Last modified: 2013-03-02 by ian macdonald
Keywords: santa catarina | paraná brazil | cross (green) | contestado |
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The Contestado was a disputed area of some 40,000 sq km along the Santa Catarina-Paraná border
(the word contestado meaning "contested" or "disputed"). From 1912-1917, it was the location of
a peasant rebellion led by a charismatic Catholic conservative known as Brother João Maria. The
immediate cause was a reaction to the activities of American railroad builders' bringing in outside labor.
By law 12060 of 18 December 2001, the state of Santa Catarina recognized the flag of the Contestado
Rebellion as a regional symbol the area. The flag is described in the law as white with a green centered
cross.
Joseph McMillan, 15 September 2002
A flag is described in detail (with a photo), as of dimensions 98.5 cm
x 44 cm. The green cross is 38.6 cm in height and 26.4 cm in width.
The cross is placed 35.4 cm from the flag's base and 24.6 cm from its
top and 8.8 cm from each side of the flag.
The "heraldic interpretation" of the flag is given, based on" data and
sociological interpretation of the conflict":
- White symbolizes the aspiration to peace and purity of mind required
by the strict religious moral and the customs reinforced in the
"redutos", where the "virgins" had a main role in the organization.
- Green symbolizes the resources of the forest, mostly represented by
araucarias, that the rebels wanted to preserve, since the forests were
their source of subsistence, supplying them in fruit (cones), honey,
yerba maté, game, timber for huts, leaves for roofs, wood for fire and
shelter for cattle in winter time.
- The cross, with the ends of the arms shaped as points, is a replica
of the raw cross planted in the local cemeteries. It symbolizes the
people's deep Christian feelings, the suffering in their miserable
life and the permanent presence of death in each fighting. It also
represents, through its green colour on a white background, the
aspiration to peace and to a better life where all men would live in
fraternity.
http://www.fraiburgo.sc.gov.br/site/index.asp?nv=3&content=173
This flag is presented on another photo as matching the specifications
of the Law.
http://fragmentos-do-tempo.blogspot.fr/2008/11/jos-fabrcio-das-neves-8.html
The flag of Contestado is listed among the official symbols of the municipality of Fraiburgo (Article 2 Paragraph 1 of the Municipal Constitution, amended in 2001). The flag should hoisted, together with the national, State and municipal flag on public buildings (Article 2 Paragraph 2 of the Municipal Constitution, amended in 2001). http://www.fraiburgo.sc.gov.br/site/Downloads/Lei_Organica_Municipal.pdf - Municipal Constitution, Fraiburgo
image by Ivan Sache,
25 February 2013
The "História Licenciatura" website shows the photo of a flag labelled
as "the Contestado flag", with a "regular" Latin cross.
http://hid0141.blogspot.fr/2011/06/guerra-do-contestado.html
The Thiago de Castro Museum in Lagos keeps a flag that matches this
model.
http://fragmentos-do-tempo.blogspot.fr/2008/12/o-museu-thiago-de-castro-lages-sc.html
A replica of the flag matching this model is used in the Historical
and Anthropological Museum of the Contestado Region, Caçador.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silwittmann/7417350020
image by Ivan Sache,
25 February 2013
Accordingly, I question the accuracy of the flag with the green cross
throughout presented above. Rather, we seem to have an
"official" flag (re-created by Law) and another flag in "unofficial"
use, the two of them with a Latin cross. The Law says that the cross
is placed in the middle, not that it reaches the edges of the flag.
Ivan Sache, 24 February 2013