Lesotho

Mmuso wa Lesotho

Last modified: 2002-04-12 by jarig bakker
Keywords: lesotho | shield and spears |
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2:3~
by Zeljko Heimer, 7 Apr 2002

• History of the flag
• Construction sheet
• Flag Description
• Aircraft Marking

• Lesotho Political Parties
• Royal Lesotho flags
• Flag of 1966
• Lesotho and Basutoland Coat-of-Arms
• Basutoland protectorate flags
• Lesotho Institute of accountants

• The High Commissioner of South Africa

History of the flag

Lesotho's current flag was adopted on January 20, 1987 after a military coup in which the military replaced the governing Basuto National Party. That's why the shield and spears are on there; they signify defense.
Steve Kramer and Bruce Berry, 2 May 1996

Construction sheet

Flag Description

National Flag. CSW/--- 2:3
Tricolour of white blue green divided in rising diagonal and with light brown emblem in canton.
The flag is divided along diagonal in upper white part, while the lowe fly triangle is divided in blue and green parallel to the diagonal dividing it in two equal areas. With the  flag ovarall ratio 2:3, this would mean that the blue stripe width would be 1/4 of the hoist size. (at least as I figured it out, I would appreciate if some would check that out, and possibly provide decent
mathematical explanation).
The emblem size is not quite defined, but the vertical axis is to be along line 1/5 of the flag length from the hoist.
Source: Album 2000.
Zeljko Heimer, 7 Apr 2002

The Lesotho Flag is based on the traditional motto of the Lesotho Nation: Khotso  (Peace); Pula (Rain); Nala (Prosperity); It was promulgated through the National Flag Order No. 1 of 1987, and hoisted for the first time on January 20, 1987.
White occupies the top triangular half with diagonal traversing from left bottom corner adjoining the hoist. Blue and green: each occupy half the surface area of the lower triangule, in that order. The light brown shield is situated on the white half of the flag, with its centre line one fifth (1/5) of the distance from the hoist. Supported by an assegai (left), a bludgeon (right), and a plumed spine (centre), it symbolises the Lesotho Nation's traditional safeguards for peace."
Source: The Lesotho Government Official Website.
Jarig Bakker, 11 Jun 2001

The meaning of 'pula' in relation with rain and water is explained in depth on our Botswana page as follows:
Both the currency and national motto of Botswana are Pula which means 'rain'. To a Tswana, pula means more than just the wet stuff which falls out the sky: it stands for luck, life and prosperity.
Stuart A.Notholt, 3 November 1996

The "Shipmate Flagchart 1998", authenticated by the Flag Research Center shows the current Lesotho national flag as having 9:14 proportions.
Santiago Dotor, 24 Feb 2000

Your various correspondents are a little unclear on the shields appearing in the arms and current flag of Lesotho. Both are examples of a style which varies quite a bit. One can gain a sense of the variations when one compares these Lesotho shields with those in the arms of Bophuthatswana and Qwaqwa. (Bophuthatswana is in Armoria, but Qwaqwa not yet. You'll find both in International Civic Arms.)  The shape of the Tswana shield is distinct from the South Sotho variety, yet the Tswana and Sotho shields have characteristics that set them apart from the Nguni shield more common in Southern Africa.
In the Tswana shield (and the one used by Qwaqwa, a South Sotho state) the four corners stick out more or less straight, and have their ends cut off straight. In the Sotho version they hang down slightly (more so on the Lesotho flag) and are rounded. Yet both varieties are characterised by what one might called a nipped waist.
Individual shield makers in different villages no doubt work to a common concept, but incorporate local variations. After all, these shields are (like the Nguni shield type) made of hide and mounted on a frame of sticks, so their outline depends very much on who is cutting the hide.
Another characteristic that the Sotho and Tswana shields have in common is that they are normally made fairly small, maximum height 30cm, for use in stick-fighting - which is the traditional recreation of young men among both the Basotho and the abeNguni.
This is in contrast with the Nguni shield, which although nowadays chiefly also used in stick-fighting mode, is still to be seen in larger formats recalling their use in actual warfare. Various Nguni dance troops (chiefly Zulu) use these shields, most often
in the style introduced by Shaka.
In reforming the style of warfare in his realm (in the process building a kingdom out of his own rather small Zulu clan and the Mthethwa confederacy, whose king had taken him under his wing), Shaka abolished the traditional large Nguni shield, which stood about the height of a man.
The warrior traditionally stood behind his shield while the enemy threw long throwing spears, and then stepped out to throw his own spears - or return the enemy's. This practice of hiding behind the shield gave rise to the Sotho (especially North Sotho) name for the Nguni peoples: Mathebele.
This means "people who hide behind large shields". The word was taken into isiNguni as Ndebele, and came to be used for three distinct Nguni groups: the amaNdebele (or South Ndebele) of Mpumalanga, the amaNdebele (North Ndebele) of Northern Province, and the amaNdebele of Zimbabwe. The North and South Ndebele have lived in the Transvaal region for at least three centuries, whereas the Zimbabwean tribe (created by their king Mzilikazi, previously one of Shaka's lieutenants) are a product of the Mfecane (the period of widespread tribal warfare sparked off by Shaka).
Shaka reduced the length of the spear to only 90cm, and decreed that it should be used for stabbing. (This weapon is properly called the assegai; other spears are not assegais.) To go with the assegai, the shield was reduced to about 60cm in height, and was reduced to being used to ward off blows in hand-to-hand fighting.
In case you're not clear on the shape of the Nguni shield, it appears in the arms of Ciskei, KwaZulu, Gauteng, Swaziland and Gazankulu. Elsewhere it can be seen in the arms of Kenya and Tanzania, while it appears in error in the arms of Botswana.
Swaziland shows a variation in the Nguni shield shape: it is quite a bit fatter than the other examples. Also, in these arms, the Nguni shield is a charge on a shield of Western shape.
Mike Oettle, 14 Dec 2001

I saw some interesting information about the Tswana definition of "thebe" in your web page about Lesotho. Thebe in Setswana means a "shield". I did check the cited reference on this definition but I think it is a mistake.
Baitsi Podisi (Botswana), 23 Feb 2002

Aircraft Marking

Roundel of green-white-blue.
The national flag is painted on the fin, explains the note.
[cos98] has similar rounde, but with the central disk much larger.
Also, the pre-1986 aircraft marking are given there, as four coloured roundel of BWRV, out-to-in, and the natn'l flag on the fin.
It seems from the text, that the "roundel version of the national flag" is also used, which I read as circular form of the flag?
Source: Album 2000.
Zeljko Heimer, 7 Apr 2002