and containing a black trident. national flag on the fin.
Željko Heimer, 3 July 2002
The Royal Nepalese Army, Air Wing, was formed in the mid 1960's and became
the Royal Nepal Air Force in July 1979 when it adopted the marking.
Dov Gutterman, 20 June 2004
The national flag serves as the fin-flash for Nepalese aircraft.
Zachary Harden, 12 September 2019
There were no physical flag on the photographs I saw but they were clearly drawn on signs used in different events.
So, the Katmandu section has a horizontal triband (red, blue, red), the middle strip being larger and bearing a white open book (with a green cover) and a pen. On the logo of their Facebook page there is a line of text in the upper red strip, written in Nepalese (I guess it is the name of the association : नेपाल शिक्षक संघ). On a sign another flag is drawn : red with a blue border and a yellow six-pointed star in a white circle.
The Jhapa section has a red flag with a white open book and a blue pen.
Corentin Chamboredon, 24 May 2020