The national flag of Sri Lanka, also called the Singha Flag or Lion Flag (Sinhala: සිංහ කොඩිය, romanized:singha kodiya, Tamil: சிங்கக் கொடி, romanized:ciṅkak koṭi), consists of a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gold, and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in green and orange, with the orange stripe closest to the lion.

The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese race, while the saffron border and four bo leaves represent the concepts of meththa, karuṇā, muditā and upecka respectively. The stripes represent the country's two largest minority ethnicities, with the orange stripe representing the Tamils inhabitants—namely the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka—and the green stripe representing the Sri Lankan Moors (Muslims of Sri Lanka). The golden yellow border is a catch-all representing the various minority communities of the country.

History

Monarchical Sri Lanka

As depicted on a mural in Cave no. 2 at Dambulla Viharaya, King Dutugemunu on his campaign against Elara (an invading South Indian ruler in 162 BC) is depicted with a banner containing a lion figure carrying a sword in its right forepaw, a symbol of the Sun and one of the Moon. This flag was known as the only ancient representation of the lion flag of the Sinhalese but in 1957, the lion figure on it was defaced by a vandal.

British colonial period

This basic design continued to be in use until 1815, when the Kandyan Convention ended the reign of the country's last native monarch, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, replacing his royal standard (used as the Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy) with the Union Flag as the nation's accepted flag. The colonial government of British Ceylon later established its own flag, while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's standard was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

  • Flags of Sri Lanka (1815-1948)
  • Colonial flag of British Ceylon, 1815–1875
  • Colonial flag of British Ceylon, 1875–1948

Sri Lanka (since 1948)

As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera and D. R. Wijewardena discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea. A photo of it was published in Dinamina, in a special edition marking a century since the loss of self-rule and Sri Lankan independence. The flag provoked much interest from the public who, for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, had seen its actual design.

Member of Parliament for Batticaloa, Mudaliyar A. Sinnalebbe, suggested in Parliament on January 16, 1948, that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag. In 1948, the flag was adopted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, undergoing two changes: one in 1953 and a redesign in 1972. A notable feature of the 1972 adaptation of the Kandyan standard was the replacement of the four spearheads at the flag's corners by four bo leaves, a design choice made under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee.

  • Flags of Sri Lanka (since 1948)
  • Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, 1948–1951
  • Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon (similar to current), 1951–1972

Symbolism

According to the Mahavamsa, the historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, the origin of the Sinhalese people;the island’s majority ethnic group is traced to Prince Vijaya.The chronicle records that his father, King Sinhabahu was the son of a powerful man named Sinha (often interpreted as a lion) and Princess Suppadevi of the Vanga kingdom in northern India.With the arrival of Prince Vijaya and subsequent migrations from northern India, these groups are believed to have intermixed with the Vadda people of the island, giving rise to the Sinhalese people. As the Mahavamsa symbolically associates Sinha with a lion representing strength, the lion came to embody the identity and valor of the Sinhalese people.

Historical accounts also suggest that Prince Vijaya is said to have raised a lion flag upon his landing at Tambapanni Ancient Port. Accordingly, the lion symbol has been used since ancient times, and today it remains a central feature of the national flag of Sri Lanka representing the Sinhalese nation.The national flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as a rallying device. Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings.

SymbolRepresents
The LionThe Sinhala ethnicity and the strength of the nation
The bo leavesThe four Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity
The sword of the lionThe sovereignty of the nation
The curly hair on the lion's headReligious observance, wisdom and meditation
The eight hairs on the lion's tailThe Noble Eightfold Path
The beard of the lionPurity of words
The handle of the swordThe classical elements of water, fire, air and earth
The nose of the lionIntelligence
The two front paws of the lionPurity in handling wealth
Orange stripeThe Tamil ethnicity (including the Hill Country Tamils of Indian ancestry)
Green stripeThe Moor ethnicity
Saffron borderBuddhism and unity among the people
The maroon backgroundThe Sinhala ethnicity
The golden yellow borderOther minority communities of Sri Lanka, such as the Malays, the Burghers, the Indigenous Veddas, the Kaffirs and, the Sri Lankan Chinese, who migrated to Sri Lanka during the 17th–19th centuries.

Colours

The colors of the national flag are specified in the document "SLS 1: 2020: Specification for the National Flag of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".

Colours schemeYellowMaroonOrangeTeal
CMYK0-26-90-30-80-66-420-48-100-13100-0-9-63
HEX#F7B718#941E32#DF7500#005F56
RGB247-183-24148-30-50223-117-00-95-86
Pantone14-0957 TCX19-1863 TCX16-1164 TCX18-5322 TCX

Gallery

See also

Citations

Sources

External links