The national emblem of Angola reflects the recent past of the nation. It includes

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

imagery found on the device (as can be seen when compared with other examples of

socialist heraldry Socialist-style emblems usually follow a unique style consisting of communist symbolism. Although commonly referred to as coats of arms, most are not actually traditional heraldic achievements. Many communist governments purposely diverged fr ...

), expanded from what is found on the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

. In the center is a

machete A machete (; ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe, or in combat like a long-bladed knife. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the Spanish language, the word is possibly a dimin ...

and hoe, representing the revolution through which the nation gained independence and the importance of agricultural workers. Above both emblems is a

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

, a common symbol in socialist emblems. The star is taken to represent progress. The rising sun is the traditional symbol of a new beginning. These emblems are all enclosed within a circle whose right half is formed by cog-wheel, representing the industrial workers, and whose left half is a half-

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

coffea ''Coffea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. ''Coffea'' species are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. The seeds of some species, called coffee beans, are used to flavor variou ...

and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

leaves, representing agriculture. At the bottom is an open book that represents education. The banner at the bottom reads ', Portuguese for "Republic of Angola". This was changed from ' ("People's Republic of Angola") in 1990. Details of the insignia are laid down in Article 163 of the

Constitution of Angola Since the Angolan War of Independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola has had three constitutions. The first came into force in 1975 as an "interim" measure; the second was approved in a 1992 referendum, and the third one was instituted in 2010. ...

. In 1935, the Portuguese colonies were officially assigned coats of arms that followed a standard design pattern. For Angola, this consisted of a shield parted per pale, with the Portuguese arms without its usual bordure in the dexter (viewer's left) half and in the sinister (viewer's right) half the arms for Angola itself: a golden elephant and a golden zebra on a purpure field. The wavy bars in the base (''enté en point'') represented Angola's location overseas from metropolitan Portugal.

Historical coats of arms

File:BoletimdaSociedadeLuso-AfricanadoRiodeJaneiro N06 Jul-Set1933 0037.jpg, Proposed coat of arms of Angola in the Bulletin of 1933 File:Provisional Coat of Arms of the Colony of Angola.svg, A proposal for a coat of arms for the colony of Angola, at the request of the General Agency of the Colonies, for the Portuguese Institute of Heraldry and prepared by Afonso Dornelas in June 1932. File:Provisional coat of arms of Portuguese Angola (1934).svg, Temporary coat of arms representing Portuguese Angola at the Portuguese colonial exhibition (1934). File:Coat of arms of Portuguese West Africa (1935-1951).svg, Coat of arms of the Portuguese Colony of Angola between 8 May 1935 and 11 June 1951 File:Coat of arms of Portuguese Angola (1951–1975).svg, Coat of arms of the Portuguese Province of Angola, from 11 June 1951 to 11 November 1975 File:Lesser coat of arms of Portuguese West Africa.svg, Lesser coat of arms between 8 May 1935 and 11 November 1975 File:Emblem of the People's Republic of Angola (1975-1992).png, Emblem of the

People's Republic of Angola The People's Republic of Angola () was the self-declared people's democratic state which governed Angola from its independence in 1975 until 25 August 1992, during the Angolan Civil War. It was led by the People's Movement for the Liberation ...

(1975–1992) File:Emblem of the Democratic People's Republic of Angola.svg, Emblem of the

Democratic People's Republic of Angola The Democratic People's Republic of Angola (), also referred to as Free Angola () or the Free Land of Angola (), was a rival government to that of the People's Republic of Angola during the nation's Angolan Civil War, civil war. It was declared ...

, a rival government controlled by

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...

(1975–1976 and 1979–2002)

References

External links

National emblem/coat of arms of Angola
(archived) {{Coat of arms of Africa National symbols of Angola

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Historical coats of arms

See also

References

External links