The Swazi flag designed around a traditional warriors shield that were carried into battle for hundreds of years. These are made of stiff thick cowskin. Nguni cattle have a wide vaiety of colours and markings, the skins were cured and then made into shields. Particular patterns indicated which of four regiments a traditional soldier belonged to in battles, parades and religious ceremonies like the Incwala.
The modern flag developed the shield design into a colourful national symbol. This in turn was based on the more muted grey and maroon flag that the Swazi Pioneers took into WW II. The photo shows the historian JSM Matsebula holding the original grey and maroon flag and the modern version of it.
