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ACHIEVEMENT OF ARMS (Afr: WAPEN)
Most SA achievements of arms comprise a shield*, a crest*, a helmet* with wreath* and mantling*, and a motto*. Supporters* and compartment* are less common, and additaments such as a badge*, a banner* or a standard*, are rare.

ADDITAMENTS OF RANK
Few modern SA arms include additaments of rank. The king of the Zulus and other traditional leaders have supporters*. Knights grand cross of orders of chivalry* have, according to the rules of those orders, supporters, a chief of religion*, and the cross of the order behind the shield. A South African holding a Scottish chiefship has the Scottish additaments of supporters and a cap of maintenance.

AFRIKAANS TERMINOLOGY
Afrikaans heraldic terminology and rules of blazon*, based to some extent on Dutch, were developed in the 1960s. They make much more use of everyday words, e.g. for attitudes, attributes, and tinctures, than English practice does. Click here for a list of terms.

AGRICULTURE
The agricultural sector, e.g. regional agricultural societies, co-operatives, and farmers' associations, is fairly armigerous. Arms often include animals*, fruits and crops*, or implements such as ploughs, and some allude to sunshine and water, as in the arms of the SA Agricultural Union (BoH 1970).

AIR FORCE
The SA Air Force emblem is a fish eagle. Framed in an engrailed circle, it also serves as the aircraft marking. Units, commands*, and bases* have individual arms, and those of the air reserve squadrons* are a uniform design. Eagles and other birds are popular charges, and several arms feature the colour Bleu Céleste.

AIR FORCE BASES
SA Air Force* bases have individual arms alluding to the areas in which they are situated, with embattled bordures which identify them as bases. The arms of AFB Durban, for instance, display a hammerhead bird.

AIR FORCE COMMANDS
SA Air Force* command HQs all used the same basic arms, with chiefs which marked them as commands. The chiefs were differenced to identify the individual HQs, e.g. a length of chain* for the Air Logistics Command (1980s).

AIR RESERVE SQUADRONS
These part-time SA Air Force* units' arms all depict a saltire with a regional symbol in the centre, e.g. an orange tree* for 106 Squadron, based in the [Orange] Free State. The orange saltire on green is the emblem of the military commando (home defence) organisation and is said to be derived from the medieval flag of Burgundy.

ALOE (Afr: AALWYN)
This tough, hardy plant*, is found in many arms in the Eastern Cape province, including the provincial arms (BoH 1996). It has also been the symbol of the police since 1970. Sometimes the blazon specifies the number of racemes.

ANCHOR (Afr: ANKER)
In addition to being a general naval and maritime symbol, the anchor is a symbol of the Cape of Good Hope and appears in many official, municipal, and institutional arms in and around Cape Town, e.g. those of the Cape Society of Chartered Accountants (BoH 1975).

ANGLICAN CHURCH
The Church of the Province of Southern Africa is the most armigerous denomination in SA. All its dioceses, and a few parishes have arms, crosses, swords, and the anchor* being popular charges. Most of the diocesan arms were adopted in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but a few are more recent, e.g. those of the Diocese of the Highveld (BoH 1990).

Anglican tradition allows armigerous clergymen to place mitres or clerical hats above their shields, and bishops to marshal their personal arms with those of their dioceses.

ANIMALS
In addition to the animals found in British and European heraldry - of which the lion is the most popular - SA heraldry uses a number of indigenous species. They include: the baboon, the bontebok, the buffalo, the bull*, the camel, the (African) elephant*, the eland, the gemsbok (oryx), the impala (rooibok), the jackal, the kudu, the leopard*, the lion*, the lynx, the meerkat, the quagga, the ram, the sheep (or fleece), the ratel (honey badger), the springbok*, the vervet monkey, the wildebeest* (gnu), and the zebra.

ARMY
The SA Army emblem (2003) depicts a "pride of lions". Most units, commands* and formations have their own arms. In many branches, e.g. special forces*, signals, maintenance, military police, and commando groups*, arms have been designed for categories of units.

ARMY COMMANDS
From 1966, SA Army* command HQs all used the same basic arms of a springbok head and crossed swords, differenced by means of chiefs displaying suitable regional emblems, e.g. Table Mountain* for the Western Province Command.

ARUM LILY (Afr: ARONSKELK)
The flower* symbol of the former Transvaal province appears in a number of arms, e.g. the Noordvaal High Schools Rugby (BoH 2005), where the lilies are bound by a knot. The "proper" colours are white petals and yellow seeds.

ASSEGAI
The assegai is sometimes used as a charge, but is more often found behind the shield, crossed in saltire with a battle-axe* or a knobkierie*. A crossed assegai and knobkierie are placed above the shield of the national arms, as symbols of authority.

ASSUMPTION OF ARMS (Afr: WAPENAANNAME)
Under SA's Roman-Dutch law, everyone has the right to assume and bear arms as he/she pleases, provided the arms do not encroach on anyone else's existing arms. Registration* of assumed arms at the Bureau of Heraldry is optional.

BADGE (Afr: KENTEKEN)
Armorial badges seldom form part of SA achievements of arms. Most badges registered at the BoH appear to belong to non-resident foreign armigers.

BANNER OF ARMS (Afr: BANIER)
Banners, i.e. flags of the same designs as the owners' shields of arms, form part of some SA achievements, and some have been registered at the BoH (sometimes under the description of "flag" rather than "banner"). The usual proportions are 2:3.

BAOBAB TREE (Afr: KREMETARTBOOM)
This tree* appears as a charge in a number of arms in Limpopo province, including the provincial arms (BoH 1998). African culture attributes magical qualities to it and, traditionally, important meetings are held in its shade. One of the new national orders has been named after it.

BARBERTON DAISY (Afr: BARBERTONSE MADELIEFIE)
This flower*, named after the mining town of Barberton in Mpumalanga, appears in many arms in that region, including those of the province (BoH 1996). The "proper" colours are red petals and gold seeds.

BATTERY STAMP — see Gold Stamp

BATTLE-AXE (Afr: STRYDBYL)
African battle-axes are occasionally used as charges, and are also found crossed in saltire with an assegai* or a knobkierie* behind the shield. There are two distinct types: Tswana (with a triangular blade) and Swazi/Zulu (with an arrowhead-shaped blade).

BEADWORK (Afr: KRAALWERK)
Traditional African beadwork, in indented or lozengy patterns, has been used to decorate coronets and other items in several arms registered since 1996.

BIRDS
In addition to the birds found in European heraldry, SA uses several indigenous species as charges and supporters. They include: the blue crane*, the dove, the Cape gannet (malgas), the eagle, the Egyptian goose, the falcon, the guinea-fowl, the hammerhead, the heron, the hornbill, the kingfisher, the Knysna loerie, the korhaan, the lammergeier, the ostrich, the secretary bird*, the vulture, and the wattled crane.

Birds serve as the supporters to the arms of regional services councils* and their successors, the district municipalities. Guineafowl feathers have been used to frame the shields of a few local municipality arms.

BLAZON (Afr: BLASOEN)
A BoH blazon is itemised into: (i) arms*, (ii) crest*, (iii) wreath* and mantling*, (iv) motto*, (v) supporters*, and (vi) compartment*. If an achievement includes a badge* or a banner* or a standard*, they are registered as separate items. Blazons are gazetted in English and Afrikaans* (and in isiZulu in the case of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial arms in 2004).

English blazons follow British practice, but with greater use of punctuation and less use of capital initials. Afrikaans blazons are in the Dutch style.

BLUE CRANE (Afr: BLOU KRAANVOËL)
SA's national bird* has been employed as a charge in a few arms, such as those of the former Bisho municipality (BoH 1991) in the Ciskei homeland (which also used the bird as a national emblem during the period that it was self-governing and "independent").

BORDURE (Afr: SKILDSOOM)
About one-tenth of arms registered at the BoH have bordures. In family heraldry, the bordure is sometimes used as a means of differencing* arms to identify individual descendants of the original armiger. In SA Air Force* heraldry, an embattled bordure is used to distinguish the arms of an air force base.

A number of arms have a bordure charged with a second bordure - in such an arrangement, the second bordure is one-third the width of the first, and is centred so that the first bordure appears on either side of it.

BOW AND ARROW CROSS (Afr: PYL-EN-BOOGKRUIS)
An original SA cross*, introduced in 1978. Until it was given a name, it was blazoned as "a barbed fillet cross each limb surmounted crosswise by an unstrung bow". Example: the arms of Johannes van der Merwe (BoH 2001).

"BUCKET SHOPS" (Afr: "WAPENSMOUSE")
Dealers in dubious armorial merchandise were a problem in SA until the Heraldry Act* was amended in 1980 to make it an offence, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment, to deal in representations of family arms unless the BoH has certified them as authentic.

BUGLE HORN (Afr: BLAASHORING)
The badge of the Dutch royal family (the House of Orange) was a charge in the arms of the former Orange Free State (1857, BoH 1967) and of several institutions and military units in that province. It is sometimes interpreted as a powder horn (kruithoring).

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES
In addition to the stylised castles and towers found in British and European arms, SA heraldry uses indigenous architecture, e.g. a gabled fisherman's cottage, African traditional huts*, and decorative lines* based on Cape Dutch* and Karoo gables*. A few arms include representations of specific buildings, e.g. the Rand Afrikaans University's crest (BoH 1981) which depicts the institution's main building.

BULL (Afr: BUL)
Bulls, or, more often, their heads, appear in many arms. They are both a symbol of agriculture and, in African culture, a symbol of wealth and prestige. Example: the arms of Bishop Mvume Dandala (BoH 1999).

BUREAU OF HERALDRY (Afr: BURO VIR HERALDIEK)
The executive arm of SA's heraldry authority, established in Pretoria in 1963 in terms of the Heraldry Act*. Its functions are to register* heraldic representations and issue registration certificates*; to design arms on request; to advise the government on heraldic matters; and, since 2002, to manage the heraldic aspects of the government's "heritage transformation"* programme.

The Bureau is headed by the National Herald*, and works in close conjunction with the Heraldry Council*. They form part of the National Archives*, which in turn is part of the Department of Arts & Culture*.

CAMEL-THORN TREE — see Thorn Tree

CANTING ARMS (Afr: SPREKENDE WAPENS)
SA heraldry contains many arms which pun on the names of their owners. Modern examples include: castles for Bailey and for Castle, a trimount for Berg (which means "mountain"), an angel ("engel") for Engelbrecht and Engelhardt, a horsehoe ("ferr") for Ferreira, a green firtree-topped chief for Groenewald (which means "green forest"), linden leaves for Linde, lozenges ("rauten") for Cicero Rautenbach (BoH 2000), a wavy orange fess for Regiment Orange River, a sunflower for the SAS Sonneblom (which means "sunflower"), an anvil for Smith, Smits and Schmidenberg, a swan for Swanepoel, and a fox for Vos (which means "fox").

CHAIN (Afr: KETTING)
Used in Defence Force heraldry as a symbol of logistics, i.a. in the arms of the Army Logistics Command and various army supply units, the Air Logistics Command, and the Navy Logistics Base.

CHESS KNIGHT (Afr: SKAAKRUITERSTUK)
The chess knight is found in the arms of the SA Army Battle School and of several units associated with it, including 306 Forward Air Force Command Post (1990s).
 

CHIEF (Afr: SKILDHOOF)
A widely used ordinary. Often, the lower edge is decorated with one of the lines of partition, to create a special effect, e.g. a chief dancetty representing a range of mountains.

In the army* and air force*, chiefs were used to distinguish the arms of command HQs. A plain chief is the distinguishing feature of the arms of a family association*. Knights grand cross of the Orders of St John* and of St Lazarus* are entitled to add a non-hereditary chief of religion* to their personal arms as an additament of rank*.

CHIEF OF RELIGION (Afr: GELOOFSKILDHOOF)
Grand crosses of the Orders of St John* (top) and St Lazarus* (bottom) are entitled to display the arms of their respective orders as a non-hereditary additament*. They also qualify for non-hereditary supporters*.

COGWHEEL (Afr: TANDRAT)
Used in many municipal, corporate, and military arms to symbolise technology or industry. A demi-cogwheel (usually trefly) has been a standard charge in technical college* arms since 1978, and a whole cogwheel has been a standard charge in the arms of army maintenance units since the 1970s.

COMMANDO GROUP HQs
SA Army* commando (home defence) group HQs' arms are quartered in green and gold and display charges alluding to their areas of responsibility, e.g. a jakkalsblom flower for the Namaqualand-based HQ Group 3.

COMPARTMENT (Afr: KOMPARTEMENT)
The compartment on which supporters* stand is usually a stylised green shape, derived from the grassy mound introduced by the English College of Arms early in the 20th century. However, several arms have special compartments, representing landscapes or seascapes, which are described in the blazons concerned.

COMPASS ROSE (Afr: KOMPASROOS)
As a symbol of intelligence-gathering, the compass rose has been used in the arms of army special forces* units since the 1970s, and those of the SA Secret Service (BoH 1997). The device is also the emblem of the Anglican Church*.

CORONET (Afr: KROON(TJIE))
Coronets are popular in crests and, to a lesser extent, as charges in arms. In addition to the range of coronets found in British and European heraldry, e.g. the ancient crown, astral crown, ducal coronet, and naval crown, there are several SA designs, most of them unique.

SA coronets which are more widely used are: (a) four fleurs de lis alternating with four pearls, (b) the fir-twig coronet, and (c) the protea coronet. There is also a range of mural crowns* for municipal arms.

CREST (Afr: HELMTEKEN)
Many SA achievements of arms (+ 60% of those registered at the BoH) include a crest. Notable exceptions are the arms of military units, most educational institutions, and arms displayed on African shields.

CROSS (Afr: KRUIS)
In addition to the range of traditional heraldic crosses which have been transplanted from Europe, SA has the Huguenot cross*, and four crosses devised by the Bureau of Heraldry: the bow and arrow cross*, the fir-twigged cross*, the gable cross*, and the protea cross*.

CUPOLAED (Afr: GEKOEPEL)
An original SA line*, consisting of a row of stylised Indian temple cupolas. The only example appears to be the unregistered arms of Ebrahim Abramjee (1984). See also: nowy of an Indian cupola.