Adopted 1875 | ||
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Crest the Royal Crown of Tonga within an olive wreath. Escutcheon Quarterly; first, Or, three mullets of six points argent; second, Gules, the Royal Crown of Tonga proper; third, Azure a dove volant argent holding an olive branch vert; fourth Or, three swords in fret argent; overall, a mullet of six points argent charged with a cross couped gules. Motto Ko e ʻOtua mo Tonga ko hoku Tofiʻa"God and Tonga are my inheritance" | ||
The coat of arms of Tonga (ko e Sila ʻo Tonga) was designed in 1875 with the creation of the constitution.
Contents
History
The three swords represent the three dynasties or lines of the kings of Tonga, namely the Tuʻi Tonga, Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua and the current Tuʻi Kanokupolu). Tonga was united under King Siaosi Tupou I, who then orchestrated the formation of the first formal government and also the coat of arms. The dove with the olive branch symbolises the wish of God's peace to reign in Tonga forever (the dove and olive branch are taken from the story of Noah and the Great Flood in the Bible). The three stars symbolise the main island groups of Tonga, which are Tongatapu, Vavaʻu and Haʻapai. The Crown symbolises the ruling monarchy, the King of Tonga. The text on the scroll at the bottom reads Ko e ʻOtua mo Tonga ko hoku Tofiʻa in the Tongan language: 'God and Tonga are my inheritance'.
Description
There is no official specification of how exactly the arms should look. Even the shield on the front gate of the late king's palace is different from the old black/white copy used by the (ex-) government printer on all official stationery, is different from the copy on the prime minister's office webpage, etc. Some have pointed crowns, some rounded; some have normal flags, others have flags looking more like banners; some use the modern orthography, some the old (Ko e Otua mo Toga ko hoku Tofia); some have black swords, others white; and so forth.
Royal Standard
The Royal Standard of Tonga is the monarch's personal flag and is an armorial banner of the Royal Arms of Tonga.