The indigenous population of the island of Ceylon is the Sinhalese and Tamils. Sinhalese belong to the Indo-Aryan race. They called themselves "sinhala" or "lions", since the word "sinh" in translation from Indian means lion. Perhaps it was this fact that contributed to the fact that the coat of arms of Sri Lanka has a central image in the form of the king of beasts and several Buddhist symbols.
Modern look
The coat of arms of the State of Sri Lanka in its current form has the following symbols:
- a Sinhalese lion, depicted in profile and holding a sword in its right paw;
- The Dharma Wheel is a symbol of the Commonwealth of Nations;
- two circles symbolizing night (moon) and day (sun);
- Buddhist bowl, reminiscent of the main teaching on the island of Ceylon.
The color palette is rich, deep, mainly gold, scarlet and azure colors are used.
Excursion into the history of the island
At one time, the beautiful island of Ceylon experienced first a period of Portuguese, then Dutch, later British rule, before becoming an independent and free state.
For almost 150 years (from 1505 to 1658), the inhabitants of the island were forced to submit to distant Portugal, which, thanks to brave sailors, significantly expanded its territories. Ceylon at that time had a national emblem in the form of a shield. The central place on it was occupied by an elephant depicted against a background of palm trees.
The Dutch, who replaced the Portuguese, did not demand a radical change of the island's emblem, they left the shield, the elephant and the palm trees. Another scarlet shield and jeweled crown were added to the previous look.
The British, who ousted the representatives of Holland, left the emblem of Ceylon unchanged at an early stage of their reign. In a later version of the coat of arms, the image of the elephant became stylized, the shield disappeared, and the Wheel of Dharma appeared in its place.
Liberty Island in the Indian Ocean
After gaining independence, an important event that took place in 1948, one of the main tasks set was the creation of its own coat of arms. For such an important matter, a special committee was even created. The recommendations of its members were taken into account when creating the national emblem of the young state.
Then the royal Sinhalese lion appeared, and the Wheel of Dharma. Above the coat of arms was decorated with a British crown, which disappeared in 1972. Later, due to the change in political course, the national symbol of Sri Lanka was left with several more important elements that belonged to socialist heraldry.
These are details that symbolized the link between the city, industry, in the form of a gear, and the village, agriculture, which was symbolized with the help of an ear of corn.
