Ethnic flag
Encyclopedia
An ethnic flag is a flag
that symbol
izes a certain ethnic group
. Ethnic flags are often introduced to the ethnic community through the respective cultural or political ethnic movements. In many cases, they have ancient origins, or, at least, they are inspired by symbols rooted in historical and cultural tradition of a people.
They are popular among ethnic minorities and some ethnic majorities, especially in multiethnic countries.
An ethnic flag can be either recognized or not by the central government. Some ethnic flags are banned by the central governments of sovereign state
s because they also serve as the flags of separatist groups
, or groups perceived as such by the prevailing authorities.
Western Africa
Middle Africa
Southern Asia
Notes and citations for external links
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
that symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
izes a certain ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
. Ethnic flags are often introduced to the ethnic community through the respective cultural or political ethnic movements. In many cases, they have ancient origins, or, at least, they are inspired by symbols rooted in historical and cultural tradition of a people.
They are popular among ethnic minorities and some ethnic majorities, especially in multiethnic countries.
An ethnic flag can be either recognized or not by the central government. Some ethnic flags are banned by the central governments of sovereign state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
s because they also serve as the flags of separatist groups
Flags of active autonomist and secessionist movements
-See also:*Independentism*Self-determination*Autonomy*Independence*Sovereignty*Self-governance*Non-recognized nations*List of active autonomist and secessionist movements*List of historical autonomist and secessionist movements*List of flags...
, or groups perceived as such by the prevailing authorities.
Northern Africa, Arabian Peninsula and Fertile Crescent
Horn of Africa
Eastern, Central and Western Africa
Southern Africa
North America
Central America and Caribbean
South America
Northern, Central and Eastern Asia
Southern Asia
Southeastern Asia
Melanesia
Australasia and Polynesia
Northern Europe
Central Europe
Southwestern Europe
Southeastern Europe
Eastern Europe, Caucasia and Anatolia
See also
- Flags of unrecognized states
- Flags of formerly independent statesFlags of formerly independent states-See also:*Flags of active autonomist and secessionist movements*Flags of dependent territories*Flags of ethnic groups*Flags of subnational entities*Flags of unrecognized states*List of extinct states...
- Flags of subnational entitiesFlags of subnational entitiesThis overview lists flags used by first-level country subdivisions. The status of these flags varies from one country or sovereign state to the next: most of them are official flags, whereas others are only used de facto, sometimes to indicate a desire for more autonomy or independence.-----...
- Flags of micronationsFlags of micronationsMicronations are ephemeral, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states but which are not acknowledged as such by any recognised sovereign state, or by any supranational organisation....
- Flags of active autonomist and secessionist movementsFlags of active autonomist and secessionist movements-See also:*Independentism*Self-determination*Autonomy*Independence*Sovereignty*Self-governance*Non-recognized nations*List of active autonomist and secessionist movements*List of historical autonomist and secessionist movements*List of flags...
- List of cultural flags
- Rainbow flagRainbow flagA rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow. The actual colors shown differ, but many of the designs are based on the traditional scheme of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, or some more modern division of the rainbow spectrum .The...
- VexillologyVexillologyVexillology is the scholarly study of flags. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum, meaning 'flag', and the Greek suffix -logy, meaning 'study'. The vexillum was a particular type of flag used by Roman legions during the classical era; its name is a diminutive form of the word velum...
External links
Northern Africa- Tuareg ethnic flag Tuareg people (AzaouadAzaouadAzaouad, Azawad, or Azawagh is the collective non-officially recognized name for the main Tamashek-speaking parts of northern Mali, northern Niger, and part of southern Algeria. Azawad is mainly made up of Sahelian and Saharan vast flat lands inhabited by Tuareg nomads...
)
Western Africa
- Hausa ethnic flag Hausa peopleHausa peopleThe Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
(Northern NigeriaNorthern NigeriaNorthern Nigeria is a geographical region of Nigeria. It is more arid and less densely populated than the south. The people are largely Muslim, and many are Hausa...
and Southeastern NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
) - Yoruba ethnic flag Yoruba peopleYoruba peopleThe Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
(Southwestern NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, TogoTogoTogo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
and GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
)
Middle Africa
- BaKongo ethnic flag Kongo peopleKongo peopleThe Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...
(Southern Congo-BrazzavilleRepublic of the CongoThe Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, Western Congo-KinshasaDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Northern AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Southern GabonGabonGabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
)
Southern Asia
- Talysh ethnic flag Talysh peopleTalysh peopleTalysh are an Iranian people indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language, one of the Northwestern Iranian languages...
(Southeastern Republic of Azerbaijan, Western Ardabīl ProvinceArdabil ProvinceArdabil Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north west of the country, bordering the Republic of Azerbaijan and the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and Gilan. Its centre is the city of Ardabil...
and Northern Gilan ProvinceGilan ProvinceGilan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It lies along the Caspian Sea, just west of the province of Mazandaran, east of the province of Ardabil, north of the provinces of Zanjan and Qazvin....
) - Kannada ethnic flag Kannada people (KarnatakaKarnatakaKarnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
) - Malayali ethnic flag Malayali people (KeralaKeralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
) - Telugu ethnic flag TelugusTelugu peopleThe Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
of TelanganaTelanganaTelangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and formerly was part of Hyderabad state which was ruled by Nizam. It is bordered with the states of Maharashtra on the north and north-west, Karnataka on the west, Chattisgarh on the north-east and Orissa to the east... - Hindi ethnic flag HindisHindi languagesThe Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu...
(Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Madhya PradeshMadhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, BiharBiharBihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, and HaryanaHaryanaHaryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
) - Bihari ethnic flag Bihari peopleBihari peopleThe Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
(BiharBiharBihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and eastern Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
) - Assamese ethnic flag Assamese peopleAssamese peopleThe Assamese people are a well-defined subgroup of People of Assam. Though sometimes they are defined as the Assamese-speaking Indo-Aryans of the Brahmaputra valley,, this definition is not legally binding...
(AssamAssamAssam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
)
Notes and citations for external links