Flag of Mali
Encyclopedia
The flag of Mali
(French
: Drapeau du Mali) is a tricolour
with three equal vertical stripes. From the hoist (the place where the flagpole meets the flag) the colours are green
, gold
, and red
, the pan-African colors. The flag is identical to the flag of Guinea
, with the exception that the colors are in reverse order.
The current flag was adopted on March 1, 1961. The original flag was adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation
. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a human stick figure, a kanaga, in black, with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed because of Islam
ic aniconism
, the belief against making pictures of the human figure. (Mali is about 90% Muslim
.)
The flag adopted in 1959 for the Confederation was an imitation of the flag of Ghana, but following the style of the French Tricolore. It was changed with a black emblem known as a kanaga
, a stylized human figure. The colors were intended to reflect a unity with other African nations. After the two countries split up in 1960, the flag was kept for use in Mali until March 1, 1961, when the kanaga
emblem was dropped.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
(French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Drapeau du Mali) is a tricolour
Tricolour
A tricolour is a flag or banner more-or-less equally divided into three bands of differing colours...
with three equal vertical stripes. From the hoist (the place where the flagpole meets the flag) the colours are green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
, gold
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
, and red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, the pan-African colors. The flag is identical to the flag of Guinea
Flag of Guinea
The flag of Guinea was adopted on 10 November 1958.- History :The colors of the flag were adapted from those of the Rassemblement Democratique Africaine, the dominant movement at the time of independence. The colors were in turn derived from those of Ghana, which had first adopted them in 1957...
, with the exception that the colors are in reverse order.
The current flag was adopted on March 1, 1961. The original flag was adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation
Mali Federation
The Mali Federation was a country in West Africa. It was formed by a union between Senegal and the Sudanese Republic...
. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a human stick figure, a kanaga, in black, with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed because of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic aniconism
Aniconism in Islam
Aniconism in Islam is a proscription in Islam against the creation of images of sentient living beings. The most absolute proscription is of images of Allah, followed by depictions of Muhammad, and then Islamic prophets and the relatives of the Prophet, but the depiction of all humans and animals...
, the belief against making pictures of the human figure. (Mali is about 90% Muslim
Demographics of Mali
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Mali, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.-Population structure:...
.)
The flag adopted in 1959 for the Confederation was an imitation of the flag of Ghana, but following the style of the French Tricolore. It was changed with a black emblem known as a kanaga
Kanaga
Kanaga may refer to:*Kanaga Island in the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska*Mount Kanaga, a volcano on Kanaga Island*the human effigy tribal figure, kanaga, that appeared on the original Malian independence flag adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation,...
, a stylized human figure. The colors were intended to reflect a unity with other African nations. After the two countries split up in 1960, the flag was kept for use in Mali until March 1, 1961, when the kanaga
Kanaga
Kanaga may refer to:*Kanaga Island in the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska*Mount Kanaga, a volcano on Kanaga Island*the human effigy tribal figure, kanaga, that appeared on the original Malian independence flag adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation,...
emblem was dropped.