FLAG OF MALAWI: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The flag of Malawi is the national flag of this African republic. It is made up of three horizontal stripes of equal size, colored black, red and green. Its main characteristic is that a red rising sun with 31 rays emerges from the center of the black band. The symbol has been in effect since 1964, with a brief hiatus in use between 2010 and 2012.

Although there were many peoples and kingdoms that occupied the current territory of Malawi, the formal flags arrived with the British. These maintained their colonial symbols, with the Union Jack and distinctive shields for the different entities that ruled in the area: the British Protectorate of Central Africa, Nyasaland and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Malawi flag. (SKopp.).

The independence of Malawi occurred in 1964 and the flag has been in force since then. Only in 2010 was the rising sun changed to a full sun, but having no political consensus, the original flag was returned in 2012.

The black color represents the African people, the red one represents the spilled blood and the struggle for independence, while the green one identifies with the Malawian nature. The sun is the symbol of African hope and freedom.

History of the flag

As is understandable in much of the prehistoric debates, it is not known for sure when hominids began to populate present-day Malawian territory.

Although it is estimated that there have been hominids in the area for 60 thousand years, bones have been found that could indicate the presence for more than 2.5 million years. This could make the area one of the places where the human presence has been oldest.

More recently, the Twa and Fula were the first groups to live around Lake Malawi, until approximately 2000 BC This area was sparsely populated until the Bantu migration.

The first Europeans who had contact with the area were the Portuguese, in the 16th century. Around the same time, the first great predecessor state of Malawi was consolidated: the Maravi Empire. This began to decline in the 17th century.

-External invasions

For several centuries, the current territory of Malawi was a space for external invasions of different ethnic groups and groups. After the decline of the Maravi Empire, the Portuguese began to have more influence in the territory, especially in the trade in metals and slaves.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to bring their flags to the area, although they were never officially raised because they did not establish colonies there.

Other ethnic groups such as the Angoni came from the south, but over time many of their men fell into the slave trade networks of Arabs on the coast of Tanganyika. Instead, the Yao were the other large group to come and stay for centuries. This ethnic group, unlike the others, was also a slave owner and traded with the Arabs.

The Yao evolved and eventually many converted to Islam and began to live in villages. That prompted colonization by the British.

-First contacts with Europeans

The British conqueror David Livingstone was the great protagonist of the discovery of Lake Malawi for his country. His surprise at discovering the Yao converted to Islam was what spurred the sending of Christian missions for their evangelization.

Those Protestant missions grew and encouraged other Catholic missions. In this way, British power in the area was consolidated.

-British Protectorate of Central Africa

Portugal was still interested in the region, but the British went ahead with their missions. Through an accredited consul in 1883, the British began to formalize a gradual colonization, which was completed in 1889. In that year the British Protectorate of Central Africa was proclaimed, which by 1891 was established in the current territory of Malawi.

Its flag was in tune with the pattern of British colonies. It was a flag with the Union Jack in the canton and the rest dark blue. In its right part it included the coat of arms of the colony, which was a circle with three equal diagonal stripes of yellow, white and black. On them a tree with its fruits was incorporated.

Flag of the British Protectorate of Central Africa. (1891-1907). (Fenn-O-maniC).

-Nyasaland

The colonial name unrelated to the territory received a change in 1907. The territory was renamed Nyasaland, as Nyasa was the yao name for lake. Throughout this colonial period, the same British symbol scheme was maintained. However, the shield kept by the British Central African Protectorate was modified in 1925.

In this case, the colonial shield of Nyasaland was established like a leopard on a stone. Behind him he kept a white background, on which a sun rose with a green landscape. This flag identified Nyasaland until independence.

Flag of British Nyasaland. (1925-1964). (Fry1989 huh?).

-Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

The yearning for autonomy and independence on the part of indigenous groups began to be noticed in the 1930s. However, the colonial plans were the union between Nyasaland and the two Rhodesies through a federation under the British umbrella.

Although the Second World War delayed this approach, Nyasaland joined the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland as of August 1, 1953.

The indigenous population opposed the federative attempt, as it was an extension of the colonial domain controlled from Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

The federation was highly autonomous, but from Nyasaland they believed possible an apartheid regime like the one that had begun to be established in South Africa. Given this, leaders such as Hastings Banda emerged, who became the head of the autonomist movement.

Although the Nyasaland flag continued in force as part of the new colonial entity, the federation kept its own. Again with the British colonial design, it maintained a shield that combined those of the member colonies.

It kept a sun from the Nyasaland flag, a red lion from that of South Rhodesia, and wavy black and white lines from that of North Rhodesia.

Flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. (Unknown, vector version by User: Lupine, User: Greentubing, User: Fenn-O-maniC and User: NikNaks).

-Republic of Malawi

Hastings Banda became part of the constitutional conference in 1961, and that year became a minister, albeit on the condition that Nyasalandia remain in the federation.

However, the African majority on the legislative councils put an end to this attempt at colonial grouping. By 1963, Nyasalandia achieved autonomy and the federation was dissolved on the last day of that year.

On July 6, 1964, the independence of the Republic of Malawi was declared, with that change of name and President's Band, which ended up becoming a dictator. Banda ruled the country uninterruptedly until 1994, when the one-party system was ended and he lost his first democratic elections. The dictator received the support of the West, who greeted him for his anti-communism.

Independent Malawi flag

On independence day the Malawian flag was raised, which is the same one that is currently in force. Pan-African colors were chosen, and the symbol is inspired by the flag of the then-dominant Malawian Congress Party. To distinguish it from the latter, the sun was added in the upper band.

-2010 flag change

The only change to the Malawian flag was in 2010. At that time, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party proposed a change.

Without altering the composition or the colors of the stripes, the modification was presented in the sun. This consisted of the red rising sun in the black stripe being replaced by a complete white sun in the center of the flag, with 45 rays.

This change, which took place on July 29, 2010, represented, according to the government, the economic progress of Malawi. In addition, it was related to the fact that the sun was no longer being born in the country, but had finished appearing, which represented maturity.

This change did not have the consensus of the other parliamentary forces and received their opposition, especially from the United Democratic Front, which brought him to the judiciary.

Malawi flag. (2010-2012). (Phlegmatic).

-Return of the original flag

The flag established in 2010 was perceived as a personalist change from President Bingu wa Mutharika. In fact, it received the nickname of Bingu's Flag or Bingu Flag. This was one of the reasons why it never gained popularity or social consensus.

The sudden death of Bingu wa Mutharika led to a presidential succession by Joyce Banda. From the presidency, the congress was urged to recover the old flag. This was approved again on May 28, 2012 and has remained unchanged since then.

Meaning of the flag

The colors of the flag of Malawi are understood as part of the Pan-African, therefore the flag of the country represents the African unity. But the meaning goes further and specifically in each of its stripes and forms.

In the case of the color red, it is traditional to understand that it represents the blood shed by the struggle, in this case, African, in addition to the battle for independence. For its part, green is the symbol of the country's evergreen nature. Finally, the black is identified with the autochthonous ethnic groups of the country and the continent.

The most characteristic symbol of the Malawian flag is the rising sun in the black stripe. This represents the birth of hope and freedom for the entire African continent. Furthermore, its 31 rays symbolize the fact that Malawi was the 31st country to achieve independence in Africa.

References

1. BBC News. (September 21, 2010). African viewpoint: Flying the flag. BBC News Africa. Recovered from bbc.co.uk.
2. Luscombe, S. (nd). Nyasaland. Brief History. The British Empire. Recovered from britishempire.co.uk.
3. McCracken, J. (2012). A history of Malawi, 1859-1966. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. Recovered from books.google.com.
4. Pachai, B. (Ed.). (1972). The early history of Malawi (pp. 204-204). London: Longman. Recovered from sensationbestseller.info.
5. Smith, D. (May 30, 2012). Malawi vote to restore rising sun flag. The Guardian. Recovered from theguardian.com.
6. Smith, W. (2013). Flag of Malawi. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.