Chingola

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Zambia

CHINGOLA

Province : Copperbelt

Official blason

Arms: Gules on a fess wavy Argent between in chief an eagle reguardant wings extended Or perched upon and grasping in the talons a fish Silver and in base a (Galago)bush-baby's face Gold a bar wavy Azure.
Crest: Out of a mural crown Or charged with three alchemical signs for copper Gules a zebra's head and neck proper.
Supporters: On either side a leopard proper charged on the should with an alchemical symbol for copper Gules.
Motto : Servire et creare

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on June 4, 1957.

Chingola lies close to the Kafue River, the largest river wholly within Zambia, and the blue and silver wavy bars recall this fact and also allude to two of the Kafue's tributaries; the Chambanynma and the Chiwempala which flow along the town's boundaries.

The red field of the shield is a suggestion of copper, and the fish-eagle and fish, taken from the arms of the country, indicates that Chingola is in Zambia. The face of the bush-baby - night-ape - is included in the arms to indicate the association between the town of Chingola and the Nchanga copper mine, the word nchanga in the local dialect meaning bush-baby or night-ape.

The name of the Chiwempala river means the "stream of the great bare rock", and takes its name from a 50 m high granite outcrop along its course. It is to this outcrop that the granite mount upon which the supporters - two leopards - stand alludes.

The supporters have no special significance beyond the fact that leopards were common in the Chingola area in earlier days.

The mural crown out of which the crest arises is symbolic of civic authority, and with its three red symbols for copper and the zebra's head it symbolises the 'copper town of Chingola'. Chingola means zebra in the local language.

The arms currently used by the city (in slightly different colours):

Contact and Support

Partners:

Your logo here ?
Contact us

Literature : Image from stamp; Smith, 1985