Last modified: 2014-06-29 by bruce berry
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In August 1961 Jaime R. Sigauke, director of International
affairs of UDENAMO was called upon to design a flag. With some suggestions
from Whitney Smith two designs were created and accepted by the Central
Committee
of the party. Both have the same pattern but one is for use of the party
and other was to be used as national flag after independence. The flag is light
green near the hoist and black in the fly (divided diagonally). In center
is a circle with a red star and a wreath of sugar cane. In the party flag the
circle is white and the wreath is within the circle. In the national flag
the circle is blue and the wreath is around the outside of the circle.
In both cases the wreath is gold and the star is red. The symbolism is as
follows: Black - for an African country;
green for agriculture; red for the liberation struggle; and the star is for unity.
A new proposed
name for Moçambique after independence was Monomotapa,
as was the case before the advent of the Portuguese (NOTE: As far I know Monomotapa
was a king instead a kingdom, and ruled only a part of Mozambique)
Source: Flag Bulletin 3.
Jaume Ollé, 20 Apr 2001
In an article in "Flag Bulletin Newsletter" is a flag of the
UDENAMO. She has another shape than on the relevant
Mozambican page.
Jens Pattke, 24 Mar 2001
In 1960, Adelino Gwambe established in Salisbury (Harare) the Democratic
National Union of Mozambique (União Democrática Nacional
de Moçambique / UDENAMO), and in November 1960 the Mozambican African National Union / MANU
was established in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Later in 1960 UNAM (União
Nacional Africana Moçambicana) was established by Mozambican fighters. All three liberation movements
fought for the independence of Mozambique. In summer of 1962 patriots of the
MANU, UNAM, and UDENAMO established the Liberation Front of Mozambique
(Frente de Libertação de Moçambique / FRELIMO). FRELIMO was led by Eduardo C. Mondlane,
who was murdered on 3 Feb 1969.
Jens Pattke, 20 Mar 2001
A similar flag (without the triangle) is that of the Swaziland
Progressive Party. The emblem is on several flags of (former) Mozambican
political parties.
Jarig Bakker, 21 Mar 2001
If you translate the English MANU to Portuguese, you get "União
Nacional Africana Moçambicana", whose initials are UNAM. I have
strong suspicions that UNAM and MANU are one and the same thing. I don't
know this flag in particular, but it looks a lot like the flag of FRELIMO.
An earlier version of it, perhaps?
Jorge Candeias, 21 Mar 2001
A German vexillologist asked about this flag, for which he used the
name: Flag of the UDENAMO within the FRELIMO. I don't believe this.
It is right that black, green and yellow are the so-called "Azanian colours"
which are used. These colours are used by the ANC and
the Inkhata in South Africa, the Swaziland
Progressive Party and many other political organizations in Southern Africa.
With the wreath from sugar cane, there is a reference to the UDENAMO. Therefore
I suspect that that is present flag is that of the MANU or UNAM.
Both organizations were established in the sphere of influence of the African
National Congress, in Salisbury (Southern Rhodesia) and Nyasaland. In
the encyclopedia of the Bibliographical Institute Leipzig (former GDR) (1970), two movements are mentioned. Both
later joined to form FRELIMO. Only
initials of the organizations or German translations are used here. In
the Atlas zur Zeitgeschichte - Asien, Afrika und Amerika im 20. Jahrhundert,
by Manfred Scheuch, published by Christian Brandstätter Publishers in
Vienna (Austria) in 1998 seems to be informed about these three movements. The three movements united to the FRELIMO. In the book,
their names are mentioned in Portuguese or English.
Jens Pattke, 21 Mar 2001