The Coat of Arms

Essay: The Coat of Arms

The South African Coat of Arms officially replaced South Africa’s previous Coat of Arms which had been in use since 1910. The new Coat of Arms was introduced to South Africa in 2000 on the 27th of April (www.wikipedia.org). The new Coat of Arms represented the beginning of a new and diverse South Africa. It was a way of symbolizing our heritage and recognising all cultures. The San people were included in the new Coat of Arms as they were considered the original inhabitants of southern Africa.

The San people were the first inhabitants of South Africa. They had arrived many years before the Bantu speaking nation did. The San people lived a simplistic lifestyle as they were able to sustain their diet by hunting and collecting edible plants.

The San people lived as hunter-gatherers. They were able to sustain a living by hunting various antelope, fish and gathering wild plants. (www.sahistory.org.za).The San were able to hunt efficiently by creating their own type of bow and arrow in which the arrow was rigged with a poisoned tip to tranquillize their prey. By using this method of hunting the San were able to hunt almost any prey. The San also gathered wild plants to maintain their diet and they were known not to settle in one place.

The San people were nomads. They did not live in permanent shelters but instead the women-who were responsible for building the shelters-, would use materials they could find around them and built a temporary place to live. The shelters would sometimes be built out of grass and tall sticks and could be built in less than an hour. The San did not believe in over using the land but instead had the idea that the land belonged to everyone who lived in it.

The San did not have ...

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...nd its ability to feed the nation’s growth in order to achieve greatness.

The elephant tusks symbolize prominence. This is an emblem that represents everything needed to build a successful nation. Wisdom is needed to make good judgment and lead the country into the right path. Restraint and perpetuity are needed to sustain the countries well-being.

The secretary bird is shown as sturdy and observant. It’s watching over the country. The petals of the King Protea are used to show case the beauty of African crafts. The rising above the horizon represents the rising of a new democratic nation.

This Coat of Arms was designed to make us united as a nation and to make us have pride in our heritage. All the symbols are significant in commemorating different aspects of our cultures and making sure that we are proud to be living in a free and democratic South Africa.