Maure

This article is about the Maure symbol. For the French commune, see Maure, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

A Maure, since the 11th century, is the symbol of an African head. The term has Phoenician and Greek origins; see Moors.

Flags, seals, and emblems

This symbol is used for political purposes.

The Maure

The Maure is the African Unification Front's flag and emblem.

U Moru

Main article: Flag of Corsica

The Corsican emblem

The main symbol in the coat of arms in Corsica is U Moru, Corsican for "The Moor", originally a female Moor blindfolded and wearing a necklace made of beads. No use is attested prior to 1736, when it was used by both sides during the struggle for independence.

In 1760, General Pasquale Paoli ordered the necklace to be removed from the head and the blindfold raised. His reason, reported by his biographers, was "Les Corses veulent y voir clair. La liberté doit marcher au flambeau de la philosophie. Ne dirait-on pas que nous craignons la lumière ?" (roughly: "The Corsicans want to see clearly. Freedom must walk by the torch of philosophy. Won't they say that we fear the light?") Later the blindfold was changed to a headband.

The current Corsican flag is the Bandera testa Mora ("Flag with head of Maure"), is male rather than female, and has a regular knot at the back of the head.

Sos Bator Moros / Is Cuatru Morus

Main article: flag of Sardinia

The Sardinian emblem

The flag of Sardinia is informally known as Sos Bator Moros (Logudorese Sardinian) / Is Cuatru Morus (Campidanese Sardinian), "the Four Moors", and comprises four Moor heads. The origin of these figures on the flag is disputed. The fact that the seal has varied across the centuries, with the Moors variously being blindfolded, bareheaded, crowned, close-eyed, open-eyed, and wearing headbands, and facing in various different directions, has only increased confusion.

The current coat of arms of Aragon features four heads of Moors.

Some sources^[who?] state that the flag is of Spanish origin and represents four Moorish invaders blindfolded for execution. However, the Sardinian Autonomous Region's web site proffers the explanation that whilst the emblem dates back to 1281, and can be seen on a seal of the Royal Chancellery of Peter the Great of Aragon, it was only in the 14th century, when the Kingdom of Sardinia became part of the Confederation of the Crown of Aragon, that the Four Moors came to be associated with Sardinia. It was not until the 18th century that the arrangement of the heads was fixed, with the Moors facing left and being blindfolded. On July 2, 1952, by decree the emblem became the official symbol of the region, and on April 15, 1999, the official flag, but this time with the Moors facing the fly, wearing headbands, and with their eyes open.

References

• "Heart of Independent Sardinia". giampiero6's Orgosolo Page. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/da2b/23e51/. Retrieved April 22, 2005. 
• "Sa Bandela de Sos Bator Moros". Sardinian Autonomous Region. http://www.sitos.regione.sardegna.it/4mori/4mori_sardo.htm. Retrieved April 22, 2005.  which in turn cites
  • B. Fois (1990). Lo stemma dei quattro mori, breve storia dell'emblema dei Sardi. (editor Carlo Delfino) Sassari. 
• "The Historic Significance of the Muare". African Unification Front. http://africanfront.com/umorusymbolism.php. Retrieved April 22, 2005. 
• "L'Histoire d'U Moru". Extraits de l'Ouvrage: "Trois Etudes Sur Paoli". http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bludimare/maure.htm. Retrieved April 22, 2005. 
• "U Moru (English translation)". Extracts from "Trois Etudes Sur Paoli". http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bludimare/maurang.htm. Retrieved April 22, 2005.