National personification

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The allegorical personification of Italy (Italia turrita; lit. 'Turreted Italy'). The allegorical representation with the towers draws its origins from ancient Rome. The origin of the turreted woman is linked to the figure of Cybele, a deity of fertility of Anatolian origin, in whose representations she wears a wall crown. Its most classic aspect derives from the primordial myth of the Great Mediterranean Mother.

A national personification is an

Hispania, Lusitania, Helvetia and Polonia
.

Examples of personifications of the

Roma, a female deity who personified the city of Rome and her dominion over the territories of the Roman Empire.[1] Roma was probably favoured by Rome's high-status Imperial representatives abroad, rather than the Roman populace at large. In Rome, the Emperor Hadrian built and dedicated a gigantic temple to her as Roma Aeterna ("Eternal Rome"), and to Venus Felix, ("Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune"), emphasising the sacred, universal and eternal nature of the empire.[2] Examples of representations of the everyman or citizenry in addition to the nation itself are Deutscher Michel, John Bull and Uncle Sam.[3]

cities of Italy. The origin of the turreted woman is linked to the figure of Cybele, a deity of fertility of Anatolian origin, in whose representations she wears a wall crown.[5] Its most classic aspect derives from the primordial myth of the Great Mediterranean Mother
.

Personifications by country or territory

Location Image Personification Animal or plants used for the same purpose
 Albania Mother Albania Double-headed eagle
Americas Personification of the Americas American alligator
 Argentina Allegory of the Republic, Gaucho
 Armenia Mother Armenia
 Australia Digger

In 19th and early 20th century cartoons, Australia was sometimes personified as a young woman named 'Miss Australia'.[6]

Boxing kangaroo
 Austria Austria Double-headed eagle
 Bangladesh Bangamata[7] Bengal tiger[8]
 Belgium La Belgique, Manneken Pis[9][10] Brabantic Lion, Leo Belgicus
 Bolivia Pachamama Llama
 Brazil
Native Brazilian (used by the Empire of Brazil, Kingdom of Brazil and Colonial Brazil
)

Efígie da República (Current)

Wyvern (used by the Empire of Brazil)

Rufous-bellied Thrush
(Official Current) Jaguar (Unofficial current)

 Brunei Awang Budiman[11][12]
 Bulgaria Mother Bulgaria Double-headed eagle
 Cambodia Preah Thong and Neang Neak
 Canada Mountie,[13] Johnny Canuck,[14] Canada Bereft (Vimy Memorial).

Canada was often personified as a young woman in 19th and early 20th century editorial cartoons, called simply "Canada", "Miss Canada", or sometimes "Mother Canada".[16]

Canadian beaver
 Chile Huaso, Roto, Señora Juanita, Angel of Liberty[17] Condorito
 China Chinese dragon, Panda, hare[18]
 Colombia Juan Valdez
 Croatia Mother Croatia Dalmatian
 Cuba La República Tocororo
 Cyprus Liberty Cypriot Mouflon[19]
 Czechia
Svejk
 Czech lion
 Denmark
Holger Danske, Mother Denmark
 Mute swan
 Dominican Republic Conchoprimo
 Egypt Egypt's Renaissance[20][21] Sphinx
 El Salvador Salvador del Mundo Torogoz
 Estonia Kalevipoeg
 Europe Europa or Europa regina
 Finland Finnish Maiden
Finnish lion
 France Marianne Gallic rooster
 Georgia Mother of Kartvel
 Germany Germania, Deutscher Michel
Bundesadler, Berliner Bär (Berlin), Bavarian Lion (Bavaria), Marcher Eagle (Brandenburg
), Prussian Eagle (Prussia)
 Greece Hellas
 Haiti Ezili Dantor, Le Marron Inconnu, Katrin
Haudenosaunee
 Hiawatha
 Hungary The Lady of Hungaria Turul
 Iceland The
Lady of the Mountains
 Gyrfalcon
 India Bharat Mata Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Indian Elephant, Indian peafowl
 Indonesia Ibu Pertiwi
Garuda Pancasila
 Iran,  Afghanistan and  Tajikistan Rostam[22][23][24]
Lion and sun
 Ireland Ériu, Banba, Fódla, Kathleen Ni Houlihan, Hibernia, The Old Woman of Beare[25] Irish Hare[26]
 Israel Srulik Lion of Judah
 Italy Italia turrita Italian wolf[27][28]
 Japan Yamato-hime, Samurai
Green Pheasant
 Kazakhstan Altin Adam Tulpar
Korea ( North Korea and  South Korea - despite mutual enmity, both states lay claim to the same historical heritage)
Chollima
 Kyrgyzstan Manas Siberian ibex
 Latvia Latvian Maiden, Liberty
 Lebanon Cedrus
 Lithuania Vytis White Stallion
Benelux Low Lands or Benelux Leo Belgicus
 Malaysia Hang Tuah[30][31] Malayan tiger[32]
 Malta Melita Dolphin
 Mexico
China Poblana, Eagle warrior, Jaguar warrior
Chihuahueño
 Mongolia Genghis Khan Saker falcon, Mongolian horse
 Montenegro Fairy of Lovćen, Mother Montenegro Double-headed eagle
 Morocco Barbary lion
 Netherlands Dutch Maiden Dutch Republic Lion, Leo Belgicus
   Nepal Gurkha, Sherpa Yeti[33]
 New Zealand Zealandia[34] Kiwi
 Nicaragua El Güegüense Motmot
 North Macedonia Mother Macedonia[36][37] Lioness
 Norway
Kari Nordmann, Nór
Palestine Handala
 Panama Mother of Panama Jaguar
 Peru Peruvian Motherland, El Perú Libre Vicuña
 Philippines
La Madre Filipinas, Juan dela Cruz
Philippine Carabao
 Poland Polonia
White eagle
 Portugal
Guardian Angel of Portugal
 Rooster of Barcelos
 Rhodesia Cecil Rhodes Sable antelope, Zimbabwe Bird
 Romania România Lynx
 Russia
Mother Russia, General Winter
Russian bear
 San Marino Liberty
 Serbia Mother Serbia, Kosovo Maiden Serbian eagle
 Singapore Merlion
 Slovakia Jánošík
 Slovenia
Kralj Matjaž
 South Africa The Lady of Good Hope (Die Dame van Goeie Hoop or INkosikazi Yethemba Elihle) Springbok[38]
  • Lion (Transvaal, obsolete)
 Spain
Hispania
 Hispanic Lion, Spanish Fighting Bull
 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Matha (Mother Sri Lanka) Lion
 Suriname Mama Sranan (Mother Suriname), a 1965 sculpture by Jozeph Klas in the center of Paramaribo, of a mother figure holding five children representing Suriname's ethnic groups in her arms.[39]
 Sweden Mother Svea (Moder Svea)
  Switzerland Helvetia
Cow[40]
 Taiwan Formosan black bear
 Thailand Siam Devadhiraj White elephant
 Turkey Turkish Motherland Wolf
 Turkmenistan Oghuz Khagan Akhal-Teke
 Ukraine Cossack Mamay, Mother Ukraine, Berehynia Ruthenian Lion
 United Kingdom Britannia Bulldog
 United States Columbia, Lady Liberty[42]
American Buffalo, Timber rattlesnake
(American Revolution)
 Uruguay Efigie de la República
 Uzbekistan Timur Snow leopard
 Venezuela Juan Bimba (obsolete)
 Vietnam Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ
Vietnamese Dragon
, Lạc Bird

See also

  • Afghanis-tan, a manga originally published as a webcomic about Central Asia with personified countries.
  • online communities
    .
  • Hetalia, a manga and anime about personified countries interacting.
  • Mural crown
  • National animal
    , often personifies a nation in cartoons.
  • National emblem, for other metaphors for nations.
  • National god, a deity that embodies a nation.
  • National patron saint
    , a Saint that is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation.

References

  1. ^ "Il Tempio di Venere e Roma" (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  2. ISBN 3-11-010389-3
    .
  3. ^ Eric Hobsbawm, "Mass-Producing Traditions: Europe, 1870-1914," in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), 263-307.
  4. ISBN 978-88-96817-06-3
    .
  5. ISBN 978-88-96817-06-3
    .
  6. ^ White, Richard (2021). "The slippery symbols of Australia". State Library of New South Wales.
  7. ISBN 8176484695
    . Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  8. ^ "NATIONAL SYMBOLS". Bangladesh Tourism Board. Bangladesh: Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  9. ISBN 978-2-930423-01-2
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-909662-30-8
    .
  11. ^ "20th SEA Games 1999". 2001-03-02. Archived from the original on 2001-03-02. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  12. ^ "Berita 2021c - Rekaan baju 'Dang Budiwati' imbau zaman gemilang Sukan SEA NBD". www.pelitabrunei.gov.bn. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  13. ISBN 9780773551589
    . Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. ISBN 9780195427073
    .
  15. doi:10.1080/10889370701742845
    . Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  16. ^ "Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada.
  17. ^ "CHILE: 50 AÑOS DEL GOLPE. EL ÁNGEL DE LA LIBERTAD". Rascacielos. September 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  18. ^ "网民为什么会把中国称为"兔子"" [Why do Internet called China a "hare"?]. The Paper (in Chinese). 1 August 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Animals in Cyprus". AZ Animals. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  20. ^ Abdou, Mona. "Nahdet Misr: A Sculpture That Embodies Egypt At A Glance". Egyptian Streets. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Mahmoud Mukhtar: Egypt Awakened". University College London. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  22. ^ Hassanabadi, Mahmoud. "Rostam: A Complex Puzzle: A New Approach to the Identification of the Character of Rostam in the Iranian National Epos Shāhnāme".
  23. ISBN 9780739152546
    .
  24. ^ Heck, Isabel. "Le mythe de Siyâvosh: rapports entre l'épopée nationale de ferdowsi et des récits populaires en Iran (The myth of Siyâvosh: relationships between the national epic of Ferdowsi and popular stories in Iran)" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  25. ^ O'Rourke Murphy, M. & MacKillop, J. (2006). An Irish Literature Reader: Poetry, Prose, Drama.
  26. ^ "Discovering What's the National Animal of Ireland: A Cultural Emblem Revealed". 3 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  27. ISBN 9780313344978
    .
  28. ISBN 9780531120996
    .
  29. ^ ""Saint Mark", Franciscan Media". Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  30. ISBN 978-0-86746-909-7
    .
  31. ISBN 978-981-4032-48-3
    .
  32. ISBN 978-0313344961
    .
  33. ^ Subba, Sanghamitra (29 January 2020). "Love it or hate it, it's abominable".
  34. ^ Phillips, Jock. "South African War memorial, Waimate".
  35. ^ Dingwall, R. "Southern Man (Dunedin Airport)", Otago Sculpture Trust, 19 November 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  36. ^ A Manifesto from the Provisional Government of Macedonia, 1881, Our mother Macedonia became now as a widow, lonely and deserted by her sons. She does not fly the banner of the victorious Macedonian army
  37. ^ Bulgarian graphic representation of Bulgaria, East Rumelia and North Macedonia
  38. ^ Brownell, FG (1993). "Nasionale en Provinsiale Simbole". Nasionale Dier van Suid-Afrika: Springbok - Antidorcas Marsupialis. Retrieved 2025-03-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ "Kunstschatten: Mama Sranan - Parbode Magazine". Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  40. ^ Valance, Marc. (Baden, 2013) Die Schweizer Kuh. Kult und Vermarktung eines nationalen Symbols, p. 6 ff.
  41. ^ "John Bull, symbol of the English and Englishness". Historic UK. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  42. ^ "Britannia and Liberty: Behind the Design". Royal Mint. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Personifications of nations.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_personification&oldid=1284928343"