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Colima, Mexico

Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima / Free and Sovereign State of Colima

Note: Colima has no official flag, but one in white charged with the coat of arms is broadly used:

4:7

by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 06, 2001.
See: Coat of arms on white background: unofficial flags

Presentation of Colima
Coat of arms

See:

Registration flags

See also:

Official web page of Colima
Quoted by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán October 9, 2001

Presentation of Colima:

Official name: Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima / Free and Sovereign State of Colima
Short-form names: Estado de Colima / State of Colima; Colima.
Location: Western of Mexico. It is surrounded by the States of Michoacán de Ocampo (SW), and Jalisco (N); and bathed by the Pacific Ocean.
Area: 5,433 km²
Municipalities: 10
Population: 542,627 inhabitants
Capital: Colima (Pop.: 129,958 [2000])
Statehood: February 5, 1857
Arms adopted: Unknown date.

INEGI and SEP
Reported by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 06, 2001.

Coat of arms

by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 06, 2001.

Argent (?) a mayan hieroglyph (see meaning bellow) proper, bordure gules; helmut azure with penache sable; supporters (?) two pumas issuant and sitting on a [something] sable, each holding sinister a flowering branch with coiled snake and dexter a seashell (Murex?); compartment a vulcano sable with a dentalion flower (?); scroll or, reading in two lines of serif capitals sable "EL TEMPLE DEL BRAZO ES VIGOR EN LA TIERRA", with "DE" digraph and "O" reduced to superscript underscore.
António Martins, 01 Sep 1999

Some histians agree that the word Colima comes from Colliman, the name by which was known the old kingdom that dominated this coastal region. Colímotl was the name of the last King or Great Lord that ruled these fair lands. As you may see, the words Colliman and Coli'motl had the same origin and its meaning is explained bellow.

I think you noticed that in the coat of arms of Colima there is a hand and a shouldder. Well this very same hieroglyph appears in the nahualt script with a blue bracelet in the wrist, with the sign for water (some little bubbles) in the lower part of the arm. We all noticed that the hand and arm on this hieroglyph dont belong toghether [the thumb should be pointing upwards — AM]; however nobody has ever come up with a propper explanation.

Historians think this hieroglyph is correct and should be interpreted this way: Collima comes from "colli", meaning, hill, volcano or "abuelo" (?), plus "ma", from "maitl", hand, meaning place, dominium, etc., all toghether meaning "Place where the Fire God / Old God dominates, and which was conquered by our ancestors"." Recently was said that Colima comes from Acolliman, that means "The human group that settled in the important "recodo" (?) of the water". Of these the first is the best known and most accepted.

Colima was never granted a coat of arms, and so, recently, the state government adopted one, with the characteristics of our land.

Daniel Alejandro García Gauna, and Luis Havas

A very different coat of arms, however is shown at http://www.colima.gob.mx/escudin.jpg.
António Martins, 01 Sep 1999