Coat of arms of Senegal

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Coat of arms of Senegal
Palm leaves
MottoUn Peuple, Un But, Une Foi
"One Nation, One Goal, One Faith"
Order(s)Star of the National Order of the Lion

The coat of arms of Senegal is the

palm branches and topped with a five-pointed
green star at the top.

Adopted five years after Senegal gained independence, it has been the coat of arms of the Republic of Senegal since 1965. Both symbols on the shield had featured previously on earlier Senegalese emblems.

History

Senegal gained independence on 20 August 1960, when it separated from the Mali Federation and became an independent country on its own.[1] It took approximately five years to before Senegal adopted its own coat of arms.[2] It was designed by Suzanne Gauthier, a French heraldist from Paris,[3] in 1965. It incorporated the lion and the baobab tree - both symbols were previously utilised on earlier Senegalese emblems.[4]

Design

Symbolism

The colours and objects on the coat of arms carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The green star at the

Gambia and Mauritania long before Islam penetrated the Senegambia region, and long before it became an Islamic symbol - with roots to the Ottoman Empire flag. For more on the five-pointed star's Serer religious connection, see the Serer creation myth and Yoonir. President Léopold Sédar Senghor
, under whose administration this coat was drawn was not a Muslim but a Roman Catholic. He was also a Serer and a strong advocate for Serer religion and culture - even in his works.

The

proper right) of the escutcheon features a lion. A national symbol of Senegal,[7] it stands for strength[3] and represents the northern Senegalese ethnic group, which forms the majority of the population. Historically it was a symbol of power for kings, before the French colonised Senegal.[8]

On the arms' sinister, a

President for significant acts of state, such as international agreements.[8]

Similarities

The country's motto—"One People, One Goal, One Faith" (French: Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi)—is exactly the same as Mali's.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Smith, Whitney. "Senegal, flag of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 24 March 2014. (subscription required)
  2. ISBN 9780670504527
    . Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780688018832
    . Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781405338615
    . Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  5. ISBN 9780195219203
    . Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  6. ISBN 9781902339214
    . Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  7. ^
    CIA
    . Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  8. ^ a b c "Symbolique nationale". Gouv.sn (in French). Government of Senegal. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
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