Last modified: 2026-02-28 by antónio martins
Keywords: maio | município do maio | island | map | sunset | trees: 3 | shark | chain (green) | chain: 3 links | stars: 10 | mar largo | salt | goats: 3 | anchor (yellow on blue) |
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![[flag]](../images/c/cv-61.gif)
image by António Martins, 19 Dec 2025
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Concerning the municipality iself, it should be noted that its territory
covers fully and exclusively the namesake May Island
— Ilha do Maio / Dja’r’Mai.
Flag and emblem are therefore somehow
canting.
António Martins, 19 Dec 2025
It is a blue over white gyronny 2:3 flag in
Portuguese municipal style
(eight identical triangles limited by the flag’s diagonals and apothems)
with the usual circular municipal emblem centered on it,
surrounded at the bottom half by a light blue scroll reading "Município do
Maio" in black serifless capitals flanked by two large interpuncts, and at the
top half by a chain of three green links placed at the apex and flanked
by two arched rows of five yellow black-edged five-point upright regular
stars, one set on each side — as per usual for
Cabo Verde municipal emblems.
António Martins, 19 Dec 2025
On 2022.08.04 Valentin Poposki reported photos of official flag use as
of 2014.04.29:
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Guessing from the continued use of the same emblem that shows on the
flag in more recent posts to Facebook
and at official website in
2015-2023 (while it was online) incl., e.g., in
2016 and
2015,
it seems that this flag remains in normal use.
António Martins, 19 Dec 2025 and 25 Dec 2025
![[emblem]](../images/c/cv-61).gif)
image by António Martins, 19 Dec 2025
The circular emblem itself shows a white map of the island thinly edged
in black, containing a row of three stylized green trees, sorted largest
to smalest from hoist to fly, above the black outline of a hoistwards swimming
shark; the island outline is placed on a horizontally divided background, the
top half in light blue and the bottom half filled in the
mar largo settstone
pattern in blue and light blue; on the hoist side of the upper half, at
the edge between the two halves, a setting/rising sun, in yellow (edged
black), placed and and sized to be the mirror image of the nearby blue
half wave on the bottom side of the background.
António Martins, 19 Dec 2025
A representation of this emblem, also used in some flag
images, shows proeminent lateral distortion; since it was at the
official website
this wrong variant might be mistaken for the true one; other official
municipal use shows however undistorted originals — such as this
2020
season’s greetings card/poster.
António Martins, 19 Dec 2025
image by Sérgio Horta and António Martins, 20 Dec 2025 |
(source)
Its symbols were published in the Government Gazette on 07.01.1955:
Flag is quartered in yellow and red. Cords and tassels of gold and red.
Golden spear and shaft.
Valentin Poposki, 04 Aug 2022
2:3 yellow over red quartered background with the coat of
arms centered on it. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers
(town rank) and white scroll reading in black upper
case serifed letters "Vila do Maio".
António Martins, 23 Oct 2025
At HeraldicaCivica.PT
we can see Sérgio Horta’s account of these arms and flag, drawn
in the same style as contemporary CHAAP artwork;
other sources, such as [lgh66] and
postage stamps,
may differ in details.
António Martins, 23 Oct 2025
![[flag]](../images/p/pt-'yr4.gif)
image by António Martins, 28 Feb 2010
Non-monocolored portuguese subnational flags are
allowed to have armless variations.
Jorge Candeias, 18 Jul 1999
While the current law, adopted in 1991,
doesn’t apply to municipal flags in the colonies, independent in 1975, it
however draws most of its content from the 1930 ministerial dispatch, incl.
the regulation of armless variations allowed for non-monocolor municipal flags.
This 1930 ruling affected all future Portuguese municipal flags, including the
colonial ones.
António Martins, Feb 2026
![[flag]](../images/c/cv-61_h).gif)
image by Sérgio Horta and António Martins, 20 Dec 2025 |
(source)
The arms have on a shield Or three goats salient Gules and on a chief Azure an anchor Or corded Argent between two salt cellars Argent garnished Or.
De ouro, três cabras saltantes de vermelho. Chefe de azul, carregado de uma âncora de ouro encordoada de prata, ladeada por dois saleiros de prata ornamentados de ouro. Coroa mural de quatro torres de prata. Listel branco, com os dizeres "VILA DO MAIO". Bandeira - Esquartelada de amarelo e vermelho. Cordões e borlas de ouro e vermelho. Lança e haste douradas.António Martins, 23 Oct 2025
By my reading, salt shakers were introduced about 115 years ago. Before that,
salt was present on the table in cellars, open or, as depicted here,
lidded vessels, from which diners took salt with a spoon.
John Ayer, 25 Dec 2025
These three colonial-era municipal coats of arms
(Maio, Boa Vista,
and Sal) were issued in 1955 but depict historical
items, not modern free flow salt shakers. (I wrongly presumed that a salt cellar
is something akin to a root cellar or a wine cellar.)
António Martins, 27 Dec 2025
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