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While there are many contenders for the title of the “weirdest flag in the world” depending on which metrics you choose, the Flag of Nepal stands out for the simple reason that it is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular.
It is not unusual just for the sake of it. Flags in the Indian subcontinent used to be triangular in shape, so Nepal has simply refused to join the colonial hangover of “all flags should be rectangular.
As Britain took over the Indian sub-continent and triangular flags disappeared because Europeans thought they were weird, Nepal was never officially colonised. A 1923 treaty with Britain allowed it to remain independent, and with it, the lasting reminder of a lost tradition of making flags in shapes that actually made sense and looked dramatic.
There are some interesting descriptions of what the shape and features represents. The shape is said to represent the mountains of Nepal, which include Mt. Everest (8,848m height), and 1, 310 peaks that are over 6,000m in height. The Sun and Moon represent hope of longevity, but the latter has also been interpreted as the royalty and former as the ruling Rana family.
This is how Nepal’s 2015 constitution describes it:
The national flag of Nepal, consists of two juxtaposed triangular figures with a crimson colored base and deep blue borders, there being a white emblem of the crescent moon with eight rays visible out of sixteen in the upper part and a white emblem of a twelve rayed sun in the lower part.
Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, 8 (1).
If that’s not enough, the pre-1962 versions of the flag had emoji on them!
Over the last two centuries, it seems the only issue the Nepalese have had with their flag is not the flag itself, but some of the colours and more importantly, whether or not to keep the emoji and how to change it.
But this seems to be the only instance where the Nepalese have decided to remain weird with their flags. Other flags tend to be rectangular, including the royal standard, although that one had some weird versions of a flamboyant lion that has switched sides but not the pomp and absolute majesty over the 240 years that the country was a monarchy-until 2008.
See what I mean?
To be fair, this was a much better version of ‘a lion on a flag’ concept than what British colonialists had for Kenya’s version of the Union Jack.
One pissed off critic, Wheeler-Holohan, wrote in Flags of the World in 1939 that “Whoever designed the badge of Kenya was no heraldic artist, for it is a very poor specimen of a lion rampant guardant in red.” He wasn’t lying. Read More.
Owaahh, 2024
One Story is good,
till Another is told.
Last modified: September 26, 2024
