Flags of Bergonia

Tuva --Flags, seals, symbols of the Mongol nation of Tuva, formerly Tanu Tuva, absorbed by the Soviet Union in the 1920s and now part of the Russian Federation.

American Indian Tribes --Flags of over 80 tribes in the US.

Historical flags --a personal site w/ an interesting miscellany.

FAME --A Croatian site featuring flags of Austria-Hungary, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia.

Ausflag -- promoting a new flag for Australia-- sans Union Jack. Canada spurned the Union Jack over 30 years ago, now Australia's turn. Plus history of Australian flags.

The National Flag

This design serves all purposes, including civil and naval ensign. In informal use it is acceptable to fly the two earlier versions of this flag, one with a plain blue field, lacking the eight stars, and one with a single blue star (see below).

There is no "official" explanation of the "meaning" of the flag, but politicians in speeches over the years mention these recurring themes: The tricolor variously stands for (a) the three principles of Liberté (red), égalité (gold, and fraternité (blue), adopted more or less contemporaneously with the French Republican flag, (b) the three factions that made up the original independence movement, (c) the three branches of government, (d) the three virtues of (i) faith & loyalty (the ancient priestly virtue), (ii) knowledge & light (the ancient virtue of the scribe) and (iii) bravery & blood (the ancient virtue of the banda warrior), and (e) the three basic elements in traditional cosmology together denoting cosmic order that incidentally were always symbolized in pre-columbian times by the colors red, gold and blue.

The blue field is variously explained as representative of the Ocean, the Community, or the ancient virtue of chiconatrei-- honesty & trust based upon mutual respect & honor. The eight gold stars of course refer to the Eight Principles of the Revolution.

The proportions of the flag is 3 x 5. The proportions of the tricolor canton is 2 x 3, and is positioned to occupy one half the height of the flag.

Evolution of the National Flag

Le Compagnie du Cities, the union of French-colonial cities that organized to resist British Rule after 1763. The emblems in the Christian cross are a Bergonian variant on the fleur-de-lys, also a rendition of an ancient fertility-prosperity symbol.

The later version of the flag placed the cross & fleur-de-lys in a canton, in imitation of the design of the British blue ensign. It was first used as the regimental flag for regiments and militias loyal to the Compagnie, which ended up constituting a rather large part of the anti-British forces. Military units placed their emblems or wrote their names and the names of their cities and towns of origin on the blue field.

The Flag hoisted by Michel Pesilei, rebel military commander, when he ousted the British from Ceiolai. This was the flag that flew on 30 April 1880, when Pesilei proclaimed the formation of a republic independent from Britain, now commemorated every 30 April as Independence Day. Blue, gold, and white were the traditional colors of Ceiolai (see its flag below). Peislei made his proclamation in the giant plaza called Zereitlamar, still the great center of the great city. To this day this flag of Pesilei's flies all around Zereitlamar.

The first national flag, adopted by Congress in Sonai in October 1780. The graphic tri-color design simplified Peislei's banner, but the colors were the Compagnie colors. Red was the color most often used by the various trader guilds that had formed in the French colonies. The guilds formed the core of the Compagnie's original support, and many of its leaders came from guild ranks.

The seven stars indicated the seven states into which the first Republic was divided. This flag is still displayed informally, but the modern versions often display eight, not, seven stars. The yellow was described variously as "deep yellow" and "dark yellow" and "gold," and is quite often shown as ochre.

Flag of Bergonia, 1800 to 1859. The gold of the first flag was changed to a brighter yellow. This design adapts the design of the Compagnie flag. It was first adopted as the naval ensign in 1780, and contrasted at sea with the Red British Ensign. The Army used variations of this flag. Regiments and military services, such as engineers and harbormasters, placed their particular insignia on the blue field, usually in yellow silhouette, although now the armed forces uses a red version (see below). After it became the national flag, the various governmental agencies and ministries-- e.g. customs, the postal service, the geological survey, the national bank-- applied their insignia to the blue field.

Though no surviving official records of the Bergonian Navy specifically document the use of this "Golden Cross Ensign," many paintings and illustrations from the early decades of the new Republic, including those commissioned by the Navy itself, depicted this ensign flying from fighting vessels.

Flag of Bergonia, 1859 to 1934, incorporating a four-pointed star, which resulted from the distinctively Bergonian rejection of the Western five-pointed star. This flag was adopted by the successful Mountain-Cat revolutionaries of 1859 who finally ended all gentry rights to income from the peasants, and ended property and class restrictions on the franchise by extending the vote to all men twenty-one or older. This was the star of Bergonian republicanism. The subsequent dictator John Rarsa retained the new star on the flag when he seized power in 1866, and the flag continued to fly under the Third Commonwealth after 1885. One still sees this flag flown today too.

Flag of Bergonia, 1934 to present, adopted after the Revolution, incorporating the eight stars that represent the Eight Principles.

The first official display of the French Tricolor was as part of the Republican Naval Ensign, flown from 1790 to 1794. Thereafter, France used the Tricolor by itself as the national flag. We see how France first used a Tricolor in a canton and then by itself.

Bergonia, on the other hand, started with a tri-color by itself and then moved it into the canton on an ensign-type design.

The flag of the United States, of course, was also based on the British ensign, albeit the red version, transmuting in a two-step process: (a) first the red field was replaced with the thirteen red & white stripes (see the Grand Union flag), and (b) then the 13 stars replaced the British flag in the canton.

This is the "Easton Flag" of the United States, displayed briefly in 1814. It mimicked the Bergonian flag. Likewise, the flags of Australia and New Zealand use a canton against a blue field full of stars. All four flags are obviously derived from Great Britain's blue ensign.

Other Flags of the Commonwealth

The official Flag of Congress. This design reflects nothing more than the unique tile pattern on the floor of the Grand Salon in the Governor's Palace in Sonai, where the First Congress had its meetings in 1782. When Congress built the great capitol building in Ceiolai in 1815, the same pattern was used on the floor of the legislative chamber. When Congress built its new capitol in Lefitoni in 1943, the pattern was repeated a third time. The checkered pattern suggests the unity that comes out of the orderly arrangement of individual elements, as if the tiles represent individual delegates or constituencies arranged into a coherent body. Another version of this flag uses the national colors of blue-yellow-red instead of black-white-red.

The flag of the President employs a sun-disk that was a common motif in pre-columbian times, usually associated with sovereign power-- see blow the flag of the city of Ceiolai, an imitation of the flag of the Second Ceiolaian Empire, which also uses this emblem. After 1050 AD the sun-disk evolved into a common Miradi emblem, still in use today (see Miradi Civic Union flag below). But in this flag's context it plainly has no religious connotation. The placement of the yellow sun over the red band is supposed to relate to the president's "imprimatur"-- the war powers. At the time of independence in the 1880s, a variation of this design was considered for adoption as the national flag, but beaten out by the tri-color with the seven stars.

Flag of the Executive Council. The device within the uma (the blue lozenge) is formed by seventeen stars, with one point elongated toward the common center. The executive council has seventeen members. Each elongated star also take on the appearance of a dagger, always an accoutrement to a banda warrior, but together they form a wheel. It is very similar to the flag of one of the major parties, the NDP (below).

This is the flag of the recently-created Peoples Assembly. The design is meant to connote how the various constituencies of the nation come together under the 8 Principles.

This is the flag of the Armed Forces of the nation. Since there are no "branches" of service as in the US, all military units, including the Navy, fly this flag. It is obviously based upon the national flag, with a reversal of the stripes in the canton to preserve the integrity of the design. Red of course is the martial color.

The seal on the flag is the coat of arms of the armed forces. For use on the flag the light-blue rays are omitted. The book is to remind the troops of what they are serving to protect; it symbolizes the constitution and the nation's laws, as well as the concept of civility.

This is the flag of the Coast Guard, a diverse branch of service independent of the regular armed services. The Coast Guard has responsibility for (a) armed boats patrolling the coasts, (b) sea and water rescue service, (c) customs, (d) smuggling interdiction and (e) harbor masters. It is now assigned many of new "Homeland Security" functions in this new age of terror, although Bergonia has experienced minimal terror from foreign groups. The yellow was chosen for the simple expediency of visibility at sea and outdoors. Here we see an anchor contained within an uma, the traditional Bergonian lozenge emblem.

Flag of the Merchant Marine. Most Bergonian commercial ships fly this flag. This quartering in the canton comes from an old traditional motif respecting the four cardinal directions, the four corners of the universe, the four oceans of the world, and the four Shufrantei deities who together held up the world. The colors are modern, however, containing the national combo of blue, red & gold, plus the cyan taken from the old militant longshoremen's & seamen's union flag from the late 1800s.
(p.s. I stole the double anchor emblem from an Algerian naval flag.)

This is the flag of Canle-Lesre, the League of States, which steals the star-studded canton from the American flag. The canton contains 31 stars for the 31 states, all of whom voluntarily belong to and participate in the League. The prior design displayed 30 stars in a simple 5 x 6 pattern. This flag was adopted in the summer of 2004 to welcome the new state of Sargaso to the ranks. The League's seal appears in the yellow field, depicting a winged preba-cat flying over the ocean waters, with a rising sign in the distance. The banner across the middle of the scene displays a Nacateca word for "mutual aid," or "helping each other." The handshake between two hands of different colors is a popular emblem reflecting the proper attitude toward the nation's diversity, originated with the Ciranic movement in the late 1800s.

State and City Flags:

Northwestern States

Flag of Coninpati (sometimes called Goninbad). The eight stripes refer to the eight "tribes" of Coninipati, one of which are the French-speaking descendants of colonists.

Paiatri's flag was designed in 1940, but it is quite similar to ancient flags of the region. It incorporates the colors of all Paiatri's larger cities. The diamond-shaped device in the middle is the uma, a common motif in pre-columbian graphic arts. The uma refers to the virtues of unity & balanced wholeness; thus it symbolizes a healthy community. The diamond is incorporated in the Anctoned glyph for "city."

Flag of the city of Cationi, Paiatri's capitol and largest city, with 4,400,000 it is the nation's fourth largest. Below is the seal.

Here the 8 stars do not represent the 8 Principles, but rather Cationi's 8 traditional wards. Their names neatly translate as follows: the Docks, the Tower, the Hillside, the Garden, the French Quarter, Coninipati (named after the state), the University, and the Summit. Cationi has always been a town of colleges, philosophers and learning-- hence the book, with the dove emerging from its pages, with the sword of the state protecting the stars and serving the dove and the book.

Lampanira was one of the few areas that managed to preserve an autonomous government throughout the colonial period, even though it had a large number of English settlers. Lampanira was a British Protectorate for over three hundred years. This device, a fringed belt, was distinctively worn by the tieri of Lampanira, along with a matching headband, a design predating Columbus. Thus the pattern became a symbol of Lampanira's independence.

Here is a variation used during the 1700s and early 1800s with a cross to acknowledge the English minority and British domination. It is now the official flag of the city of Drakesburg.

Flag of Sefaieri. This symbol stands for "the Golden Man," an ancient hero who lived atop Nanetlamo, the mountain at the center of the province, a mountain once incredibly rich in gold deposits, but now all mined out.

Flag of Omaika. The seal represents the French, Nacateca and Pasan elements. The sheep in the green field is an homage to the centuries-old means of making a living in Omaika, which remains renown for the quality of its wools. In Bergonia stores one looks for "Omaika" wools alongside the Cashmere, named incidentally for the region now disputed by India & Pakistan.

The flag of Pueoi bears a famous old soldiers' motto which translates, "Our faith makes us strong," or more literally, "Our bonds become our strength." Red and light blue are Pueoi's traditional colors, and were employed on the flag used before the Revolution-- see below-- but in 1934 this flag was adopted, incorporating the national colors.

The traditional flag of Pueoi, employing the emblem used by the ancient state of Pueoi. Red and light blue are still used as the colors of many sports teams in Pueoi.

This flag has no official status, but appears everywhere in Pueoi. The design appears on ball caps and tee-shirts, sports logos, cafe signs, bumper-stickers, political signs, mailboxes, and websites. It is Pueoi's unusual compound uma, derived from an emblem used in medieval Pueoi for good luck, commonly carved onto amulets given to new immigrating arrivals then.

Cuecha, the state at the center of ancient Nacateca culture, and the most populous of the 31 Lesre, uses an ancient Nacateca device dating back over three thousand years old, referred to as the sun-wheel, a symbol related to Arcan, the male god of the Shufrantei duinity, and also related to the solar-related four seasons and the calendar, thus a strong agricultural symbol. The entire flag in fact depicts the sun in the sky above the verdant earth of the Ifuno Plateau.

This was the flag of the pre-columbian state of Tiericoatli, which included most of what is now Cuecha (see above). Some people still fly it. It is a version of the sun-wheel motif that appears on the current flag.

Southwestern States

The flag of Incuatati, with an uma (the lozenge), was popularly though incorrectly considered a mockery of the British flag. Incuatati had been a British colony, called Cresner Colony, and in fact this flag's first rendering came from the pen of an English journalist who was proposing self-government for the colony and who had no intention of mocking the Union Jack. He meant for the red cross of St. George to represent the British population and the yellow St. Andrew's cross to represent the atrei, with the uma representing the fundamental unity of the territory.

The flag of the autonomous county of Puelelo, populated primarily by Faroi people.

Sanraniclai's flag has in the canton a traditional Faroi device, the turtle. This is one of the few state flags that expressly mirrors the national flag.

The flag of Soleinia shows the English influence, imitating the English red ensign in use from 1620 to 1707. The five-petal Alua flower grows profusely in Bergonia's dry southlands.

Flag of Letlari, reflecting the national colors, and displaying an uma, standing for unity of the community.

There is a more official version, shown below, containing a seal within the uma that includes both traditional and revolutionary emblems. The date emblazoned in the uma is the date that Lefitoni officially became the nation's capital. The simpler flag is the one in common use.

Flag of the capitol city of Lefitoni, also capitol of the state of Letlari. Depicted is a preba-cat. This flag is traditional, dating at least from 1660, one of the earliest instances of use of a four-pointed star.

Northeast States

Flag of Bun-Vosuget, which means "Northern Federation," a federation of six ethnically distinct counties. Note the use of the traditional four-pointed star. Some of Bergonia's thickest forests and most verdant lands lie in B-V, and therefore green has become B-V's emblematic color.

Flag of Calpia, the archipelago of islands north of Bergonia's mainland.

This is the flag of Pasiana. The circles-within-circles pattern is a recurring theme in Pasan folk art, often found in logos, and on pottery, decorative trim, textile prints and print graphics.

This is Zeinran's flag, graphically similar to Sanraniclai's, and the national flag. The old flag consisted of the three horizontal stripes, but after the revolution they were placed in a canton so that the eight stars could be added.

East-Central States

The flag of Rarsecin. Ceiolai is the capital of this big state.

This is the flag of the Capital City of Ceiolai, located in Rarsecin, and Rarsecin's capital as well, employing the traditional colors of white, gold and blue. This emblem was used during the Second Ceiolaian Empire; it juxtaposes the sword which represents force, the prerogative of imperial power, and the solar principle, which underlies it.

Flag of Kalicon, one of five state flags that predominantly displays an animal, in this case a beautiful stag.

This nice flag, flown by the state of Foi-Pentana rather coincidently resembles the flag of Tibet.

Eastern States

The flag of Sacamota. imitates the blue-gold-red canton on the national flag. The expanded field of red, which has for centuries dominated local and regional atrei flags. Red was the color of Bathicon, the medieval state which comprised most of Sacamota's modern territory for over a 700 years. The star & crescent are a female & nighttime symbol relating to Icotesi.

The very first cities in Bergonia were built in what is now the state of Bunamota. almost 3,000 years ago by the Kuan people. This long, deep history of civilized life is celebrated by a powerful fertility-humanity symbol used commonly by the ancient Kuans. The three stripes refer to the Minidun-speaking people of Putilon, the Fishlin-speaking people of the Sargaso islands, and the Portuguese-speaking population.

Sansan's flag suggests the river valley that comprises its entire geography, and the three city glyphs represent the three constituent regions,

Flag of the new archipelago state of Sargaso, the 31st state. This flag was approved in a referendum, in 2004, beating out three other designs.

Flag of Saldeia, incorporating both Portuguese and atrei elements. The blue cross on white background shown in the lower right disk was used extensively by the Portuguese in their grand Age of Exploration. The white emblem in the lower-left disk is a medieval glyph. The elaborate Bergonian 4-pointed star in the center overlaying the four other designs signified the modern national spirit that has unified the disparate elements.

Halemarec The star in the upper left was a revolutionary addition to Halemarec's ancient design, just as communist states (e.g. Mongolia) sometimes added red or gold five-pointed stars to their traditional emblems. The glyph in the in the center of the device is the ancient name for the city of Glen.

Flag of the City of Glen. Sky blue and industrial grey are Glen's colors, appropriate for an ocean port and manufacturing giant.

A garland of the Bergonian olive. The corsair represents Glen's connection to the sea. The eyelet glyph within the uma lozenge represents "vision," or rather "intelligent imagination," or maybe just "cleverness." The glyphs below date from the Imperial Era & recite a slogan, "The eastern Sun shines brightest."

Flag of the island state of Bruntaigo. This is a revolutionary design that replaced an old flag retained from British colonial times that displayed a Union Jack in a canton against a blue field. Against the blue field was a seal depicting an English planter and an atrei in traditional tieri's suit and cape, jointly holding a spear upright. It was considered a reactionary design and after the particularly bloody battle between leftists and Kilitan-nationalist forces for control of Midway and the naval port in the summer of 1931, the triumphant leftists raised this banner.

Southeastern States

Flag of Erithin, the small island off the southeast coast. The emblem in the middle is a stylized flower, the Sithilia, native to Erithin, as well as the dry climes of southeastern Bergonia.

The flag of the Free State of Giles, showing its Christian, English and Cromwellian roots. The white lion in the black shield comprises Oliver Cromwell's personal arms. The original settlers of Giles were unrepentant dissenters.>

The flag of Balupic depicts a stylized red-bean plant.

The flag of Corifoi bears the name of the state written in the Imonana alphabet. The four stripes refer to the original four legendary families that founded the Corifoi nation, from which every Corifoi resident can supposedly trace their ancestry. The colors are traditional among the Corifoi people and predominant in Corifoi crafts & decor.

Serpei's flag shows an ancient glyph, symbolic of the Serpei people. The glyph generally translates as "good cheer." The cross shows the English & Christian influence. Serpei was under British rule longer than any other part of mainland Bergonia, and the English influence remains great there. The very un-British colors of green and yellow were traditional to the Pre-Columbian states of this region.

This is the flag of the federated city of Harler-Bathilicon, a city of many islands and many ethnic neighborhoods. The linear outlines of the sun & star are rendered in the national shade of dark blue. This flag was designed and adopted after the Revolution to replace several competing British & nationalist flags.

The flag of the state of Dhentamina, showing a preba. The little red things are traditional blossom emblems, indicating the six main regions of the state.

Party and Movement Flags

The Ataolei Flag, flown by the Ataolei militia in the state of Sefaieri. This small militia spearheaded a quixotic peasant revolt in 1819. The rebel force grew to 60,000 and threatened to take over the whole state, but the Bergonian army overwhelmed them. The Ataolei militia, some 4,000 men, retreated intact and holed up in an old stone fort, where they defended themselves to the last man. The siege and massacre was immediately romanticized by all atrei republicans, radicals, idealists and dissenters. It has become Bergonia's Alamo. In every painting, poster, play, movie and television show, this flag is commemorated. In the white field was often inscribed the name "Ataolei" or some other slogan.

The Mountain Lion Party Flag. Sometimes the preba-cat was rendered in red.

Flag of the Lance & Pen Party, another step in the radical tradition. The emblem depicts a pen, a lance and a flame emblem, which mimicked the ancient Anctoned glyph for liberty.

The Democratic Front. The eight stars represent the Eight Principles, adopted in 1920. Before the red flag most often displayed a single gold four-pointed star. The red is the red of radical republicanism and socialism. The gold reflects the gold and yellow used by Bergonian revolutionaries in the past. The Minidun word "Democrasi" of course came from the English "Democracy" and the French "Democracie," but the accent falls on the first and third syllables. In Nacateca it is "Timocrasei," with the same accent, and the DF flags flown in western Bergonia usually read "Timocrasei." Likewise, people who spoke other languages flew other variations. But "Democrasi," the Minidun version, became the official version, on the theory that since Minidun was the plurality language in Bergonia it therefore became the default national language. This preference later became government policy after the Revolution, when Minidun was declared the Primary State Language, in exchange for the national capital being relocated from Minidun-speaking Ceiolai to Nacateca- speaking Lefitoni, an event commemorated on the flag of the state of Letlari.

The flag of the Kilitan Movement. The red wings are an ancient motif used to represent purpose, focus, a mission, a journey, a cause, a calling. The wings are positioned over the waves of the ocean, a traditional symbol of eternity and fundamental energy. The ocean (shore) also marks the boundary of Bergonia. The arrangement refers to Berg's position relative to the rest of the world..

This became the Kilitan's battle flag during the Revolutionary Civil War of 1931-1933. Like the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War, the Kilitan and its "Nationalist" allies changed flags during its unsuccessful conflict, in part for expediency's sake. The single jagged blue edge was much simpler than the repeating wave pattern, and still graphically represented the ocean waters.

The National Democracy Party. Simpler versions lack the yellow trim and place the blue star-studded uma directly on the red field.

The Socialist Freedom Party. This flag parallels the international anarcho-syndicalist flag, which incorporate the red of socialism and the black of anarchy. However Bergonian syndicalists have generally transmuted the European black into deep navy blue. The single four-pointed star distinguished the party flag from the general Bergonian anarcho-syndicalist banner.

The Socialist Country Party. a party of farmers, miners and other rural interests.

The Bergonian Communist Flag adapts the blue of the national flag. Note the absence of any five-pointed star. Bergonian communists also like to display a pure-red banner with the gold hammer & cycle in the upper left. It is almost identical to the now-discarded Soviet Flag, except that the Soviet Flag placed a small gold star above the hammer & cycle. In its propaganda, the party uses a red star-- four-pointed of course.

The most common Bergonian Anarchist flag (there is of course no "official" flag). It includes the black of the international anarchist movement, but also displays the Bergonian star. Occasionally one will see a dark blue version.

The Harmony Party too has embraced the eight principles, with the expanded interpretation of Principle #8. The chartreuse mountain portrayed on Harmony's first flag, adopted in 1977, was emblematic of the Berg environmental movement. The flag however was revised in 1984 with a more standard shade of green.

Two typical flags of local political clubs, both with umas central to the design. The first is from a club in Sufilo, in southern Cuecha state. The one below is from the Minre Borchetin Orac, the "Industrial Workers Club" in the city of Balrein in Halemarec state, incorporating the slogan Soshalisa, Moreina ("socialism and freedom").

Rev. Oct 2005

Bergonians love their flags. Every city, town and major organization and every political club has its own banner, and flags fly everywhere in the cities and towns. But Bergonians do not make false idols of their flags.

Published on Wednesday, April 3, 2002 by Common Dreams
What the American Flag Stands For
by Charlotte Aldebron

The American flag stands for the fact that cloth can be very important. It is against the law to let the flag touch the ground or to leave the flag flying when the weather is bad. The flag has to be treated with respect. You can tell just how important this cloth is because when you compare it to people, it gets much better treatment. Nobody cares if a homeless person touches the ground. A homeless person can lie all over the ground all night long without anyone picking him up, folding him neatly and sheltering him from the rain.

School children have to pledge loyalty to this piece of cloth every morning. No one has to pledge loyalty to justice and equality and human decency. No one has to promise that people will get a fair wage, or enough food to eat, or affordable medicine, or clean water, or air free of harmful chemicals. But we all have to promise to love a rectangle of red, white, and blue cloth.

Betsy Ross would be quite surprised to see how successful her creation has become. But Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed to see how little of the flag's real meaning remains.

Charlotte Aldebron, 12, wrote this essay for a competition in her 6th grade English class. She attended Cunningham Middle School in Presque Isle, Maine.

There is, parenthetically, nothing even remotely resembling the USA's Pledge of Allegiance in Bergonia.

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