National personification

A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda.

Britannia arm-in-arm with Uncle Sam symbolizes the British-American alliance in World War I. The two animals, the Bald eagle and the Barbary lion, are also national personifications of the two countries.

Some personifications in the Western world often took the Latin name of the ancient Roman province. Examples of this type include Britannia, Germania, Hibernia, Hispania, Helvetia and Polonia.

Examples of personifications of the Goddess of Liberty include Marianne, the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), and many examples of United States coinage. Another ancient model was Roma, a female deity who personified the city of Rome and his dominion over the territories of the Roman Empire.[1]

Examples of representations of the everyman or citizenry in addition to the nation itself are Deutscher Michel, John Bull and Uncle Sam.[2]

Personifications by country or territory
Location Image Personification Animal used for the same purpose
 Albania Mother Albania (Nëna Shqipëria)
Americas Personification of the Americas American alligator
 Argentina Effigy of the Republic/Liberty/Progress/Fatherland, Gaucho Rufous hornero
 Armenia Mother Armenia (Mayr Hayastan; lit. "Mother Hayastan")
 Australia Little Boy from Manly Boxing kangaroo
 Austria Austria (Personification), Tyrolia (Tyrol) Double-headed eagle
 Bangladesh Bangamata (lit. Mother Bengal).[3] Bengal tiger[4]
 Belgium La Belgique or Belgica, Manneken Pis[5][6] Brabantic Lion, Leo Belgicus
 Bhutan Thunder Dragon
 Brazil Efígie da República; the Bandeirante (only in São Paulo State and Minas Gerais); the "Tropeiro" (in Minas Gerais); the Candango (in Brasília); the Gaúcho (in Rio Grande do Sul);
 Bulgaria Mother Bulgaria Double-headed eagle
 Cambodia Preah Thong and Neang Neak
 Canada Mountie,[7] Johnny Canuck,[8] Le Vieux de '37 (French Canada), Canada Bereft also known as Mother Canada (at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial). Canada was often personified as a young woman in 19th and early 20th century editorial cartoons, called simply "Canada", "Miss Canada", or sometimes "Mother Canada".[9] Canadian beaver
 Chile El Roto, El Huaso, Doña Juanita (an average Chilean woman from the countryside) Condorito
 China and  Taiwan Jade Emperor Chinese dragon
 Colombia Juan Valdez
 Croatia Mother Croatia (Mati Hrvatska)
 Czechia Čechie, Czech Vašek, Honza, Svejk. Czech lion
 Denmark Holger Danske, Mother Denmark
 Dominican Republic Conchoprimo
 Ecuador Galápagos tortoise
 Egypt Mother of the World (Om El Donia)
 El Salvador Salvador del Mundo
 European Union Europa or Europa regina Zeus as a white bull
 Finland Finnish Maiden (Suomi-neito) Finnish lion
 France Marianne Gallic rooster
 Georgia "Mother of a Georgian" (Kartlis Deda)
 Germany Germania, Deutscher Michel, Bavaria (Bavaria), Berolina (Berlin), Brema (Bremen), Brunonia (Brunswick Land), Franconia (Franconia), Francofurtia (Frankfurt), Hammonia (Hamburg), Lubeca (Lübeck), Borussia (Prussia), Palatia (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saxonia (Saxony), Vimaria (Weimar), Württembergia (Württemberg) Reichsadler, Bundesadler, Berliner Bär (Berlin), Bavarian Lion (Bavaria), Marcher Eagle (Brandenburg), Prussian Eagle (Prussia)
 Greece Hellas
 Haiti Ezili Dantor, Katrin (based on the real life Haitian hero, Catherine Flon)
 Hawaii Kamehameha the Great Humpback whale
 Hungary The Lady of Hungaria Turul
 Iceland The Lady of the Mountains (Fjallkonan)
 India Bharat Mata ("Mother India"), Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Indian Elephant, Indian peafowl
 Indonesia Ibu Pertiwi Garuda Pancasila
 Iran,  Afghanistan and  Tajikistan Rostam[10][11][12] Lion and sun
 Ireland Ériu, Banba, Fódla, Kathleen Ni Houlihan, Hibernia, The Old Woman of Beare[13]
 Israel Srulik
 Italy Italia turrita, Roma Italian wolf,[14][15] Lion of Saint Mark (Venice)[16]
 Japan Amaterasu, Emperor Jimmu[17] Green Pheasant, Koi
 Kazakhstan Altin Adam
 Kenya Wanjiku
Korea ( North Korea and  South Korea - despite mutual enmity, both states lay claim to the same historical heritage) Dangun, Ungnyeo, Hwanung Korean Tiger, Chollima
 Kyrgyzstan Manas
 Latvia Milda
 Lithuania Lietuva
Benelux Low Lands or Benelux (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) Leo Belgicus
 Malaysia Hang Tuah[18][19] Malayan tiger[20]
 Malta Melita
 Mexico Mexican Motherland, La China Poblana Golden eagle
 Mongolia Genghis Khan Falcon
 Montenegro Fairy of Lovćen, Mother Montenegro
 Morocco Barbary Lion
 Netherlands Dutch Maiden Dutch Republic Lion, Leo Hollandicus, Leo Belgicus
   Nepal Gurkha, Sherpa
 New Zealand Zealandia[21] Kiwi
 Nicaragua El Güegüense Motmot
 North Macedonia Mother Macedonia[22][23] Mother lion
 Norway Mother Norway, stereotyp. Ola Nordmann & Kari Nordmann, hist. Nór
 Palestine Handala
 Peru Peruvian Motherland Vicuña
 Philippines
Ináng Bayan - Filipinas, Juan dela Cruz Philippine Carabao
 Poland Polonia White eagle
 Portugal Zé Povinho, Eu nacional (National Self), Efígie da República, Guardian Angel of Portugal Rooster of Barcelos
 Puerto Rico Jíbaro Coquí
 Romania România Modernă
 Russia Mother Russia, General Winter Russian bear
 San Marino Liberty
 Serbia Mother Serbia (Majka Srbija), Kosovo Maiden (Kosovska devojka) Serbian eagle
 Singapore Merlion
 Slovakia Jánošík
 Slovenia Kralj Matjaž ("King Matjaž", a legendary king in Slovenia and some other nations), Peter Klepec
 South Africa The Lady of Good Hope Springbok
 Spain Hispania Hispanic Lion
 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Matha Sinhala Lion
 Suriname Mama Sranan (Mother Suriname), a 1965 sculpture by Jozeph Klas in the center of Paramaribo, of a mother figure holding five children representing Suriname's ethnic groups in her arms.[24]
 Sweden Mother Svea
  Switzerland Helvetia, Basilea (Basel), Berna (Bern), Geneva (Geneva), Tigurina Virgo (Zürich), Lucerna (Lucerne) Cow[25]
 Thailand Siam Devadhiraj (พระสยามเทวาธิราช "The Guardian Angel of Siam") White elephant
 Tibet Snow Lion
 Turkey Grey wolf
 Ukraine Cossack Mamay Ruthenian Lion
 United Kingdom Britannia, John Bull, Dame Wales (Wales), Scota (Scotland) Bulldog, The Lion and the Unicorn (England and Scotland), Welsh dragon (Wales)
 United States Uncle Sam (government personification), Lady Liberty, Lady Justice, Columbia, Johnny Reb (The South, obsolete), Billy Yank (The North, obsolete), Brother Jonathan (New England, obsolete) Bald Eagle, North American Bison, Timber rattlesnake (American Revolution, obsolete)
 Uruguay Efigie de la República
 Vietnam Lạc Long Quân, Âu Cơ, The Four Immortals Vietnamese Dragon, Lạc Bird

See also

References
  1. "Il Tempio di Venere e Roma" (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  2. Eric Hobsbawm, "Mass-Producing Traditions: Europe, 1870-1914," in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), 263-307.
  3. Ahmed, Salahuddin (2004). Bangladesh: Past and Present. APH Publishing. p. 310. ISBN 8176484695. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  4. "NATIONAL SYMBOLS". Bangladesh Tourism Board. Bangladesh: Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  5. Couvreur, Manuel; Deknop, Anne; Symons, Thérèse (2005). Manneken-Pis : Dans tous ses états. Historia Bruxellae (in French). Vol. 9. Brussels: Musées de la Ville de Bruxelles. ISBN 978-2-930423-01-2.
  6. Emerson, Catherine (2015). Regarding Manneken Pis: Culture, Celebration and Conflict in Brussels. Leeds: Taylor & Francis Ltd. ISBN 978-1-909662-30-8.
  7. McGill, Robert (2017). War Is Here: The Vietnam War and Canadian Literature. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 37. ISBN 9780773551589. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. Barber, Katherine (2007). Only in Canada You Say: A Treasury of Canadian Language. Oxford University Press Canada. p. 70. ISBN 9780195427073.
  9. "Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada.
  10. Hassanabadi, Mahmoud. "Rostam: A Complex Puzzle: A New Approach to the Identification of the Character of Rostam in the Iranian National Epos Shāhnāme".
  11. Dallmayr, Fred (25 August 1999). Border Crossings: Toward a Comparative Political Theory. ISBN 9780739152546.
  12. https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1866/14232/Heck_Isabel_2003_memoire.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  13. O'Rourke Murphy, M. & MacKillop, J. (2006). An Irish Literature Reader: Poetry, Prose, Drama.
  14. Minahan, James B. (2009). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems. ABC-CLIO. p. 436. ISBN 9780313344978.
  15. Blashfield, Jean F. (2009). Italy. Scholastic. p. 33. ISBN 9780531120996.
  16. ""Saint Mark", Franciscan Media". Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  17. Yordan Zhelyazkov (February 12, 2021). "Amaterasu – Goddess, Mother and Queen". Symbolsage. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  18. Liok Ee Tan (1988). The Rhetoric of Bangsa and Minzu. Monash Asia Institute. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-86746-909-7.
  19. Melanie Chew (1999). The Presidential Notes: A biography of President Yusof bin Ishak. Singapore: SNP Publications. p. 78. ISBN 978-981-4032-48-3.
  20. Minahan, James B. (2009). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems. Greenwood. p. 101. ISBN 978-0313344961.
  21. Phillips, Jock. "South African War memorial, Waimate".
  22. "A Manifesto from the Provisional Government of Macedonia". 1881. Our mother Macedonia became now as a widow, lonely and deserted by her sons. She does not fly the banner of the victorious Macedonian army {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. Bulgarian graphic representation of Bulgaria, East Rumelia and North Macedonia
  24. "Kunstschatten: Mama Sranan - Parbode Magazine". Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  25. Valance, Marc. (Baden, 2013) Die Schweizer Kuh. Kult und Vermarktung eines nationalen Symbols, p. 6 ff.

Further reading
  • Lionel Gossman. "Making of a Romantic Icon: The Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck's 'Italia und Germania.'" American Philosophical Society, 2007. ISBN 0-87169-975-3.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Personifications of nations.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.