Comoros
Comoros: Political System
The Union of Comoros is an Islamic Federal Republic. The unicameral
parliament, the federal assembly, consists of 33 members. Of these, 18 are
elected every five years and 15 are members of regional parliaments. The head of
state is elected directly every four years, rotating between the three
islands. According to Digopaul.com,
the official name of the country is:
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Udzima wa komori
Union of Comoros |
National anthem
Udzima wa ya Masiwa (The Union of the Big Islands) has been
the national anthem of the Union of the Comoros since 1978.
The text comes from Said Hachim Sidi Abderemane, who also
composed the music together with Kamildine Abdallah.
| Shimasiwa |
In the English translation |
In the English translation |
| I béramu isi pépéza I nadi ukombozi piya
I daula ivénuha
Tasiba bu ya i dini voya trangaya hunu Komoriya
Narikéni na mahaba ya huveindza ya masiwa
Yatruwasiwa Komoro damu ndzima
Wasiwa Komoro dini ndzima
Ya masiwa radzali wa
Ya masiwa yarileya
Mola né ari sayidiya
Narikéni ha niya
Riveindzé uwataniya
Mahaba ya dine na duniya.
I béramu isi pépéza
rank mwési sita wa Zuiye
I daula ivénuha
Zisiwa zatru zi pangwi ha
Maoré na Nzuani, Mwalina Ngaziya
Narikéni na mahaba ya huveindza ya masiwa. |
The flag is flying,
announcing complete independence;
The nation rises up
because of the faith we have
In this our Comoria.Let us always have devotion
To love our Great Islands.
We Comorians are of one blood,
We Comorians are of one faith.On these Islands we were born,
These Islands brought us up.
May God always help us;
Let us always have the firm resolve
To love our fatherland,
Love our religion and the world.The flag is flying.
From the Sixth of July
The Nation rises up;
Our Islands are lined up.Maori and Anzuan, Moheli and Comore,
let us always have devotion to love our Great Islands. |
The flag flies
declaring complete independenceThe nation stands up
because of the belief we have
in these Comoros of ours.Let us dedicate ourselves
to loving our great islands.
We Comorians are of the same blood,
We Comorians are of the same faith.On these islands we were born,
These islands raised us.
May God help us forever;
Let us always have the stated goal of
loving
our country, our religion and the world.The flag has been flying
since July 6th
The nation is awakening
Our islands are lined up
Mayotte and Anjouan, Mohéli and Komore,
Let us be surrendered
to love our great islands |
National flag
The national flag (national flag) of the Comoros was adopted as a new flag in
early 2002. Based on flag descriptions by
Countryaah.com, the colors of the flag are interpreted as follows:
- Green comes from the old national flag
- Yellow stands for Mohéli
- White stands for Mayotte
- Red stands for Anjouan
- Blue stands for Grande Comore
Comoros: personalities
Ahmed Abdallah (1918-1989)
The politician, who was born in Domoni on the island of Anjouan and was the
first president of the independent Comoros, had campaigned for independence from
France and the unity of the island kingdom before his presidency. However, his
term of office only lasted from July to August 1975, when he was overthrown by
Ali Soilih and Ahmed Abdallah was murdered in 1989.
Azali Assoumani (born 1959)
From 1999 to 2006, this politician, born in Mitsoudjé in 1959, was President of
the Comoros. He achieved the office of president by overthrowing the then
president Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde. In 2006 Assoumani lost to Ahmed Abdallah
Mohamed Sambi.
Bob Denard (1929-2007)
The French-Comorian mercenary leader, born Gilbert Bourgeaud in Bordeaux in
1929, who liked to call himself Colonel Denard, was militarily and politically
very active in the Comoros. After participating in two coup attempts, he was
considered the unofficial king of the islands since the 1970s and 1980s. At
first he could count on the support of France, but he lost it by 1995 at the
latest when he made his last attempted coup - there were four in total - in the
Comoros. Denard was sentenced to prison in July 2007 for his involvement in the
attempted coup in 1995, but passed away that same year.
Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi (born 1958)
The politician, who was born in Mutsamudu on the Comoros island of Anjouan, has
been the President of the Union of Comoros since 2006. He succeeded in replacing
Azali Assoumani, who had been in office since 1999, in the presidential
elections.
Ali Soilih (1937-1978)
Soilih, who was head of state of the Comoros from 1975, was deposed in 1978 by a
coup by Bob Denard and later murdered by supporters of his adversary Abdallah.
Comoros: animals
Mammals
Large tenrek
The large tenrek (Tenrec ecaudatus) belongs to the subfamily of the hedgehog
tenreks (Tenrecinae) in the family of the tenreks (Tenrecidae). The
hedgehog-like animals originally come from Madagascar and have a head-trunk
length between about 26 to 40 cm.
On their back they have a bristly fur with a length between 25 to 50 mm, which
is interspersed with 10 to 15 mm long spines. The color of the back varies
depending on its regional occurrence from reddish to yellowish to agouti
brown. The females are usually a little darker than males. The belly of the
animals is only slightly hairy and cream-colored. The large head is light
brownish.
The mostly nocturnal animals feed on invertebrates such as insects and worms,
ants and termites. But also centipedes, beetles, caterpillars, earthworms and
grasshoppers as well as smaller vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and mice are
on their menu.
Mongozmaki
The Mongozmaki (Eulemur mongoz) - a species of monkey - was introduced to the
Comoros from Madagascar.
The animal belongs to the genus of the Great Makis (Eulemur), in the family of
the ordinary Makis, in the partial order of the Lemurs (Lemuriformes).
Their head-trunk length is between about 30 to 35 cm, while their long and
bushy tail is about 45 to 50 cm long. Their weight is between 1 and 1.5 kg.
The fur of the males is gray-brown on the upper side, the belly is light gray
and the cheeks, throat and neck are colored reddish. The females are a bit
lighter, they are gray on the back and light gray on the belly, but their face
is black-gray, with a whitish cheek and throat. The long snout is light gray in
both sexes.
They feed mainly on fruits. But during the rainy season seeds and nectar and
in the dry season leaves as well as insects and their larvae are on their menu.
The Mongozmaki goes looking for food at night, especially during the dry season,
and is therefore also called the "Kobold of the night" by the locals.
Butterflies
It is worth mentioning that there are numerous species of butterflies on the
Comoros - which of course are not mammals.
Reptiles
There are 29 different reptile species on the Comoros, 15 of which are
endemic, meaning that they only occur here. These include six species of snakes,
two species of chameleons and 15 species of geckos. Among the geckos are among
others:
African house geckos
The African house gecko (Hemidactylus brookii) belongs to the genus of the
half-finger geckos (Hemidactylus) in the gecko family (Gekkonidae) in the order
of the squamata. The half-finger geckos have a head-trunk length of about 12 cm,
with the tail length roughly corresponding to the head-trunk length. These
geckos have a yellowish-brown and dark spotted upper side. This lizard lives in
tropical forests as well as in arid and semi-arid regions. They are often found
on house walls, in stone piles and tree trunks, but also under loose tree
bark. Common features of all half-fingered geckos are their lidless eyes and the
toes with adhesive lamellae and claws.
Skinke
The Skinke (Scincidae), also known as smooth lizards, are a family of lizards
from the order of the squamata.
From this family there are more than 100 genera with over 1,500 species, making
the skinks the most species-rich family of lizards.
One of the genera from the skink family is the genus Trachylepis. The 79 species
of the genus are found mainly in Africa and Asia as well as on many islands in
the Indian Ocean. The following species are found on the Comoros:
- Trachylepi comorensis
- Trachylepi maculilabris
- Trachylepi striata
Madagascar
iguanas The Madagascar iguanas (Opluridae) are a family of the iguanas (Iguania)
in the order of the squamata, which is endemic to Madagascar, but also to the
Comoros.
There is the genus Oplurus, which are tree and rock-dwelling lizards with a size
of up to 40 cm, which have strongly keeled scales and often also spiny
tails. The Cuviers Madagascar iguana (Oplurus cuvieri) can be found on the
Comoros island of Grande Comore.
The second genus of the family is the approximately 20 cm tall genus
Chalarodon, which has small, smooth scales and lives in sandy areas on the
ground. The Madagascar iguanas are takactive egg-laying. Males are brightly
colored and live in hot and open areas. There are no animals of this genus on
the Comoros.
Settler agame
The settler agama (Agama agama) is a lizard and belongs to the family of the
agamas (Agamidae) in the order of the scaled reptiles (Squamata).
Settler agamas have the ability to change their color depending on their mood,
but this is only visible during the day. During the dark, the settler agamas
look gray. Depending on the mood, the settler agamas change their color. The
females and lower-ranking males have a brown to gray body color, while the
dominant males have a steel-blue, but also olive-green body and a yellow, orange
to red head and tail. The males reach a head-trunk length between 35 to 50 cm,
while the females are 30 to 40 cm tall.
Green turtles On the beach of Itsamia on the island of
Mohéli there is an important egg-laying site for the green turtle (Chelonia
mydas), with around 30,000 females laying their eggs here in the sand every
year. A description of the green turtle can be found here >>>
Day geckos
The genus day geckos (Phelsuma) belongs to the family of geckos (Gekkonidae) in
the order of the squamata.
The color of the day geckos ranges from green with spots of color to yellow-blue
patterns. The total length of the species of day geckos ranges from about 8 cm
to over 30 cm, with most species, however, reaching a size of around 20 cm
Coelacanth
A great peculiarity in the Comoros Sea is the Comoros coelacanth (Latimeria
chalumnae) a prehistoric animal from the order of the coelacanthiformes, which
was only discovered a few years ago after it was believed to be extinct. He is
said to have lived here 65 million years ago. The animals are a kind of
transitional form between marine and land animals and can be up to 2 m
long. They inhabit the sea at depths between 150 and 400 m. A prepared specimen
of the coelacanth is in the museum of Moroni on the island of Grande Comore.
Comoros: plants
As unfortunately in many countries, the original vegetation - dense tropical
rainforest with valuable wood species - was largely cut down on the Comoros,
among other things, to make way for plantations - and where no plantations have
arisen, savannas are spreading. The rainforest therefore only accounts for
around 15% of the country's area and has been preserved almost only in the
higher elevations of the island state.
Useful plants are mainly bananas, coconut palms, coffee and cocoa trees or
mango trees. On the coasts there are mangrove forests, in whose widespread roots
many smaller animals and fish find shelter and protection.
Other plants worth mentioning are baobab trees, bougainvillea hibiscus, orchids
and tropical spices such as cloves, vanilla and cinnamon
and the ylang-ylang plant with its yellow flowers, which is typical of the
Comoros and is used as a basis for oils, is particularly worth mentioning and
perfumes can be used.
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