![[Venda]](../images/z/za-venda.gif)
Last modified: 2012-01-28 by bruce berry
Keywords: south africa | homeland | venda | v |
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by Martin Grieve,
17 Sept 2006
See also:
Venda was located in the northeastern of
the former Transvaal (today's
Limpopo
Province), with a main part and one main enclave, not very compactly
shaped. It bordered on the northern part of Gazankulu.
Antonio Martins - 30 May 1999
Venda means "world" or "land" and as such refers to the traditional
home of the BaVenda tribe. Venda was granted internal self-government on
01 February 1973 and achieved full "independence" from South Africa on 13
September 1979.
Bruce Berry, 01 Dec 1998
A description of this flag, with amended wording, was subsequently incorporated
into Schedule 3 of the Republic of Venda Constitution Act
of 1979
and read as follows:
"Description of the National Flag of the Republic of Venda
Three horizontal stripes of equal width from top to bottom green, yellow
and brown and towards the pole a vertical blue stripe equal in width to
a horizontal stripe on which there shall appear, in the centre of the yellow
stripes the letter V in brown. The width shall be equal to two-thirds of
the length. The length of the letter V shall be five-sevenths of the width
of a stripe and the width of the letter V shall be five-sevenths of the
width of a stripe".
The colours of the flag of Venda are those used in traditional BaVenda
beadwork. The design of the flag is reminiscent of that of the former Transvaal
Republic, with three horizontal stripes and a hoist panel.
This design was also used briefly in the flag of neighbouring
Zimbabwe
Rhodesia between September 1979 and April 1980.
The brown symbolises the Venda soil, while the beauty of the countryside
is reflected by the yellow and blue stands for heaven. The beads have a
deeply religious significance and are passed down from generation to generation.
With the advent of democracy in South Africa, Venda was re-incorporated
on 27 April 1994 and is now part of the Northern Province. The flag is
no longer used.
Bruce Berry, 01 Dec 1998
While playing with my flags today, I pulled out and examined my full-sized
flag of Venda. It was made in South Africa and does not exactly match
the specifications shown on FOTW. Specifically, on my flag the "V" and
the lower stripe are more nearly black than brown. Was this an oft-seen variant?
Devereaux Cannon, 09 Feb 2003
Yes, some Venda flags were made by National Flag using a very
dark shade of brown. Others made by CI Canvas had a much lighter
shade, similar to that shown on image on FOTW. Official documentation
shows the flag using the lighter shade.
Bruce Berry, 10 Feb 2003
Regarding the former flags of the South African homelands;
- how much did the actual flags of the homelands differ from the original
specifications, and why?
- how much variation was in between different specimens of the same flag?
- what is the reason for the widely differing representations in flag
publications?
Marcus Schmöger, 28 Jan 2007
The simple answer to the questions is manufacturer's licence. There was some
variation in the flags made by the various manufacturers, most notably the
detail for the leopard's head in the flag of Bophuthatswana
and the Blue Crane in the flag of Ciskei. As reported
on FOTW, despite the specifications of the
Ciskei flag as described in the Ciskei Flag Act not conforming to the official
artcard, the proportions of the blue and white stripes were followed as per the
artcard and not as per the specifications. This could possibly explain the
variations in various flag publications (which was actually the official
specification???). However, one manufacturer produced flags showing the twig in
the beak of the Blue Crane (as was the case in the Coat of Arms) although this
was never specified for the flag. This manufacturer subsequently won a Ciskei
Government contract to supply flags and despite the error being pointed out (by
me actually!!!), the flags were made and the contract honoured!
The majority of the variations were with the Ciskei flag, while the others were
quite minor being mainly different colour shades and in the case of Venda,
different fonts were used for the "V".
Bruce Berry, 08 Feb 2007
By Government Notice No. 1599, published in the South African Government Gazette (Number 3644 of 8 September 1972) it was notified that a coat of arms had been registered for the Venda Legislative Assembly in terms of the South African Heraldry Act (Act No. 18 of 1962). Although application and registration was made in terms of the Heraldry Act (Government Notice 1599 in Government Gazette 3644 of 08 September 1972), the State Herald did not issue a formal certificate of registration in respect of these arms as they had been devised without consultation of the Bureau of Heraldry
The blazon for these Arms read as follows:
Arms: Vert, an elephant statant within a bordure Or.
Crest: Or and vert.
Motto: SHUMELA VENDA (Always Aspire for Venda)
ve.gif)
image by Martin Grieve, 22
Dec 2006
Immediately prior to independence, amended Arms
with supporters were approved for the Venda Legislative Assembly. These Arms
were registered with the South African Bureau of Heraldry in terms of Government
Notice 151 in Government Gazette 6294 of 02 February 1979. These Arms
were formally taken into use at the independence on 13 September 1979. A
certificate of registration (number 2007) was, however, only issued on 21
October 1988, in response
to a formal request from the Republic of Venda.
The blazon of the amended Arms is as follows:
Arms: Vert, an elephant's
head caboshed Or, tusked Argent, the whole within a bordure Or.
Crest: A Venda
tribal drum proper.
Supporters: Two elephants proper.
Motto: SHUMELA VENDA
(Always Aspire for Venda)
Following the re-incorporation of Venda into South Africa on 27 April 1994,
these Arms are no longer used.
Bruce Berry, 22 Dec 2006
image
by Miles Li, 11 Dec 2011
In common with the other so called "independent" Homelands, the Venda
Defence Force had a distinctive flag of its own, having a chilli red
background (similar to that used by the South African
Army), with the Venda national flag, fimbriated in white, in the canton
and the emblem of the Venda Defence Force in the lower fly. The
emblem comprised a stylised elephant's head in gold, taken from the Venda
coat of arms. Following the re-incorporation of Venda into South
Africa on 27 April 1994, the Venda Defence Force was incorporated into the
South African National Defence Force and this flag
is no longer in use.
Bruce Berry, 08 Jan 2012
image
by Martin Grieve, 20 Dec 2006
ven_pol.gif)
image by Martin Grieve, 20 Dec 2006
This is a facetted six-pointed white star charged in the centre
with a gold roundel bearing the Venda Arms in colour, within a black annulet
bearing the words MAPHOLISA A VENDA above, and VENDA POLICE below.
Bruce Berry, 22 Dec 2006
