#30. Republic of Seychelles

"The End Crowns the Work!". Welcome to the home for the smallest capital city in the world.

The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago of over 100 islands situated in the Indian Ocean, southeast of mainland Eastern Africa. All with lush tropical vegetation, beautiful beaches and a wide variety of marine life. Its capital, Victoria is situated in the highland of Mahé and is the smallest capital in the world. The highlands are largely waterless and very few have a resident population. Those that are populated have mixed descent since the French colonists together with their black slaves were joined in the 19th century by deportees from France. Asians from China, India and Malaysia arrived later. The widespread inter-marriages is also a great contributor.

Tuning into some of the most interesting facts about the country island, once, a pirate hideout, the famous pirate Olivier Levasseur hid a very expensive treasure in the Moyenne Island in Saint Anne Marine National Park and is believed believed to be haunted by a spirit that stands guard over the buried treasure. Tortoise Esperalda, the heaviest land tortoise living in the wild lives in the Bird Island of Seychelles. The coco de mer, native to the Islands, produces the largest seed in the world. The distinctly shaped nut can weigh up to 33 pounds.

Diving into a brief history of the national flag could be an interesting exploration to make.

Brief History of the National Flag

In 1869 Seychelles was under British rule and administered by British Mauritus. The British Blue Ensign with the coat of arms of Mauritus was flown at this point in time, (shown below).

By 1903 there was a British ensign for the Seychelles, it featured a badge with a palm tree and giant tortoise with Latin banner stating “FINIS, CORONAT, OPUS”, (shown below).

In 1961 the badge of the flag changed to an opal shape depicting a giant turtle, palm tree, coconuts, the sea and a boat, (shown below).

When Seychelles gained independence in 1976 a new flag was adopted that featured a blue triangles and red triangles with a white border. This flag only lasted one year, (shown below).

In 1977 F. Albert Renee overthrew the first president James Mancham and a new flag was adopted. It was a greenred horizontal bicolour with a white wavy stripe. The red represented revolution, green for agriculture and the white represented the bounty from the ocean, (shown below).

A new flag was adopted in 1996 to represent the new multiparty political system in the Seychelles. The flag is a Blue-yellow-red-white-green oblique bands starting from the bottom left (shown below).

Meaning of the flag parameters

Each colour of the flag has a specific representation;

The blue is the sky and the sea,

Yellow is the sand,

Red is the people,

White is harmony,

Green is the land,

The National Anthem

The anthem was created through a competition, after the adoption of the?Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles, dated 21 June 1993. The constitution stated there was to be a?national flag, a national anthem, a?national emblem?and a national motto. The constitution did not mention any anthems, since the anthem is prescribed by an Act.

The anthem was adopted as the national anthem of Seychelles on the National Day, at 18 June 1996.

_________________

Seychelles, our only motherland

Where we live in harmony

Happiness, love and peace

We give thanks to God.

Preserve the beauty of our country

The riches of our oceans

A precious heritage

For the happiness of our children.

Live forever in unity

Raise our flag

Together for all eternity

Join together all Seychellois.

__________________

The anthem was created by David André and Georges Payet, as an entry for the competition.

National Motto: "Finis Coronat Opus" (Latin for "The End Crowns the Work").

"The End Crowns the Work", this phrase is my new wake up call. Looking at the product, it is easy to tell of how much has been invested in the process. Appreciating the beauty of our inner selves and our lands is a thing that many of us need to appreciate especially in the so called "developing" world.

Unity in diversity, and in all circumstances proves some unique wisdom that humanity in all spheres of life. Sometimes also uniting with our own hearts, body and minds in the race of chasing our dreams.

A cup of tea or coffee in the republic of Seychelles is a dream that my heart carries. I hope when I wake up from this dream, I will be there. Hahaha.

Many thanks for reading through.

See you in the next country.

Refs: Britanicca.com. , tcsworldtravel.com. , Flagmakers.com , Hymne-national.com

?Girl of the African Soil.