Thursday, May 17, 2007
Flag of our Forefathers
17 Years ago, almost to the day my family decided to leave Sri-Lanka behind and immigrate to Australia. Little did I realise that to this day I would not see any of my relatives since then, nor did I realise that I would lose my ability to speak sinhalese. There are two things in this world that brings out the pride and joy I have for my former land, the Sri-Lankan cricket team (when they actually play well) and the Sri-Lankan flag. Growing up I always used to think it was so "Cool" cuz it was of a Lion holding a sword, but until now I never knew what the flag actually meant, so of course I go to the place that knows everything... Wikipedia :P.
Apparently the orgin stems back to 465BC when King Vijaya, the first King of the Sinhalese people brought with him a flag with a Lion symbol, apparently this symbol plays a major role in Sinhalese history, and one of its most notable uses was when the legendary King Dutugemunu used it as a banner of victory as he led a campaign which eventually defeated the Indian King Elara who was occuyping a part of Sri-Lanka, this victory then resulted in the unification of Sri-Lanka. But of course during the British reign the flag was taken by the British and stored in the Royal Military Hospital in Chelsea and was replaced by the Union Flag until it was later discovered and published as part of the independance movement. Each part of the current flag has a particular meaning, it's primarily as a representation of the various cultural and religious mixes that make up the Sri-Lankan nation:
Apparently the orgin stems back to 465BC when King Vijaya, the first King of the Sinhalese people brought with him a flag with a Lion symbol, apparently this symbol plays a major role in Sinhalese history, and one of its most notable uses was when the legendary King Dutugemunu used it as a banner of victory as he led a campaign which eventually defeated the Indian King Elara who was occuyping a part of Sri-Lanka, this victory then resulted in the unification of Sri-Lanka. But of course during the British reign the flag was taken by the British and stored in the Royal Military Hospital in Chelsea and was replaced by the Union Flag until it was later discovered and published as part of the independance movement. Each part of the current flag has a particular meaning, it's primarily as a representation of the various cultural and religious mixes that make up the Sri-Lankan nation:
| The lion | The Sinhalese ethnicity |
| The bo leaves | Buddhism and its influence on the nation. They also stand for the four virtues of Kindness, Friendliness, Happiness and Equanimity. |
| The sword of the lion | The sovereignty of the nation |
| The tail of the lion | The noble eight fold path of Buddhism |
| The curly hair on the lion's head | Religious observance, wisdom and meditation |
| The beard of the lion | Purity of words |
| The handle of the sword | The elements of water, fire, air and earth |
| The nose of the lion | Intelligence |
| The two front paws of the lion | Purity in handling wealth. |
| The vertical orange stripe | The Tamil ethnicity |
| The vertical green stripe | The Muslim faith |
| The yellow border round the flag | The Buddhist Clergy |
| The crimson background | Other minor religions |
your love is like a shadow at 1:39 am
0 said we can't be wrong together
0 said we can't be wrong together