Last modified: 2001-11-09 by dov gutterman
Keywords: haiti | caribbean | mdn | cabbage palm | palm | royal palm | emperor palm | liberty cap | phrygian cap | anthem |
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![[State flag of Haiti]](../images/h/ht-state.gif)
National and War Flag and Ensign
by Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
Flag adopted 25 February 1986, coat of arms also adopted 25 February 1986.
See also:
Other site:
![[Civil flag of Haiti]](../images/h/ht.gif)
Civil Flag and Ensign
by Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
From http://www.haiti.org/embassy/flag.htm:
Constitution of 1987 (Article 3):
The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description:
Dov Gutterman, 7 January 1999
I have found the original French version (national languages
in Haiti are French and Creole) of the Constitution at: http://www.haiti-montreal.org/
(Website of the General Consulate of haiti in Montreal)
ARTICLE 2:
Les couleurs nationales sont: le bleu et le rouge. (National
colours are: blue and red)
ARTICLE 3: as above, but: Les Armes de la République sont : Le
Palmiste etc...
What is puzzling is that the original French text and the English
translation do not refer to the same tree!
According to DOD Bourke's French-English horticultural dictionary
(CAB International, 1989), palmette (Fr) = palmetto (En) = Sabal
palmetto, palmiste (Fr) = cabbage palm (En) = Roystonea oleracea.
Palm cabbage is the growing point eaten as a vegetable. DK Pocket
Book calls the tree the 'royal palm', thus referring to local
palmist species (Roystonea regia in Cuba, R. oleracea in
Barbados, and R. borinquena in Puerto-Rico). I suggest to change
'palmette' to 'cabbage palm' to avoid confusion. Smith
(1976) calls it 'emperor palm', a palm I have not found in any of
the botanical books I have searched in.
The motto on the emblem (L'Union fait la Force) is NOT the
national motto, which is Liberte - Egalite - Fraternite, fide
Article 4 of the Constitution , as erroneously reported in DK
Pocket Book and Smith (1976 & 1980)
According to Album des Pavillons, the flag with the emblem
is the national flag and ensign as well as the war ensign, and
the 'plain' flag is the civil ensign. This is seconded in
Pedersen (1970) showing the Duvalier's era flags (with black
instead of blue) .DK Pocket Book shows the flag without the
emblem, with the caption 'For official and state purposes, the
flag is charged with the national arms on a central white disc .
Smith (1976 & 1980) also shows the Duvalier version (black
instead of blue) without emblem as state and war flag and ensign.
Ivan Sache, 12 December 1999
I have here a letter dated 01 12 1987 sent to Roman Klimes
by Ministère de l'Information et de la Coordination of Haiti .
It says more or less the same as your sources, with the following
details
- "Palmiste royal"
- flag 2,90 x 1,74 m
- a drawing b & w showing the flag with coa on a white
rectangle 0,55 x 0,45 m
I also have a photo of President Preval in Jane's Defence Weekly
dated 14 01 98, the white rectangle is much bigger in the flag
than in your web photo.
When visiting me here on 25 09 97, an Haitian hydrographer
brought me a flag and told me that :
- the size of rectangle is variable
- blue should be the same as french blue but we often see a
variable blue
- civil flags are without rectangle and coa
- there is no war navy, airforce (last aircrafts have been sold),
so no jack, no aircraft markings.
Armand du Payrat, 13 December 1999
Palmiste royal agrees with royal or emperor palm mentioned in
my first message, so it makes sense to consider the tree as a
cabbage palm, locally called royal palm, in Latin Roystonea sp.
(sp. for species because the species status of this particular
palm is not clear).
Ivan Sache, 13 December 1999
I suddenly noticed that Sesam Encyclopedie (1977) has two
coloured plates of flags. Concering Haiti (State flag), the
central rectangle noticably larger, with the same ratio as the
flag. If there ever was an official description saying this
should be a square, than it's never followed; all flags I can
recall have always had clearly rectangular shapes in the center.
it's not exactly the same ratio as the above flag. The rectangle
takes almost half the height of the flag, and just over half the
length. The difference is just enough of to stop the rectangle
from looking like a flag (or hole) inside the flag, if one pays
attention to it.
I noticed we have the English description, and though we don't
have the relevant part of the French description, we do have a
link showing it. Both describe the white field as a square, but I
would like to hear from anyone who ever saw an actual square
white field on an Haiti flag. I'm beginning to think that,
regardless of what the law says, even the Haiti government will
most likely use an oblong field, simply because it fits the CoA
better.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 6 October 2000
At "Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustre" (1924) - Haiti:
Version with rectangle (not square), with a very wide image. I'd
say some three quarters of the rectangle's width is taken up by
flag cloth, or higher up by palm leaves, this being wider than
the rectangle's height.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 October 2000
Pavillons Nationaux et Marques Distinctives [pay00] clearly states that:
- the flag with the arms is the National and War
Flag and Ensign.
- the flag without the arms is the civil flag and ensign.
Note that Dorling-Kindersley Pocket Book shows the flag without
the arms only and says "for official and state purposes the
flag is charged with the national arms on a central white
disc" (sic).
The flag is sometimes 3:4 in proportion and several variations in
shade and size of the rectangle including the arms have been
reported.
Ivan Sache, 5 January 2001
According to Album 2000 [pay00]
- Civil Flag and Ensign (C--/C-- 3:5) - Civil variant of the flag
is without the CoA, so just a blue over red bicolour. This is the
flag that once "inspired" Lichenstein to add the crown
on
its flag. Recently we discussed an objection from a visitor,
claiming that the flag with CoA is "true" national flag
of Haiti. Either this has changed since 1930's (when the
Lichenstein "incident" happened) or indeed the
visitor's perception of the
national flag is somewhat distorted.
Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
[gmc17] show the CoA, state and
civil flags (fig. 486, 490, 491) that are virtually the same as
those reportedly used today accurding to Album 2000 [pay00] , with some differences in
the representation of the CoA, that could be ascribed to artistic
redention, and are of no significance.
[neu92] agrees again, but giving
the size of the CoA much bigger and more elongated (and again
with different artistic redention).
[smi75c] and [smi82] show the 1964 version of the flags, vertically
divided black and red.
Zeljko Heimer, 31 October 2001
Flags of participating nations are vertically displayed in the
arena where the Judo World Championships take place in Munchen
(Germany). The Haitian flag appears clearly to have non-rotated
arms (i.e. their basis remains parallel to the original flag
basis, now vertical.) I have not found reference to this case.
Since there is a ribbon with a motto below the arms, I would
expect a rotation of the arms to keep them horizontal and
legible.
Ivan Sache, 30 July 2001
In all sport events I have seen on TV, Haiti is represented by
the flag with coat of arms. All sources (except DK Pocket Book,
which mentions a disk!) agree that the flag with coat of arms is
not only the state flag and ensign, but also the national one,
whereas the flag without coat of arms is the civil flag and
ensign.
Ivan Sache, 13 October 2001
According to Album 2000 [pay00] - National Flag (-SW/-SW 3:5) - Blue over red bicolour with rectangular white panel in the middle with the national coat of arms. The ratio of the panel itself is somthing like 4:5. It apears to be less the 1/3 of the hoist high, but it seems to me that this size is (and never was) firmly decided on.
3:4 variant
by Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
Note to the figure explains that beside this flag a variation
with lighter blue, larger panel and in ratio 3:4 is also used.
Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
.gif)
by Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
According to Album 2000 [pay00]
- Coat of Arms - Shown with white rectangular background, but I
choose to show it on transparent one. Of course, using the Corel
clipart for this drawing, with very minor corrections and
coloured after Album 2000. The main difference between the two
are the chains under the trumpets shown in Album.
Zeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
The Haitian flag anthem is shown at http://windowsonhaiti.com/hymne.htm,words
by Christian Werleigh (My translation):
"Hail, beautiful Vertie'res flag
Holy emblem of the Union
Inspire us, Dessalines and Pe'tion's
Haughty colours
On this great day of our history
The 18th of May 1803
Thou appeared to guide our rights
Towards the sun of victory
And the ruler trembled all over when he saw,
Announcing the new dawn,
His beautiful tricolour standard,
Looming up, diminished of the white
In front of Vertie'res flag
Which call us to union
Let us remember Dessalines and Pe'tion's
Haughty souls."
The French troops were defeated during the battle of Vertie'res
(18 November 1803). Their capitulation allowed the proclamation
of Haitian independence on 1 January 1804 Dessalines and
Pe'tion's were among the leaders of the anti-French insurrection
movement. The 18 May 1803 was the closing day of the Arcahaie
congress (15-18 May 1803), during which Dessalines had been
appointed general-in-chief of the insurrection army and had
adopted the motto "L'inde'a'pendance ou la mort"
(Independence or death) He also "diminished" the French
Tricolor of its white stripe to design the first blue-and-red
Haitian flag. The flag anthem is very popular in Haiti. It is
sung during flag hoisting ceremonies in school, barracks etc.
Ivan Sache, 2 December 2000
A friend referred me to a special exhibit: http://www.egallery.com/flags.html
- Click : The Electric Art Gallery: Haitian Voodoo Flags. Very
different designs from what we inculcate, but the purpose is very
different, too.
John Ayer, 9 October 1999
by Zeljko Heimer, 31 October 2001
Album 2000 does not give anything about the aircraft markings,
but [coe98] pictures two and
describes the third:
1943-1971 white disk with "sidebars" with blue over red
disk in the middle (described in text that 1964 blue was changed
back to pre-1806 black).
1971 onwards, white disk with "sidebars" with blue and
red concentric disks.
Zeljko Heimer, 31 October 2001
Previous Roundels
by Zeljko Heimer, 31 October 2001
by Zeljko Heimer, 31 October 2001
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