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Ecuador - Coat of Arms

by T.F Mills, 11 December 1997

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Ecuador

The Ecuador coat of arms was adopted by the National Congress in 1900. Here is an explanation of its symbolism:
Four national furled flags act as supporters. Between them are palm and laurel branches symbolizing victory. A condor perched at the top serves as a crest and offers the country shelter and protection under its outstretched wings and stands ready to strike out against any enemy. At the base is a lictoral fasces representing dignity.
The coat of arms proper is an oval disc (said to be "heart-shaped") consisting principally of an allegorical landscape. In the background is the majestic Chimborazo mountain rising against a blue sky. This is the highest peak in the Andes and its snows give birth to the Guayas River. The imagery symbolizes the brotherhood of the Sierra and the Coast. In the foreground, the steamboat "Guayas" is seen crossing the wide river. This boat, which began service on October 9, 1841, was constructed by Vicente Rocafuerte and was the first of its kind in Ecuador and South America. The mast is actually a caduceus (a rod with two wings at the top and two snakes encircling it) and symbolizes "accord and trade". On a band across the sky are the zodiacal signs for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer corresponding to March, April, May, and June -- months which are historically significant to Ecuadorians. Centered among these is the sun, an ancient Inca symbol.
T.F Mills, 11 December 1997

The bird on the top of the arms is an Andean Condor. This native South American bird is also on the arms of Bolivia, Chile and Colombia.
Paige Herring, 5 March 1998

At <www.mmrree.gov.ec> there is a governmental text as follows:

THE COAT OF ARMS OF ECUADOR
In1900 the Congress established the Coat of Arms and the flag as physical symbols of the Fatherland. It is an oval within which there is one of the most extraordinary landscapes of the Equatorian land [sic]. A blue sky shows up the Andean giant Chimborazo; from its silver snows falls a river whose waters widen in a flooding manner until they run amidst luxuriantly vegetated margins.
It is the Guayas river, symbol of national unity of mountains and coastland, Equatorian regions. Melted contrasts for our greatness. In the wide part of the river there is a ship which reminds of the first one built in the Guayaquil docks in 1840, believed to be the first ship built in South America. It carries a Caduceus (symbol of the god Mercury and of trade). The silver Zodiac band bears in the middle a gold sun. The signs of the months of March, April, May and June, ie. Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer are engraved on them, translating the historical calendar thus: 6th March 1845, fall of Flores' government; 21st April 1822, the Tapi Battle, which announced the final victory of Sucre at the unmatched Pichincha Battle 24th May 1822, fall of the enslaving regime and our political freedom; 5th June 1895, e