The African continent in the twentieth century has significantly increased the list of independent states on the planet. But in the main official symbols of many of them, fragments have been preserved that vividly testify to whose colony this or that country was earlier. For example, the coat of arms of Chad has a ribbon with an inscription - the main motto, written in French.
European traditions and African symbols
When choosing the main symbols of the coat of arms of Chad and building the composition, it was not without advice from experts in heraldry from Europe. This can be seen with the naked eye, since the main official symbol of the African state contains:
- shield painted in gold and azure;
- supporters, goat (left) and lion (right);
- fiery red sunrise;
- medallion;
- ribbon (scroll) with Chad's motto.
Azure waves on the shield are the personification of the country's main water source, Lake Chad. For the first time, information about it can be found in Ptolemy, who calls it "the periodically appearing swamp of the god Nuba." In the 19th century, the lake attracted researchers from Europe like a magnet; it was described by Walter Odny in 1823, Heinrich Barth in 1852, Gustav Nachtial in 1870–72.
The goat and lion are the brightest representatives of the animal world of Africa, but on the country's coat of arms they also have another, symbolic meaning. The goat is the personification of the northern part of the nation, the lion, respectively, of the southern part of the country. The medallion, a national order located at the base of the coat of arms, is one of the main state awards in Chad.
Space symbol
The sun, according to the authors of the coat of arms, becomes a symbol of the beginning of a new life. In general, this cosmic body has been the source of life for thousands of years, and therefore it belongs to the main symbolic signs on the planet, it is used by different peoples and on different continents.
The image of the sun appeared in the days of the pagans. Later, religion tried to fight the symbol, proposing to replace it with the image of the cross. But the church was forced to come to terms with this sign and its presence on the official emblems and emblems of many countries.
The sun differed in color, it could be gold or yellow, white, red, orange. Former Soviet republics used this solar sign in their official symbols. Today, the solar disk or rising star is depicted on the coats of arms of Afghanistan, Japan, Greenland, Costa Rica, Niger, Angola, Liberia, Mali, Morocco.
