RAIN QUEEN MAKOBO CONSTANCE MODJAJI VI

The Lovedu tribe (also called the Balobedu), a Sotho-Venda group that in 1500 settled in the north of what is now the Limpopo Province of South Africa, has the distinction that it is the only tribe in Africa still ruled by a female monarch. The successor of this ruler, called Modjadji, the Rain Queen, because of her magical powers, is designated from her matriarchal line after having been trained for years in the traditions and customs of the royal house.

Modjadji (also written Modjadje or Mujaji) can be translated as “ruler of the day”.

However, this tradition was rocked in 2005 when Makobo Caroline Modjadji VI, who succeeded her grandmother, Mokope Modjadji V, after her death at the age of 64 years in 2001, was declared queen in 2003. Mokope’s daughter Makhele, who was her designated successor, died unexpectedly three days before her mother. At 25 the next in line, Makobo, was the youngest rain queen to sit on the throne. However, she died two years later (on 10 June 2005) after a short illness. The cause of her death is unknown.

However, during her short reign Makobo Modjadji VI had the royal palace in uproar because of allegations that she rejected tribal traditions and refused to submit to the authority of the elders. Not only did she invite a male friend, the former manager of the Greater Letaba Municipality, David Mohale, to move into the royal palace where no spouse was previously allowed, but she also appointed her own “royal council” that was in conflict with the council of elders.

The conflict reached a climax when a dispute broke out between the two councils over who had the right to bury Modjadji. In the end the premier of Limpopo, Sello Moloto, had to intervene in the dispute and get both parties to co-operate. The matter was complicated because Modjadji’s brother, Mpapatla Modjadji (21), had left the palace upon her death and could not be traced. It was then decided to proceed with the funeral arrangements without him.

The funeral was attended by thousands of funeral-goers, among them many cabinet members, dignitaries and chiefs. Makobo Modjadji VI, a member of the Zion Christian Church, was laid to rest in the Maolwe royal cemetery. She is survived by her five-month-old daughter, Masalanabo.

According to tradition, tribal members must mourn for a year after the death of their queen. During this time no drums may be played and no dancing may take place. This includes the dinaka (the blowing of horns) and the sekgapa (a traditional dance for women). Learners at school are expected not to take part in extramural activities or parties.

The successor of Modjadji VI, who will reign over a kingdom consisting of more than 150 rural settlements in the Limpopo province, will be designated by the royal council. According to tradition, she must be a daughter of the deceased rain queen. However, the children of the rain queen’s maidservants, who are known as her “brides”, are also regarded as the queen’s children.

Traditions

The magical powers attributed to the rain queen of the Lovedu have passed from mother to daughter for centuries. These powers not only include intervention by means of incantations and dances (such as the legobathele) during times of great drought, but also the upkeep of daily rituals. The queen’s powers are demonstrated annually during a rainmaking ceremony taking place in the Ga-Modjadji settlement.

The queen’s mace is crowned with a statuette of a wild pig or bush-pig (golove or muyane), on which the words Modjadji and Pula (rain) are engraved. The wild pig is the royal totem of the Kwevo tribe of the Lovedu.

The rain queen’s powers are traditionally used to bring not only rains to let the harvests grow and fill the rivers, but also fierce storms and floods to keep her enemies at bay. For this reason the Lovedu do not make use of warriors to protect the tribe.

The queen is advised in her duties by a rain doctor or doctors, who are blamed if the queen’s rainmaking rituals do not succeed. Should no success be attained in the long term, it is presumed that the ancestors are dissatisfied and that their favour must first be won, usually by means of sacrifices.

According to tradition, the rain queen may not marry, but a suitable man from the family is designated for her by the royal council when she decides to have a child. The rain queen is served by so-called “brides”, whose children are also regarded as hers.

After the death of a rain queen the entire tribe mourns for one year. Her death may actually not even be proclaimed officially before the end of this year. Her royal council designate her successor, who must be one of her daughters.

History

According to legend, the rain queen of the Lovedu descends from the royal house of Monomotapa who reigned in the 1400s and 1500s over the territory now known as Zimbabwe (see article: “Africa kingdoms, Early systems of government”). At the time it was inhabited by the Karanga tribe.

In the 1580s the royal house experienced a scandal when one of the princes had a relationship with his sister, Dzugundini. The relationship produced a son. To prevent a civil war, the king banned his daughter and her son from the kingdom of Monomotapa, but not before giving her a horn with magical rainmaking powers. She settled on the opposite side of the Limpopo River – where her descendents still live today. The magical powers were passed along the female line from mother to daughter.

In 1800 Maselekwane, who descended from Dzungundini, was for the first time officially crowned as rain queen and took the name Modjadji I. Her reputation as a rainmaker was so respected that even Chaka, the king of the Zulus, turned to her for help to relieve Zululand from a prolonged drought.

Best-known rain queens

Longest ruler

Modjadji III, her successor, was herself an exceptional woman who ruled for 63 years as rain queen. She was born in 1870 and died on 20 February 1985 – in the ripe old age of 89 years. Unlike her predecessor, she was known for her hospitable nature, wisdom and sense of justice.

During her reign the royal kraal of Modjadji was proclaimed a national monument (1936). This kraal is situated in the Modjadji Kloof in Limpopo, characterised by the largest concentration of bread trees – called Modjadji bread trees – in the world.

Honoured by Mandela

Mokope Modjadji V was honoured by a visit from former president Nelson Mandela, who gave her two vehicles for her personal use. She was also honoured by the South African weather service for her contribution to South Africa’s rainfall.

Youngest rain queen

Makobo Caroline Modjadji VI was inaugurated as rain queen on 11 April 2003. She was only 25 years old. Not only did that make her the youngest rain queen in the history of the Balobedu, but she was also the first rain queen to have completed her school career – at the Masalanabo High School in Khetlhakone/Sehlakoni, next to the royal palace. (The settlement is approximately 100 km east of Polokwane, capital of the Limpopo province.)

Her short reign nevertheless conveyed the message that even the centuries-old tradition of Modjadji would have to adapt to modern times.

Makobo Modjadji VI’s daughter, Masalanabo, who was five months old when her mother died, is named after Modjadji II, the most famous of all rain queens.

Timeline of rain queens

1800 – 1854: Maselekwane Modjadji I
1854 – 1895: Masalanabo Modjadji II
1896 – 1959: Khetoane Modjadji III
1959 – 1980: Makoma Modjadji IV
1981 – 2001: Mokope Modjadji V
2003 – 2005: Makobo Mdjadji VI

Source: myfundi.co.za

Moremi Ajasoro, Princess of the Yoruba (Nigeria)

Moremi Ajasoro, Princess of the Yoruba, was a figure of high significance in the history of the Yoruba peoples. She was a member-by-marriage of the royal family of Emperor Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba people. She was the wife of King Oranmiyan of Ife (and later Oyo). A woman of tremendous beauty and a faithful and zealous supporter of her husband and the Kingdom of Ile Ife. Moremi Ajasoro, Princess of the Yoruba, was a figure of high significance in the history of the Yoruba peoples. At this time there were neighboring tribes called Igbo, who were regularly and successfully raiding the people at and around Ile Ife. enslaved by these people, and because of this they were generally regarded with disdain by the Yoruba city-states.

Moremi was a very brave and beautiful woman who, in order to deal with the problem facing her people, offered anything she had to give in sacrifice to the Spirit of the river Esimirin so that she could discover the strength of her nation's enemies.

Moremi decided upon a strategy. She went to the nearby river Esinmirin, and vowed to deity that she would make the greatest sacrifice possible if they allowed her to discover the strength of her nation’s enemies. She then went to a place that was raided frequently, and when the raiders did come she allowed herself to be captured. Being very beautiful she was taken as booty to the Igbo King. She was very confident and skillful, and soon won the trust and affection of the King and people in Igbo land. She became familiar with their customs and tactics of warfare. She found that the Igbo, in preparation for battle, would cover themselves from head to toe with Ekan grass and bamboo fibers. She realized that if someone could pass amongst the Igbo warriors with a torch that they could be defeated.

Feeling that she had adequate knowledge, she escaped, to the great surprise of her Igbo captors. She returned to her first husband, King Oramiyan of Ife (and later Oyo), who immediately had her re-instated as his Princess Consort. Knowing the warfare secrets of the Igbo, the people of Ife were forever freed from the terrors of these previously invincible warriors.

Source: http://moremi.oauife.edu.ng/history.php

Solitude (Guadeloupe/ daughter of Africa) circa 1771 — 1802

A revolution of enslaved plantation laborers in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) begun in August 1791 forced France to legally abolish slavery in its colonies less than three years later. By 1802, however, Napoléon’s forces sought to resurrect the sugar-based economies of Saint-Domingue, Guadeloupe, and other French holdings in the Caribbean by re-enslaving freedpeople who had been living as French citizens for eight years. Africans and their descendants fiercely resisted French forces—successfully in Saint-Domingue, unsuccessfully in Guadeloupe. Though little is known of her early life, Solitude is celebrated as a heroine in Guadeloupe for her role in that struggle for lasting freedom in 1802.

Solitude had joined the maroon settlement of La Goyave in the mid-1790s, and during an attack by French General Desfouneaux, she became the leader of a small group that escaped to the hills of Guadeloupe, eluding capture. On May 5, 1802, French ships arrived in Pointe-à-Pitre carrying troops ready to enforce Napoléon’s decree to reinstate slavery on the islands. Battles erupted as Africans and their descendants fought to preserve their freedom.

Solitude, now pregnant, mobilized her followers to join the forces of Louis Delgrès against the French military. They struggled until they were surrounded and outnumbered by the French troops at Danglemont Plantation. Delgrès and approximately five hundred troops allowed the French soldiers to advance into their territory before igniting stores of gunpowder. The strategic suicide plan resulted in the death of approximately four hundred French soldiers. Though most of the maroons died, Solitude survived and was captured and detained in Basse-Terre prison.

The French military brought Solitude and the other survivors before a military tribunal, which sentenced them all to death. Solitude was temporarily pardoned until she gave birth to her child, who became the legal property of her owner. One day after delivering her baby, on November 28, 1802, Solitude was executed. She was thirty years old.

After her death, Solitude disappeared from the annuals of history until the 1960s, though by that time her contemporaries, such as Delgrès, were recognized. Today, Solitude’s name adorns squares, avenues, a library, and a museum room in Guadeloupe. Solitude’s bravery and courage is remembered in songs, poems, and the musical Solitude la Marronne.

Source:http://slaveryandremembrance.org/people/person/?id=PP015

The Queen of Kumbwada

Queen-of-Kumwada

Extracts from "No man dares sit on this Nigerian throne" by Women under Moslem Law

Queen Hajiya Haidzatu Ahmed

Kumbwada, in Nigeria's conservative Islamic north, where strict Sharia law is the rule, has never had a male ruler.

The present ruler is.

The Queens palace is a shack with a rusted corrugated roof, but her rule over the 33,000 citizens is unquestioned, as was that of her grandmother before her who lived to the age of 113.

"There has never been a male ruler," the queen says, chuckling, a sound like dry, crackling paper.

"Even my father just voiced his desire to be chief, but it almost killed him."

"It's a women's affair, women are the rulers and they rule as effectively as men, sometimes even better than men."

As the traditional ruler, the queen handles disputes such as quarrels over land, divorces, petty violence, accusations of theft and arguments between neighbours.

Government courts step in only if a traditional ruler refers a case or if the situation isn't resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

Domestic Issues

"When domestic issues come to me, the way I treat them will be quite different to other traditional chiefs," she says. "I'm a woman and I'm a mother and I have so much concern and experience when it comes to the issue of marriage and what it means for the maintenance of the home and what it means for two people to live together." And of course she doesn't tolerate wife beating.

Wife Beating

Queen Hajiya had one wife-beating case early in her reign.

"I told him if he ever beat his wife again, I'd dissolve the marriage and put him in prison," she remembers. "Marriage is not a joke, and women are not slaves."

Since that case, she has made a point of campaigning against domestic violence whenever she holds court in local communities. She says she's never had another beating case. People know where she stands.

"Men sometimes say the women provoke them, so that is why they beat them," she says. "I tell them that there's no justification, whatever happens."

A Woman President in Nigeria

She often addresses women's groups, urging members to become educated so that they can be future leaders. Most of all, she wants to live to see a female Nigerian president.

"It's my most ardent wish. I think the problems in Nigeria have become intractable. Let's try a woman. Men have failed."

"I've never had a crisis I couldn't solve," she says.

"In a crisis, people don't listen to politicians. Once we intervene, once we speak, to the people, it's hands off."

Important Role

"The royalty have a very important role in Nigerian society," the queen says. "Of course we're different than the elected powers. The real power, the confidence, is with us. Politicians think you can buy votes.

"I am closer to the people. The traditional rulers are the ones the people trust."

Source:http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/global-news/africa/nigeria/577-the-queen-of-kumbwada.html

Dode Akabi Ghana (1610-1635)

Dode Akabi’s easy acession to power and her long reign (1610-1635) obviously suggest the degree of assimilation of previously non-Gá peoples.

However, Dode Akabi’s has hitherto been treated rather unfavourably by historians. Reindorf relates a series of brutal decrees issued under her authority; she was finally killed after she had ordered her subjects to sink a well at a place called Akabikenke.

Her accession to power as the first major female figure in Gá, and indeed Gold Coast, history should certainly rank as a remarkable event attesting to the skills of this powerful personality; Dode Akabi certainly displayed the ruthless decisiveness that has marked the careers of admired male statesmen the world over. Her alleged atrocities aside, Dode Akabi appears to have kept the kingdom intact. However, the manner of her death indicates a degree of dissent among her subjects.

Dode Akabi’s regency and greatness is, perhaps, best analysed in the context of her role in the evolution of chiefship in the Gold Coast. Until her acession to power, chiefship appears to have been a male preserve. The chief in the theocratic state of Accra was by definition also a high priest or wulomo; he took a personal part in ritual dancing. As the high priest could only be male, Dode Akabi’s rise to power necessarily entailed a schism between the powers of the wulomo and that of the king; this marked the secularisation of Gá-Dangme politics, and the concentration of religious authority in the hands of the wulomei.

Since her authority, unlike her predecessors’ was no longer derived from privileged access to the Deity, Dode Akabi had to formulate new methods of governance; this she did principally through the previously untried method of direct legislation which appears to have so drawn the ire of her subjects. She brought a new magnificence to royalty, chiefly by combining Western luxury with new standards of culture.

Analysed this way, Dode Akabi emerges as a formidable figure whose rise as the first female political leader of the Gold Coast opened new vistas of power to her gender. She is generally believed to have introduced much display, jewellery and colourful attire into the institution of chieftaincy; some even attribute the custom of sitting on stools to Dode Akabi. Prior to Dode Akabi stools were mainly taken into war, and held aloft to lift the spirit of the troops; popularly regarded as having no authority from the Deity, she demanded to sit on the war-stool to visually symbolise her authority over her people.

The reign of Okaikoi was the beginning of a fresh assertiveness by the Gá-Dangme. Okaikoi’s power was based largely on the cult of the warrior, signalling the final shift of power from priest-kings to secular kings whose power rested almost exclusively on their ability to manipulate and control affairs within the Gá-Dangme polity.

Okaikoi appears to have continued Dode Akabi’s policy of political control of his subjects, casting aside the previous practice of rule by consensus and through the authority of the Deity; it was the first major challenge to the theocratic basis of Gá-Dangme kingship. Surrounding himself with a body-guard of selected youth, Okaikoi demanded unlimited recognition and subservience from both subjects and conquered peoples; he also institutionalised the practice of princes of provincial states serving as armour-bearers in the king’s court, formalising a practice which had always existed among the Gá-Dangme in a more general form.

Source:https://gadangmenikasemoasafo.wordpress.com/the-king-taki-tawiah-memorial-lectures/lecture-ii-the-rise-of-ayawaso/

Adélina Soulouque, Haiti

Adélina Soulouque (b. c. 1795-after 1859)

Adélina Soulouque, née Lévêque, was Empress Consort of Haiti from 1849 until 1859, as wife of Faustin I of Haiti.

Adélina was the daughter of Marie Michel Lévêque, a Haitian of mixed-race heritage. She had a long-term relationship with Faustin Souloque for many years. It was only in December 1849 that Adélina married her long-time companion Emperor Faustin. On 26 August 1849 she was given the title Empress of Haiti with the style of Her Imperial Majesty, and crowned with her husband at the capital Port-au-Prince on 18 April 1852; both emperor and empress were crowned in an immense and lavish ceremony that emulated the coronation of the French Napoleon I of France. Her sister was styled Her Serene Highness Princess Clélia.

Faustin's marriage to Empress Adélina produced one daughter, Princess Célita Soulouque, who had no issue. The emperor also adopted Adélina's daughter, Olive, in 1850. She was granted the title of Princess with the style Her Serene Highness. She married Jean Philippe Lubin, Count of Pétionville, and had issue.

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

Daughters of Africa: Women's War 1929, Nigeria (Igbo: Ogu Ndem or Ogu Umunwaanyi)

The Aba Women's Riot, also known as the Women's War (Igbo: Ogu Ndem or Ogu Umunwaanyi), was an insurrection in British Nigeria which occurred in November 1929. The revolt broke out when thousands of Igbo women from the Bende District, Umuahia and other places in eastern Nigeria travelled to the town of Oloko to protest against the Warrant Chiefs, whom they accused of restricting the role of women in the government. The Aba Women's Riot of 1929, as it was named in British colonial records, is more aptly considered a stratefically executed anti-colonial revolt organised by women to redress social, political, and econmic grievances. The protest encompassed women from six ethnic groups (Ibibio, Andoni, Orgoni, Bonny, Opobo, and Igbo) [1] It was organised and led by the rural women of Owerri and Calabar provinces. During the events, many Warrant Chiefs were forced to resign and sixteen Native Courts were attacked, most of which were destroyed.

Events and causes

In actuality, the emergence of the Women's War was long in the making. In April 1927, the British colonial government in Nigeria took measures to enforce the Native Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance. A colonial resident, W. E. Hunt was commissioned by the lieutenant governor of Nigeria to explain the provisions and objects of the new ordinance to the people throughout the five provinces in the Eastern Region. This was to prepare the ground for the introduction of direct taxation due to take effect in April 1928. Direct taxation on men was introduced in 1928 without major incidents, thanks to the careful propaganda during the preceding twelve months. In September 1929, Captain J. Cook, an assistant district officer, was sent to take over the Bende division temporarily from the district officer, Mr. Weir, until the arrival of Captain Hill from leave in November. Upon taking over, Cook found the original nominal rolls for taxation purposes inadequate because they did not include details of the number of wives, children, and livestock in each household. He set about to revise the nominal roll. This exercise was to bring the colonial authority in direct conflict with women in Eastern Nigeria and the catalyst for fundamental change in the local administration.

The announcement of his intent to revise the nominal roll was made by Cook to a few chiefs in Oloko Native Court and the counting began about October 14, 1929. The women of Oloko suspected that the enumeration exercise was a prelude to the extension of direct taxation, which was imposed on the men the previous year. On December 2, 1929, more than ten thousand women demonstrated at Oloko, Bende division against the enumeration of men, women, and livestock by colonial officials. This event at Oloko was to spread to most parts of the Eastern Region within the next four weeks in the Ogu Umunwanyi or Women's War of 1929.

Oloko

The Women's War was sparked by a dispute between a woman named Nwanyereuwa and a man, Mark Emereuwa, who was helping to make a census of the people living in the town controlled by the Warrant, Okugo. Nwanyeruwa was of Ngwa ancestry, and had been married in the town of Oloko. In Oloko, the census was related to taxation, and women in the area were worried about who would tax them, especially during the period of hyperinflation in the late 1920s.

On the morning of November 18, Emereuwa arrived at Nwanyereuwa's house and approached Nwanyereuwa, since her husband Ojim, had already died. He told the widow to "count her goats, sheep and people." Since Nwanyereuwa understood this to mean, "How many of these things do you have so we can tax you based on them", she was angry. She replied by saying "Was your widowed mother counted?," meaning "that women don't pay tax in traditional Igbo society."[1] The two exchanged angry words, and Nwanyeruwa went to the town square to discuss the incident with other women who happened to be holding a meeting to discuss the issue of taxing women. Believing they would be taxed, based on Nwanyeruwa's account, the Oloko women invited other women (by sending leaves of palm-oil trees) from other areas in the Bende District, as well as from Umuahia and Ngwa. They gathered nearly 10,000 women who protested at the office of Warrant Chief Okugo, demanding his resignation and calling for a trial.[2]

The Oloko Trio

The leaders of the protest in Oloko are known as the Oloko Trio: Ikonnia, Mwannedia and Nwugo. The three were known for their skills in speaking, their intelligence and their passion. When protests became tense, it was often these three who were able to deescalate the situation, preventing violence. However, after two women were killed while blocking colonial roads as a form of protest, the trio was not able to calm the situation there, the police and army were sent to the town.

The legacy of Nwanyeruwa

Nwanyereuwa played a major role in keeping the protests non-violent. She was advanced in age compared to many who led the protests. Under her advice, the women protested in song and dance, "sitting" on the Warrant Chiefs until they surrendered their insignia of office and resigned. As the revolt spread, other groups followed this pattern, making the women's protest a peaceful one. Other groups came to Nwanyeruwa to get in writing the inspirational results of the protests, which, as Nwanyeruwa saw them, were that, "women will not pay tax till the world ends [and] Chiefs were not to exist any more."

Madam Mary Okezie

Madam Mary Okezie (1906–1999) was the first woman from her Igbo clan to gain a Western education, and was teaching at the Anglican Mission School in Umuocham Aba in 1929 when the women's revolt broke out. Although she did not participate in the revolt, she was very sympathetic to the women's cause. She was the only woman who submitted a memo of grievance to the Aba Commission of Inquiry (sent in 1930). Today, the major primary source for studying the revolt is the Report of the Aba Commission of Inquiry. After the revolt, Madam Okezie emerged as founder and leader of the Ngwa Women's Association and working for the rest of her life to support women's rights in Nigeria.[5]

Other major figures

Mary of Ogu Ndem (Mary of the Women's War)

Ihejilemebi Ibe of Umuokirika Village

"Sitting"

Main article: Sitting on a man

A major tactic in the protests was what is known as "sitting". Along with singing and dancing around the houses and offices of the Warrant Chiefs, the women would follow their every move, invading their space and forcing the men to pay attention. The wives of the Warrant Chiefs were often disturbed and they too put pressure on the Warrants to listen to the demands of the women. This tactic of "sitting on the Warrants," i.e. following them everywhere and anywhere, was very popular with the women in Nigeria, and used to great effect.

Aba commission of enquiry

The commission held public sittings for thirty-eight days at various locations in the Owerri and Calabar Provinces and interviewed 485 witnesses. Of this total number of witnesses, only about 103 were women. The rest consisted of local men and British administrative officials who were either called to explain their role in the revolt or why they could not stop the women.

Results

The women's protests were carried out on a scale that the colonial state had never witnessed in any part of Africa. Until the end of December 1929, when troops restored order, ten native courts were destroyed, a number of others were damaged, houses of native court personnel were attacked, and European factories at Imo River, Aba, Mbawsi, and Amata were looted. Women 46 attacked prisons and released prisoners. But the response of the colonial authority was also decisive. By the time order was restored, about fifty-five women killed by the colonial troops. British troops left Owerri on the 27 December 1929, and the last patrol in Abak Division withdrew on 9 January 1930. By 10 January 1930, the revolt was regarded as crushed. Throughout late December 1929 and early January 1930, more than thirty collective punishment inquiries were carried out.[5] It is generally believed, according to Nina Mba, that this event marked the end of the women's activities because the new administration under Governor Donald Cameron took into account some of the women's recommendations in revising the structure of the Native Administration. Thus, the Women's War is seen as the historical dividing point in British colonial administration in Nigeria with far reaching implications.

As a result of the protests, the position of women in society was greatly improved. In some areas, women were able to replace the Warrant Chiefs. Women were also appointed to serve on the Native Courts. After the Women's war, women's movements were very strong in Ngwaland, many events in the 1930s, 40s and 50s were inspired by the Women's War, including the Tax Protests of 1938, the Oil Mill Protests of the 1940s in Owerri and Calabar Provinces and the Tax Revolt in Aba and Onitsha in 1956 [6]. On two occasions British district officers were called and security forces forced to break up protests. During these occasions, at least 50 women were shot dead and 50 more wounded. The women themselves never seriously injured anybody against whom they were protesting, nor any of the security forces who broke up those protests.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_War

Queen Regnant Binao of Bemihisatra, Madagascar (1879/80-1923)

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). She (d. 1923)

Source: www.guide2womenleaders.com/wome…/Womeninpower1870.htm

Queen Ohan Akenzua

Queen Ohan Akenzua, royal wife of Oba Akenzua II, on trip to London, England Photographer unknown, c. 1956 Modern print from glass plate copy negative Chief S.O. Alonge Collection EEPA 2009-007-0016

Her Majesty Queen Mother Ntombi of Swaziland

Queen Ntombi of Swaziland, born c. 1950, has been the Indlovukazi (Great She-Elephant) and Joint Head of State of Swaziland since 1986. She was also regent of Swaziland from 1983 to 1986. She was born Ntombi laTwala. She is the mother of King Mswati III.