Last modified: 2005-10-08 by bruce berry
Keywords: namibia | caprivi | south africa | africa | unita | elephants: 2 | whisks:2 |
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image by Mark Sensen, 10 Oct 1995
This was the flag of East-Caprivi adopted in 1977.
Mark Sensen, 10 Oct 1995
See also:
The design of the flag of Caprivi is set out in section 2
of the Caprivi Flag Act, 1977 which reads as follows:
"The Caprivi Flag shall be a flag consisting of four horizontal stripes of
equal width from top to bottom of black, white green and blue, on which there
shall appear, in the centre of the flag on the white and green stripes, two
black elephants of equal size facing each other with their trunk raised, the
front halves entwined once around each other with only the tips thereof raised
above the height of their heads.
The height of the elephants shall be two-thirds of the width of the two
stripes.
The width of the Caprivi Flag shall be equal to two thirds of its length"
The two elephants represent the two principal tribes of the Caprivi area, the
Mafwe and the Basubia. The black and white stripes on the flag are said to
represent the people of the area, the green for agriculture and the blue for
the waters surrounding this area, namely the Zambezi, Chobe, Linyandi and
Kwando rivers as well as Lake Liambezi.
An original design for a flag of Caprivi consisted of blue, white and blue
horizontal stripes, charged in the centre with two crossed black whisks. This
design was not adopted, presumably because of the similarity with the flag of
the Gazankulu in South Africa.
Caprivi was re-incorporated into Namibia at independence on 21 March
1990 and this flag is no longer in use.
Bruce Berry, 25 November 1998
In 1893 the Germans, who ruled what is now Namibia, decided it would be nice to have access
to the Zambezi River, some 250 km to the east. The
British ceded a strip of land which was extruded from the North East corner of
Stuart Notholt, 8 Oct 1995
image by Jaume Ollé, 28 November 1998.
Prior to 1977 another flag design was used in Caprivi, being horizontal
blue-white-blue (1:2:1) stripes with a symbol of two crossed black spoons being
found in the centre of the white stripe. This was very similar to the flag of
the South African homeland Gazankulu, but with
the latter having equal bands and a chain between the spoons on the white
stripe. The western part of the Caprivi strip was part of the Okavango homeland which used a green flag with a small
triband of orange-white-blue in the centre.
Mark Sensen, 10 Oct 1995
I post an image of the version shown in the Flag Bulletin XVI:5. In
other Bulletins it is shown with stripes 1:2:1
Jaume Ollé, 28 November 1998.
image by Pascal Gross, 8 Apr 2003
How come there has never been any mention of the new Caprivi Flag on the pages
of the Flags of the World web site?
The Caprivi African National Union (CANU) of the Free State of Caprivi
Strip/Itenge has a sample of their flag on their web site.
Edgar Melvin, 7 Apr 2003
There's an FOTW-like flag at this webpage.
Explanation:
"The National Flag of the Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge The Official
Symbolism of the National Flag of Caprivi Strip/Itenge:
On October 7, 2002, the Itengese nation severed all ties with Namibia and
declared the independent, sovereign Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge - their
national homeland. The Itengese Government-in-Exile of the Caprivi African
National Union (CANU) adopted a new flag to represent national unity, heroism,
freedom, justice, sovereignty and confidence in the future. An important
consideration in the design of the flag was the present illegal Namibian
Occupation of the territory
of Caprivi Strip, Itenge,
so there is no black with its symbolism of gloom and mourning.
The CANU flag, which is also the national flag of the Free State of Caprivi
Strip/Itenge, is rectangular in shape, divided into three major horizontal
stripes - Blue, White, and Green - separated by narrow Red stripes. There
appears in the centre of the flag, on the white and red stripes, two grey
elephants of equal size facing each other with their trunk raised, the front
halves entwined once around each other with only the tips thereof raised above
the height of their heads.
The width of the National Flag of the Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge shall
be two-thirds of its length.
The national flag is a blue-white-green tricolour with red fimbriations.
The uppermost is blue, the middle one is white and the nethermost is green,
separated by narrow red stripes.
The two elephants represent the national unity and togetherness of the Itengese
people.
The colours of CANU and the national flag are representative of
Caprivian/Itengese history, as well as occurring in nature. The significance of
the individual colours has been explained in various histories: Blue is
referred to as the colour of faith, loyalty and devotion; it also reflects the
qualities of the sky, rivers, and lakes.
White represents the striving towards enlightenment and virtue; it also
represents unity and peace. Green represents Caprivi Strip,
Itenge's agriculture and natural resources. The Red fimbriation represents the
struggle for freedom."
Jarig Bakker, 8 Apr 2003