Coat of arms of Burkina Faso explained

Coat of arms of Burkina Faso
Armiger:	Burkina Faso
Year Adopted:	1997

The coat of arms of Burkina Faso contains a shield based on the national flag. Above the shield the name of the country is shown, while below it is the national motto, Unité, Progrès, Justice (French for "Unity, Progress, Justice"). The supporters are two white stallions. The two plants emerging from the lower banner appear to represent pearl millet, an important cereal grain cultivated in this country where agriculture represents 32% of the gross domestic product. This coat of arms is similar to the old Upper Volta coat of arms (see below), with the Burkina Faso flag replacing the Upper Volta flag in the middle. The coat of arms and its meaning is mandated by Law No 020/97/II/AN.^[1]

Official blazon

• one escutcheon bearing in the chief on a ribband argent the name of the country: "BURKINA FASO";
• in fess point an inescutcheon of two bands in fess with the banner of arms, sewn upon two crossed spears;
• two stallions rampant argent supporting on each side the escutcheon;
• in base, an open book;
• below, two stalks of millet with three pairs of green leaves in crescent coming from the bottom, and equidistant to the vertical passing through the points of the shield and the upper ray of the star of the flag, crossed and connected in their bases with a ribbon bearing the motto of the country "Unité - Progrès - Justice".^[2]

Historic emblem (1984–1997)

Thomas Sankara's 1983–1987 Burkinabé revolution implemented an emblem featuring a crossed daba (a traditional Burkinabé agricultural tool) and AK-47 (an allusion to the Hammer and Sickle), with the motto La Patrie ou la Mort, nous vaincrons ("Fatherland or death, we shall overcome"').

Coat of arms of Upper Volta

This somewhat resembles the current emblem, except that the enclosing shield has a blue background, the inescutcheon is based on the flag of Upper Volta with the superimposed letters "RHV" (for République de Haute-Volta), and the motto was Unité, Travail, Justice ("Unity, Labour, Justice").^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Burkina Faso. fotw.info. 2019-07-20.
2. Web site: Armoiries. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210117221012/https://www.gcob.gov.bf/ressources/armoiries. 17 January 2021. 5 April 2021. Great Chancellery of Burkinabe Orders.
3. Guide to the Flags of the World by Mauro Talocci, revised and updated by Whitney Smith (1982,), p. 125.