National symbols
The flag
Blue over red, horizontal. Made at Arcahaie on 18 May 1803 by tearing the white out of the French tricolour; Catherine Flon sewed the remaining bands together. The state flag adds a white panel bearing the arms.
The motto
L'Union Fait La Force — unity makes strength. It sits on the arms, not on the plain flag.
The coat of arms
A royal palm crowned with the cap of liberty, ringed by cannon, drums, trumpets and flags — a country that keeps its weapons in its emblem.
The anthem
La Dessalinienne, adopted in 1904 for the centenary of independence. Words by Justin Lhérisson, music by Nicolas Geffrard. Both are long out of copyright, and Lhérisson appears in this directory.
The gourde — and the "Haitian dollar"
The currency is the gourde (HTG). But prices are often quoted in dola ayisyen, where one Haitian dollar means five gourdes. It is not a currency and never was — it survives from the years the gourde was pegged at five to the US dollar. Ask which one is meant before you agree a price.