Country and Flag Origins - Part M1

Just got in from work, had my tea, and thought I'd spend a couple of hours typing some random words that seem to come out in some sort of order that is readable. A bit like putting a hundred monkeys in a room, with a hundred typewriters, and ending up with the Complete Works of Shakespeare. By the way, when I say "tea", that is what we in the north of Britain call our evening or late afternoon meal. Dinner is had at dinnertime, a.k.a. midday or what the south call "lunchtime". In the proper UK, the north, there are four meal times. We don't have to have four meals, but there are four possible times. Breakfast, Dinner, Tea, and Supper. You'll find that south of Watford Gap, a service station on the M1 motorway (See how this all fits together), things are slightly different. There you will have Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and maybe Supper. Then there are "Elevenses" taken at 11am, or you could combine the first two meals into "Brunch". And then there is "Afternoon Tea", this is when the recently discovered "Tea-Time Alarm" will sound and we all have to stop for a cup of tea and maybe a scone, or a piece of cake. Anyway, now I have had my normal rant, I will get off my soapbox, and get on with the blog.

Here are the nominations for best...wait no, here is the first batch of M countries....

When this flag was first adopted in 1958, a week and a day after the proclamation of the Malagasy republic, the colours had no meaning. Then a member of the Assembly was quoted as saying "White is purity; red is sovereignty. As for green, gentlemen, it is hope". However, there are now more complex meaning attributed to the colours. Red stands for national unity, historic monarchies and the colour of the bricks used to construct many of Madagascar's houses. Green represents hope still, but also the lush greenery of the island including the forests. White symbolises freedom, security, and cleanliness as well as being the traditional colour of Malagasy women's clothing and of rice, a staple food.

The origin of the name Madagascar is unknown, however there are theories. One is that it derives from the Malay people, it is thought the first inhabitants came from Indonesia. The people are called Malagasy rather than Madagasy after all. A map from the 12th century has the island depicted as Gesira Malai, or "Malay island" in Arabic. This was inverted by the Greeks to Malai Gesira. A wild hypothesis is that the explorer Marco Polo in his travels confused the island with the city of Mogadishu in Somalia and thus the name derives from there.

MADAGASCAR = MALAY ISLAND (Possibly)

When the British colony of Nyasaland became independent in 1964, it adopted this flag and changed it's name to Malawi. The rising sun represents the dawn of hope and freedom of the African continent. The black colour symbolises the indigenous people of the continent, and red the blood of their struggle. The green stands for nature.

The name of Malawi comes from the indigenous Bantu languages, it refers to the vision of a Chewa king that described Lake Malawi as looking like flames from the highlands. Malawi is Bantu for "flames".

MALAWI = FLAMES

The flag of Malaysia features fourteen red and white stripes which represent the equal status of the fourteen states of the country. The fourteen points to the star symbolise the unity between those states. The crescent represents the main religion of Malaysia, Islam. The blue colour represents the unity of the Malaysian people and the yellow colour is for the Malay rulers. The red stripes symbolise bravery and the white, purity.

Quite simply, Malaysia means "Land of the Malays". Although, the name of the peninsula was sometimes called Malaya, and it has been said that the -sia suffix was added to include Singapore to the name. The name of Malaya or Malays is thought to derive from Sanskrit and means "hill town" or "mountain range"

MALAYSIA = LAND OF THE MALAYS

The flag was adopted in 1965 when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom. Guess what the red stands for...yup, the blood of the nation's heroes and their willingness to sacrifice every last drop of blood in defence of their country. The green stands for peace and prosperity. (A little passive aggressive there Maldives). The white crescent represents the island nation's religion of Islam.

There are several theories for the origin of the name Maldives. It may have come from the first settlers, the Dheyvis. The islands were known as Dheeva Mahal in the 3rd century BC. It may also derive from Sanskrit, the two words, Maala Divaina, mean "Necklace Islands". In Sri Lankan chronicles, an island called Mahiladiva is mentioned, meaning "Island of Women". This may refer to the garlands or "necklaces" worn by the inhabitants.

MALDIVES = NECKLACE ISLANDS (Maybe)

The simple design of the flag of Mali consists of the colours of the Pan African movement, that are present in many African flags. The green colour in this case represents the fertility of the land, the yellow stands for purity and mineral wealth, and the red symbolises the blood shed in the name of independence from the French colonial powers.

Mali gets it's name from the Mali Empire, that at it's peak in the 14th century had a leader that was thought to be the richest man ever, Mansa Musa. It is however, not known if Mali referred to the main city or a region, or indeed the people. One theory suggests that the name derives from the Mandé word for "hippopotamus", an animal that had a significant importance to the local people.

MALI = NAMED AFTER THE MALI EMPIRE or HIPPOPOTAMUS (Maybe)

The Maltese flag is unique in that it is the only flag to feature a military award. The George Cross was awarded to the island nation by King George VI in recognition of the gallantry and courageousness during World War II. The red and white colours have a couple of theories relating to their origin. One refers to Roger I of Sicily in the 11th century that landed his fleet in Malta. Locals offered to fight alongside Roger against Arab forces, wherein Roger tore off part of his flag to give to the local forces. This theory has been largely debunked as a myth. It is more likely that the colours came from the banner used by the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. It is the colours of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, descendants of the Knights Hospitaller.

The name of Malta is thought to have originated in the ancient Greek word, Melítē, meaning "place of honey". The Greeks may have given the island it's name due to the endemic species of bees that evolved on the island.

MALTA = PLACE OF HONEY

This flag was adopted on the day of the country's independence, it was designed by the first First Lady of the Marshall Islands, Emlain Kabua. The blue background represents the Pacific Ocean, and the stripes represent the Equator, with the star standing for the country's position in the Northern Hemisphere. The white and orange stripes represent two parts of the nation's islands, white for the Ratak Chain (ratak meaning sunrise), and the Ralik Chain (ralik meaning sunset). They also symbolise peace and courage. The 24 points on the star represent the electoral districts with the four elongated points standing for Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje, and Ebeye, the four main cultural centres.

The Marshall Islands take their name from a British captain and explorer, John Marshall, who visited the area in 1788. Although, evidence of human inhabitation has been found suggesting that the islands were inhabited as early as the First Century AD and possibly even as far back as 1200BC.

MARSHALL ISLANDS = NAMED AFTER CAPTAIN JOHN MARSHALL

This version of the Mauritanian flag was introduced in 2017 following a referendum. The red stripes were added to the old flag and represent "The efforts and sacrifices that the people of Mauritania will keep consenting, to the price of their blood, to defend their territory" . The green background represents Islam, as does the star and crescent. The yellow or gold colour symbolises the Sahara Desert.

Mauritania takes it's name from the ancient Berber kingdom of the 3rd century, that became the Roman province of Mauretania in the 7th century, although that region was further north than present day Mauritania. The name of the Roman province comes from the Mauri people of the region, this is also the origin of the Moors of the Mahgreb.

MAURITANIA = LAND OF THE MAURIS

So that's almost half of the M countries, eight out of seventeen, leaving nine more to do in the next edition. And then it's the turn of the N countries, all eleven of them, that will be a long blog. Still, it's not time for that yet.

I'm sat here wondering what to write in my blog, when I should in fact be doing something even more constructive, looking for a birthday present for my wife. Every year I have the same predicament, what to buy? I have the same problem at Christmas. Ahh well, I'm not going to bore you all with the details, but it will probably involve highland cows, she seems to be obsessed with them.

That's it for now, see you all soon in the second section of the M countries, Part M2, starting in the Indian Ocean with Mauritius, an island popular with newly wedded couples on honeymoon. Incidentally, the word honeymoon originated in an Old English phrase "hony moone" meaning "honey month" and refers to the month after a marriage, a period of sweetness and pleasure. It also comes from the fact that in some cultures, mead, a drink made from honey, was consumed by newly married couples as an aid to fertility and to bring good fortune.

So now you know.

That'll do pig, that'll do.