King Peggy Ghana

Peggielene Bartels was born in Ghana in 1953 and moved to Washington, D.C., in her early twenties to work at Ghana's embassy. She became an American citizen in 1997. In 2008, she was chosen to be King of Otuam, a Ghanaian village of 7,000 souls on the west coast of Africa.

Mission:

An important part of my mission as King of Otuam is to bring empowerment to women. I truly believe that the future of Africa lies in the hands of its women. Women, who nurture the children and take care of resources for the entire family, must be educated to bring these gifts to their communities. In Africa, more and more women each year are entering university, politics, and business. I hope that more women will become kings like me.

My main mission is to bring Otuam into a prosperous future, to make it a modern, healthful place to live and work. It already has many advantages: beautiful weather, lovely beaches, an ocean teeming with fish, rich soil, and friendly, hardworking people. But it needs greater access to clean water, improved medical care and educational institutions, repaved roads, hygienic toilets, and many other basic necessities of life.

We in the United States often take for granted all the blessings we have. We can turn on our taps and have water, hot or cold, instantly. We can push the toilet handle and boom! There it goes. We can call 911 and have an ambulance at our door within minutes providing the best medical care on the planet. Children, no matter how poor their families, receive a free education through high school. We can all go to the local library and choose from among thousands of books to read for free. But many people in the world don't have these blessings. They suffer needlessly, and in some cases, they die young for lack of basic resources and medical care.

Helping the world's poorest people is a double blessing; certainly the people in need are blessed when they receive food, vaccinations, clean water, and education. But it is perhaps even more of a blessing to those who give.

You can endeavor to bring blessings to others. There is so much suffering in this world, so much scarcity and injustice, that there is no lack of work for you to do and countless worthy organizations you can help in a variety of ways. So please, when reading my story, ask yourself how you can help your less fortunate brothers and sisters. For we are all brothers and sisters, spiritually and genetically. If you are born to some prosperity, you are fortunate for two reasons: you have many physical comforts, and you are in a position to help others who do not.

Source: www.kingpeggy.com

Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II Ghana

The most honoured guest at the Asantehene (King of Asante) jubilee is the queen mother, she arrives surrounded by fan bearers. She is known as Asantehemaa, the true mother of the nation, the most powerful woman in matrilineal society, and is responsible for the selections of the heir apparent.

Source: www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555%2FAL.CH.DOCUMENT.BFACP1B10175

Queen Yodit Gudit Ethiopia

Gudit (Ge'ez: Yodit, Judith) is a semi-legendary, non-Christian, Beta Israel queen (flourished c.960) who laid waste to Axum and its countryside, destroyed churches and monuments, and attempted to exterminate the members of the ruling Axumite dynasty[citation needed]. Her deeds are recorded in the oral tradition and mentioned incidentally in various historical accounts.

Abreha and Atsbeha Church

Information about Gudit is contradictory and incomplete. Paul B. Henze wrote, "She is said to have killed the emperor, ascended the throne herself, and reigned for 40 years.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gudit

The Warrior Queens of Dahomey

The kingdom of Dahomey, now called Republique du Benin is located in Western Africa, bordered by Togo on the west and Nigeria on the east. Dahomey has a unique feature in its history that reads like something out of Greek mythology – they had Africa’s most well known corps of female warriors.

The origins of the female warrior corps of Dahomey called the Mino, is traced to the 1600s when they were established by King Wegbaja who originally recruited and trained them to be elephant hunters. They later became part of the King’s elite personal guards and then served as community police, palace guards and later transforming into warriors by dint of bravery and training during the 1800s. The women were selected out of groups of volunteering women who wanted a way out of the difficult marriages. Their numbers later swelled by those taken prisoners during war. The women were said to be married to the King to ensure their allegiance and loyalty. They defended him with their lives. The Mino women were tough and accustomed to suffering, fighting fearlessly and never beating a retreat.

Mino Warriors of Dahomey

According to some history, the women spoke of their lives thus: ‘We are men not women. Whatever town is to be attacked we must overcome it or we bury ourselves in its ruins’.

In his 1891 account “Three months in captivity in Dahomey” E. Chaudoin describes them as follows:

“There they are, 4,000 warriors, the 4,000 black virgins of Dahomey, the monarch’s bodyguard, motionless in their war garments, with gun and knife in hand, ready to leap forward at the master’s signal.

Old or young, ugly or beautiful, they are wonderful to look at. They are as well built as the male warriors and their attitude is just as disciplined and correct, lined up as though against a rope“. Other accounts placed their numbers at about 6000.

The fighting skills of the Mino warriors were first recorded by Missionaries in Abeokuta, western Nigeria who observed them in battle when they attacked that city in the Old Oyo Empire in 1851. Although the armies of Dahomey lost their expedition against the walled city of Abeokuta, the Mino warriors distinguished themselves from their male counterparts by being the only regiment to breach the walled city. They were also observed in battle by the colonial French military, who routed the armies of Dahomey with their fire power in 1892. The colonial army noted the capability of the female warriors. “Armed with double-bladed knives and Winchester rifles, [the Warrior Queens of Dahomey] perform wonders of bravery…” (Captain Jouvelet, 1894). The Mino corps was disbanded by King Agoli Agbo, the last monarch of the kingdom of Dahomey soon after the war when he went into self exile.

Source: www.Feelnubia.com

Queen Anna Nzinga Angola

Queen Anna Nzinga (c. 1583 – December 17, 1663), also known as Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande, was a 17th-century queen (muchino a muhatu) of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in Angola.

Nzinga was born to King Kiluanji and Kangela in 1583. According to tradition, she was named Njinga because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck (the Kimbundu verb kujinga means to twist or turn). It was said to be an indication that the person who had this characteristic would be proud and haughty, and a wise woman told her mother that Nzinga would become queen one day. According to her recollections later in life, she was greatly favoured by her father, who allowed her to witness as he governed his kingdom, and who carried her with him to war. She also had a brother, Mbandi, and two sisters, Kifunji and Mukambu. She lived during a period when the Atlantic slave trade and the consolidation of power by the Portuguese in the region were growing rapidly.

In the 16th century, the Portuguese position in the slave trade was threatened by England and France. As a result, the Portuguese shifted their slave-trading activities to The Congo and South West Africa. Mistaking the title of the ruler, ngola, for the name of the country, the Portuguese called the land of the Mbundu people "Angola"—the name by which it is still known today.

Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzinga_of_Ndongo_and_Matamba

Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Central Africa Catherine Denguiadé

Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Central Africa Catherine Denguiadé

Catherine Denguiadé (became Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of the Central African Empire at her husband’s accession to the throne), (born 7 Aug 1949, Fort-Archambault (present day Sarh), Chad). Her father was a member of the M’baka clan (he died in 1980) and her mother was Lucienne Tabedje (born in Chad). She studied at Lycée Pie XII in Bangui. Bokassa married her on 20 June 1964. After the fall of the Central African Empire she moved to Laussane, Switzerland. She now lives in Bangui (C.A.R.).

Queen Sylvia Nagginda Buganda

Queen Sylvia Nagginda Buganda

Queen Sylvia Nagginda (born 9 November 1964) is the current Nnabagereka or Queen of Buganda, a historic kingdom in modern day Uganda, the third-largest economy in East Africa.

Sylvia Nagginda was born in England in 1964 to John Mulumba Luswata of Nkumba, Entebbe, and Rebecca Nakintu Musoke,and returned to Uganda shortly thereafter to be raised by her grandparents of the Omusu Clan. She is the granddaughter of George William Musoke and Nora Musoke of Nnazigo, Kyaggwe, and Omutaka Nelson Nkalubo Sebugwawo and Catherine Sebugwawo of Nkumba. She has three brothers and three sisters.

Queen Sylvia attended Lake Victoria Primary School, in Entebbe, Gayaza Junior School, and Wanyange Girls School. After graduating secondary school she went to the United States to continue her studies. She earned an Associate's degree with honours from City University of New York, a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University, and a Master of Arts degree with Distinction in Mass Communication from the New York Institute of Technology.

 

 

Sylvia went on to work as a Public Information Officer and Research Consultant at the United Nations headquarters in New York, as a proposal writer with Maximus Inc., and as an independent consultant in public relations and business development with various firms. She has applied her skills in fields such as public information, economic research, health care and human services, and international non-profit activities. She is one of the founders of the African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network (AQWCLN), whose primary focus is the "improvement of the lives of women and children in Africa". Collaborating organizations include the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) and African governments.[4]

The Nnaabagereka supports the Kabaka's Education Fund (KEF) in assisting to make education available to the least advantaged children through a scholarship scheme. She stresses the need for high quality education accessible to all children and relevant to the needs of society.[5] The Nnabagereka places special emphasis on the education of girls, as witnessed through her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNFPA, advocating for girls' education; She is also involved with the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) an organization whose goal is to accelerate female participation in education and to bridge the gender gap within the education system at all levels. The Nnabagereka is very cautious about the cultural values that make a good mother or woman in Buganda, but stresses that these should be handled in such a way that girls are not denied any opportunity in education.

As Queen, Sylvia has worked to raise awareness of the value of educating girls. She endorses abstinence from premarital sex in order to avoid HIV/AIDS and has tried to reduce the stigma of those living with the disease. The Queen is the patron of various organizations and heads the Nnaabagereka Development Trust Foundation. She has also spearheaded immunization campaigns against measles, polio, tetanus and other diseases. She also established the Kampala Ballet and Modern Dance School, the first of its kind in Uganda.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Sylvia_of_Buganda

Queen Makobo Modjadji VI Zimbabwe

Queen Modjadji is a direct descendant of the once powerful royal house of Monomotapa, which ruled over the Karanga people in Zimbabwe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Rider Haggard’s classical novels King Solomon’s Mines and She drew the world’s attention to the legendary Rain Queen of the Balobedu Peoples.

The rule of South Africa’s present Rain Queen, Makobo Modjadji VI, began on 16 April 2003 when the 25-year-old succeeded her grandmother Mokope Modjadji V. Her own mother, Princess Maria Modjadji, the real successor, died two days before the last Rain Queen. Makobo Modjadji is the first rain queen to have received formal education, having completed high school. Her predecessors were:

 

•Rain Queen Maselekwane Modjadji I (1800-54)
•Rain Queen Masalanabo Modjadji II (1854-95)
•Rain Queen Khetoane Modjadji III (1896-1959)
•Rain Queen Makoma Modjadji IV (1959-80)
•Rain Queen Mokope Modjadji V (1981-2001)

The Kingdom of Modjadji situated in the Limpopo Province comprises of a rural community of over 150 villages. The Balobedu Kingdom has got a population of more than a million people. Apart from her ruling duties, Modjadji has got the duty of providing her nation with rain.

Many legends are told about the origins of Queen Modjadji. According to one of the most acceptable versions an old Karanga chief from the Kingdom of Monomotapa (south-eastern Zimbabwe), was told by his ancestors in the 16th century that he must impregnate his daughter, Dzugundini. This would bestow on the princess rainmaking powers, which would expand the wealth of his kingdom. This princess was called Modjadji or “ruler of the day”.

Early In the 19th century Modjadji’s tribe, known as the Balobedu, moved further south into the fertile Molototsi Valley, where they founded present day Ga-Modjadji.

According to custom, the Queen must eschew public functions. She communicates to her people via her male councillors and indunas, village headmen. In November of every year she directs the annual rainmaking ceremony at her royal compound in Khetlhakone village. The queen never marries, but she bears children by her close relatives. She is cared for by her ‘wives’, which are sent from the many villages in Ga-Modjadji. When she is nearing death, she appoints her eldest daughter as her successor and then she ingests poison.

For centuries many tribes have respected the Queen’s powers. Even Shaka Zulu sent his top emissaries to request the Queen’s blessings. With the influence of Christian missionaries, many of these traditional customs have been discontinued. In June 2001 both the ruling Queen and her eldest daughter passed away.

An archaeologist of the University of South Africa, Sidney Miller, has excavated the ruins of the original royal kraal. Archaeological finds in Lebweng village include stone foundations, pottery, and middens. In addition these ruins bear resemblance to the famous ruins discovered at Thulamela near Phafuri in the far north of the Kruger National Park and the Great Zimbabwe ruins in south-eastern Zimbabwe. It lends further credibility to the many legends about the origins of Ga-Modjadji.

 

Source:http://prominentpeople.co.za/modjadji-queen.aspx

 

Queen Regnant Binao 1879/80-1923 Madagascar

 

 

Queen Regnant Binao 1879/80-1923 Madagascar
Succeeded her mother Safy Mozongo of Bemihisatra (1869-79/80). In 1883, the French began a war of punitive expedition against the Merina, the fortresses of Anorontsanga and Ambodiladiro were bombed and destroyed, and Majunga was taken in turn with the help of her fighters. In 1895, the French launched yet another war of annexations and colonial conquest against Merina again with her the assistance and the following year General Galliéni was appointed by the French Governor of Madagascar. She was succeeded by her brother, Amada I (1923-1963).

 Source:http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/Madagascar_Substates.htm