The primary aim of the study was to investigate the principles of female leadership in southern Africa, with special reference to the Mudjadji cosmology. The process involved tracing the origins of these principles back to Ancient Ethiopia
The Power of Ancestors
The royal village of Khetlhakone clings to the green hillside below the Modjadji Nature Reserve. This little-known national park in the subtropical province of Limpopo is named after a dynasty of Rain Queens. Their magical power has ensured the well-being of the local Balobedu people since the 19th century.
Women on the Left: Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti
Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti, born in 1900, was the Nigerian daughter of a returned slave who lived in the Yuroba Region. Well educated with a colonial education and a Christian background, she was radicalised through the actions of the British occupation of Nigeria: its racism, sexism and economic violence.
Aba Women’s Riots (November-December 1929)
The “riots” or the war, led by women in the provinces of Calabar and Owerri in southeastern Nigeria in November and December of 1929, became known as the “Aba Women’s Riots of 1929” in British colonial history, or as the “Women’s War” in Igbo history.
Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh of Abomey (Benin)
Leader of the Dahomey Amazons, she led an army of 6,000 women against the Egba fortress of Abeokuta. Because the Amazons were armed with spears, bows and swords while the Egba had European cannons only about 1,200 survived the extended battle.
Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh an Amazon in the Dahoman army
TweetImage Reference forbesamazon Source Frederick E. Forbes, Dahomey and the Dahomans: being the journals of two missions to the king of Dahomey, and residence in his capital, in . . . 1849 and 1850 (London, 1851), vol. 1, facing p. 23 Comments Caption, “Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh. An Amazon in the Dahoman army.” Image shows her in war …
The Rain Queen and the Lobedu: A North Sotho Tribe
The Balobedu (Ba Lobedu – Ba gaModjadji) are a Bantu tribe of the Northern Sotho group, with strong affinities to the Venda, or Vhavhenda, to the north. They have their own kingdom, in the district of Balobedu – Limpopo Province – South Africa. The Lobedu Kingdom comprises over 150 villages. Each has a headman who represents the Modjadji, or Rain Queen.
African Women in Revolution
This book is an ambitious, extensive and detailed analysis of the roles played by African women in seven revolutionary movements in post World War 11 Africa. The revolutionary movements covered in this book occurred in: Algeria, Kenya, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Black Women in Antiquity (Journal of African Civilizations)
This volume provides an overview of the black queens, madonnas and goddesses who dominated the history and imagination of ancient times. The authors have concentrated on Ethiopia and Egypt because the documents in the Nile Valley are couminous compared to the sketchier record in other parts of Africa, but also because the imagination of the world, not just that of Africa, was haunted by these women.
The Queenmother, Matriarchy and the Question of Female Political Authority
The Queenmother, Matriarchy, and the Question of Female Political Authority in Precolonial West African Monarchy Journal of Black Studies 1997 27: 579-597. By Tarikhu Farrar
African Women and Feminism: Reflecting on the Politics of Sisterhood
TweetAuthor: Oyeronke Oyewumi The relationship between African women and feminism is a contentious one. Embedded in this connection is the question of whether sisterhood—a mantra assuming a common oppression of all women and signifying feminist international/cross-cultural relations—describes the symbolic and functional representation of African women. The contributors in this book are aware of the global …
Re-Inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion and Culture
Challenging western anthropologists to recognize their own class-based, patriarchal thought, Ifi Amadiume, the author of ‘Male Daughters, Female Husbands’, issues a clarion call for a new understanding of Africa.