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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Vanuatu - Independence Day 1981


Official Name: Repablik blong Vanuatu
Capital: Vila on Efate Island.
Location: On more than 30 islands in Melanesia the largest being Espiritu Santo Efate and Malakula.
Area: 12, 200 Sq. km
Official Language: English and Europeans
National Flag: Red over green with a black triangle in the hoist the three parts being divided by fimbriations of black and yellow and in the center of the black triangle a boar tusk overlaid by two crossed fern leaves.
Flag Ratio: 3:5

15 Vanuatuan Vatu - Map of Vanuatu

The flag of Vanuatu is a blend of four colors red, green, black and green. There is a ‘Y' placed horizontally on the national flag of Vanuatu which signifies the chain of islands of the country which are placed in this particular shape. There is a black colored triangle on the hoist side of the black which also consists of the national emblem of Republic of Vanuatu . There is thin yellow line inside the black ‘Y' which represents sunshine and Christianity which is the most practiced religion of Vanuatu. The black color signifies the Melanesian population and the red part symbolizes bloodshed. The green color on the national flag of Vanuatu symbolizes the lush green vegetation and crop growing lands. The conventional symbol of prosperity of the Vanuatu culture is depicted on the national flag in the form of the emblem.
Symbolism of the colours: "The yellow symbolizes sunshine [peace and enlightenment brought by Christianity, fide Talocci]; the green the richness of the islands [all the islands of the archipelago, fide Talocci]. The red is symbolic of blood [blood of sacrificed boars, power of traditions, and men's blood, fide Talocci], and the black is for the Melanesian people [not explained by Talocci]. The Prime Minister requested the inclusion of yellow and black fimbriations to give more prominence to the colour representing the people. The yellow Y-shape denotes the pattern of the islands in the Pacific Ocean."

25 Vanuatuan Vatu - National Emblem
Detail of tusk and fern leaves: The construction shows 39 pairs of needles on each leaf - all the drawings that I have seen, official or otherwise, have different representations of the leaves but usually they are too small to be certain about any level of details. The needles are sometimes even drawn as little leaves, something that certainly is not supposed to be, but on a small blurred image even in the official publication this may not matter.
Emblem: "A boar's tusk - the symbol of prosperity worn as a pendant on the islands - crossed by two leaves of the local fern "namele". The leaves are a token of peace, and their 39 fronds represent the 39 members of Vanuatu's legislative assembly." [This description is botanically incorrect, ferns do not have leaves but fronds, therefore it should be: "the fronds are a token of peace, and their 39 divisions represent the 39 members of Vanuatu's legislative assembly."]
The boar's tusk is a symbol of prosperity because (1) pigs are wealth (2) in the latter stages of getting the tusk to grow in a spiral the pig has to be hand fed, and you need status and wealth to have both the pig feeder and the food which are necessary.
The boar's tusk is apparently used as a pendant by the islanders. They remove the boar's upper tusks, which causes the lower tusks to grow in a circle (from National Geographic, December 1970).

45 Vanuatuan Vatu - National Anthem/ Hymne National
"Yumi, Yumi, Yumi" (Bislama: "We, We, We") is the national anthem of Vanuatu. It was written and composed by François Vincent Ayssav (born 1955) and adopted in 1980.

Bislama words
CHORUS:
Yumi, Yumi, yumi i glat long talem se
Yumi, yumi, yumi i man blong Vanuatu
God i givim ples ia long yumi,
Yumi glat tumas long hem,
Yumi strong mo yumi fri long hem,
Yumi brata evriwan!
CHORUS
Plante fasin blong bifo i stap,
Plante fasin blong tedei,
Be yumi i olsem wan nomo,
Hemia fasin blong yumi!
CHORUS
Yumi save plante wok i stap,
Long ol aelan blong yumi,
God i helpem yumi evriwan,
Hem i papa blong yumi!
CHORUS

English translation
CHORUS:
We, we, we are happy to proclaim
We, we, we are the people of Vanuatu
God has given us this land,
We have great cause for rejoicing
We are strong and we are free in this land
We are all brothers
CHORUS
There were many ways before
There are many ways today
But we are all one
Despite our many ways
CHORUS
We work hard on our many islands
God helps us in our work
He is Our Father!
CHORUS

75 Vanuatuan Vatu - Coat of Arms
The Vanuatu coat of arms depicts a Melanesian warrior standing in front of a boar’s tusk. Two leaves are also in the background. The motto "Long God yumi stanap" (We stand with God) is located at the bottom in the Bislama language.

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