Bangalla: Difference between revisions

'''Bangalla''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ən|ˈ|g|æ|l|ə|,_|-|ˈ|g|ɑː|l|-}}), also known as '''Bengalla''' (in the [[The Phantom (1996 film)|1996 movie adaptation]]), is a fictional [[Africa]]n country that features in thefrom [[Lee Falk]] created's [[comic strip]] ''[[The Phantom]]''. Bangalla is the home of the Phantom, who resides in the Deep Woods of the [[jungle]] in the fabled [[Skull Cave]]. Until the 1960s, the country was portrayed as being in [[Asia]], near [[India]].<ref>{{cite news|title= The Phantom's' Father Is a Pretty Legendary Figure Too |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1996-06-10|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1996-06-10/entertainment/ca-13477_1_phantom-head|accessdate=2011-01-13|first=Jonathan|last=Mandell}}</ref> In the 1996 film, Bengalla is located in Asia instead of Africa. In the [[The Phantom (miniseries)|2009 miniseries]], Bangalla is a fictional small island nation located in the [[Malay Archipelago]].

Bangalla is located in [[East Africa]], around the approximate region of [[Tanzania]], [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]] and [[Ethiopia]]. The capital of Bangalla is Mawitaan (formerly Morristown); other cities include Bengalitown, Sanloi, Spyglass and Mucar. Until the 1960s, the country was portrayed as being in [[Asia]], near [[India]].

The daily strips beginning 14 Dec. 2018 (see also 11 Jan and 2 March 2019) depicted the Bangallan flag as a light blue field with a yellow crescent moon at the viewer's left (i.e. a crescent Or at the hoist, its horns facing sinister), occupying the whole vertical width of the flag; and at the viewer's right (heraldic sinister), a star of approximately 12 rays atop a besant (disk) of the same (i.e. also yellow). (The position of these last two charges is sometimes reversed—possibly due to error on the part of the artist, Mike Manley, or to the flag being shown from the reverse.) The flag thus bears some resemblance to the real-world flag of East Turkestan, while the smaller charges recall those on the flag of Nepal. Since the crescent generally symbolizes Islam, its appearance on the flag of Bangalla (which has never been depicted as a majority-Muslim nation) represents something of an oddity.

Bangalla is a former British colony that since became a democracy. The country's first president was Lamanda Luaga, a doctor elected to office after having fought an epidemic in the jungle. However, General Bababu seized control of the country and, after announcing that Luaga was dead, searched for Luaga to kill him and exhibit his head as proof. The Phantom, however, abducted Bababu and brought him to the Deep Woods where Luaga defeated him in a fair one-on-one fight. The Council of Chiefs sentenced Bababu to two years' hard labor at each tribalof nation. (There werethe 12 chiefs present at the time, and hard labor meant exactlytribal thatnations.) General Bababu has, however, never given up the hopes of becoming dictator of Bangalla and has been a recurring villain in ''Phantom'' lore, usually in cooperation with other dictators who seek a marionette-president.