The International Association of Amateur Heralds

While European shield shapes predominate in heraldry, shields from elsewhere can also be found. Here are a few designs incorporating traditional southern African shields.


A BaSotho shield : the arms of the Kingdom of Lesotho, dating from 1966. Lesotho's earlier arms, granted in 1951 when the country was still the Basutoland Protectorate, included a BaSotho shield in the crest.


A stylised Tswana shield : the arms of the former Bophuthatswana region in South Africa, dating from 1972.


A Xhosa shield : the arms of the former Ciskei region in SA, also dating from 1972.


A Zulu shield : as a charge in the arms of the Mandeni municipality in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), registered in 1999.

The Xhosa and Zulu shields are the same shape, and can also be blazoned as an "Nguni shield".

Does anyone know of any examples of the heraldic use of traditional shields in other parts of the world?

The arms of Victor Anthony Cardozo granted in Canada include an "East African" or "Kenyan" shield to represent his place of birth.



The shield of Rendell Tamaca Salgado from the Philippines are emblazoned on a kalasag, a traditional Filipino shield.

These are very interesting, Vincent. The East African/Kenyan/Nguni/Zulu/Xhosa shield (depending on which part of the east coast of Africa is being alluded to) makes a good charge in a coat of arms. The kalasag shield is new to me. So is the Philippine Armorial -- thank you for posting the link.