Last modified: 2008-05-24 by francisco gregoric
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_El pueblo guaraní: unidad y fragmentos_, by Bartomeu Melià, it
says: «En sus escuelas ondean Ias banderas de los países que se
establecieron en su territorio; naturalmente no hay bandera guaraní»,
meaning that «in their », i.e., Guarany's« schools fly the flags of the countries established in their », i.e., Guarany's« territory; naturally there is no Guarany
flag».
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Apr 2008
Unless this is a convoluted and misleading way to say that the
Guarany people has no independent state of its own, Bartomeu Melià
seems to be quite wrong — or at least outdated.
There is a Guarany flag. Even more than one, it seems. Most references to actual Guarany flags are from Argentina, not from Paraguay.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Apr 2008
There are variants of Guarani flags raised by Guarani people in Argentina.
Francisco Gregoric, 08 May 2008
At <http://argentina.indymedia.org>, a
demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 2004.04.30, is covered.
It was called by «El Tabacal de Hipólito Irigoyen, Río Blanco Banda
Sur de Orán, Barrio Progreso de Pichanal and Iyigua Pentirami de
Urundel» organizations, from the Orán department, in order to demand
to the (Argentine) national government an immediate solution to
territorial conflicts envolving Salta province natives. Guarany
participants are said to sport «una bandera guaraní de colores verde,
marrón y rojo» («a Guarany flag colored green, brown and red»).
At <http://argentina.indymedia.org/>,
another demonstration, this time in at the entrance of Seaboard
Corporation' s La Loma, in July 2005. A proeminently Guarany flag is
mentioned, but not described; it is however safe to assume it is the
same flag, as used by the same groups in a short interval.
These accounts of use of a green-brown-red flag by Guaranys in
northern Argentina dovetail with the red-green-coffee horizontal
tricolor of the proposed Chaco Boliviano department, in
(neighbouring) SW Bolivia, as put forward by the local Assembly of
the Guarani Nation.
The apparent contradiction green-brown-red vs. red-green-brown may be
due to inaccurate reporting or an actual vexillological variation.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Apr 2008
Indeed this tricolor flag does exist. At <http://argentina.indymedia.org/>, a photo of the flag appears. However the order there is red-brown-green. Therefore there is a contradiction in the order of the colors: the flag in the photo may be upside down, or the description made before could be wrong. As reported before, the colors are the same ones of the proposed Chaco Boliviano department flag but with different order.
Francisco Gregoric, 08 May 2008
At the <www.coaj.org.ar>, the necrology of Gloria "Chocha" Pérez, Cuña Campinta, of Fraile Pintado, Ledesma
department, Jujuy province, Argentina. The photo is captioned
as showing «Gloria portando la bandera Guarani junto a su pueblo» («Gloria carrying the Guarany flag among her/its people»).
It shows what seems to be a red over dark green flag, but too limp to
show any more details.
At the <www.libertadorhoy.com.ar>, an officially sponsored gathering of native peoples in Jujuy province, Argentina, held in April 2008,
is reported.
This included cerimonial hoisting of the
Argentine national flag, of the «Bandera Whipala» — in
this case probably the Qulla Suyu western Inca 7×7 white-diagonal
chequered flag, and of a Guarany flag (presented as «la
Bandera Guaraní», *the* Guarany flag) — see photo.
The latter seems to be a red over light blue bicolor, although the
photo is too unclear to be sure. It may be the mentioned red-green,
oddly litten and/or bleached. Both events reported were
held at the same village — Fraile Pintado, Ledesma department, Jujuy province, Argentina.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 and 23 Apr 2008
Not a Guarani flag per se, but the flag of a Bolivian Guarani
community, APG (Asamblea del Pueblo Guarani') Itikaguasu, can be seen
at <www.aininoticias.org> (Big photo
here)
The photo appears to show a grayish-green, celeste (i.e. light blue),
and pink tricolor. I'm not sure how accurate the colors in the photo
are, nor where on the spectrum the Bolivian Guarani culture separates
orange from pink.
The exact Spanish wording is:
Judging from the wee lad also shown on the photo, I'd say that it is
a faithful image of a sun bleached flag — unless *all* shades are
purposely pastel.
Note also that the middle stripe is clearly thinner than the other two: Conjectural
specs: (3+2+3):12.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 29 Apr 2003
Clearly a derivative of the Paraguayan
national flag, charged over all with a native artistic
motive.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 06 Nov 1999
The symbol in the middle of the Guarani flag appears to be a piece
of nanduti or “spider web” lace. (To see examples of nanduti
lace patterns, go to www.onParaguay.com.)
I question whether this is a “real” flag. I spent several weeks in
Paraguay on two separate occasions, and never saw the flag pictured
here, though the Paraguayan flag was prominently displayed in many
places. I realize that this doesn’t prove anything, but it does make
me wonder if the flag pictured here is just a nice design to decorate
a web page, rather than a flag the Guarani people consider their own.
Terry Jaisy, 27 Apr 2001
Has anyone actually seen this flag other than on the website referred
to above? Is there any literature or news reports of its use? Is there a
definition or construction sheet someplace?
Terence Martin, 29 Apr 2003
Apparently not. At worse this is the usual Paraguay
national flag pattern (tricolor without the emblem) charged with a
traditional guarani ornament, used just once as a flag analogue. It might
be something more solid than that, though. I don’t know.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 29 Apr 2003
I saw no evidence that this flag exists in any form. It appears this design is used on just this website, and has never been created in cloth.
Terence Martin, 21 Apr 2008
It is not really a (officially recognized) flag. It is an invention of mine which uses a symbol of the guarani culture based on a drawing realized by a member of a guarani community, first published by the hispano-paraguayan scholar Bartomeu Melià.
I wanted it to symbolize and to recognize the guarani roots of the Paraguayan nation, which actaually are not at all represented through the official symbolism of the Paraguayan State.
Wolf Lustig (editor of the website where the flag design appears), 21 Apr 2008
Wolf Lustig needed a Guarany language icon to go with the flags used
to symbolized other language version of his website, and he pasted a
Guarany "national ornament" on the flag of that country where Guarany
language enjoys better status (Paraguay).
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Apr. 2008
Anything below this line was not added by the editor of this page.
