The Secret History Behind Vanuatu's Flag
Vanuatu's flag has a golden Y that lies on its side, and a boar's tusk.
The colors, red, green, black and yellow, come from the flag of the political party that led the country to independence. A parliamentary committee chose the final design a few months before independence from designs submitted by local artists, and the flag was adopted on February 18, 1980.
A black triangle at the hoist carries the emblem: a curled boar's tusk, with two crossed fronds of the namele fern inside it. The tusk stands for wealth and prosperity, because pigs are a measure of wealth and a spiral tusk needs years of care, and the fronds stand for peace.
The date printed on every Vanuatu design in our catalog, July 30, 1980, is Independence Day.
A tusk, two fronds and a golden Y.
Looking for a gift with a story? See our heritage gift guide, or read the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Stories page.