Queen mother (Africa)
Queen mother is a term used to describe certain female traditional rulers in African cultures. Though there is no general description of a "queen mother", as their roles have varied by society, political context, and culture, they generally play an important role in local government and "wield social power and influence."
They are thus an important part of social, political, and cultural institutions across the African continent: the Akan, for example, recognize them as important local political actors and often trace inheritance through them in a matrilineal fashion; whereas in Uganda, the term may be used to describe women who ruled outright. The amount of power queen mothers currently hold has been diminished since pre-colonial times, though the 21st century has seen their influence grow in certain contexts. Many are members of the African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network, a voluntary organization.
History
Queen mothers were once important political figures who commanded respect prior to the colonial era. However, the delegation of roles to these figures varied: in some instances, they were considered to be autonomous rulers, in others, they had specific jurisdiction over "women's" issues, in others still, they were simply the literal mothers of prominent figures, and afforded all the status therein.Colonists from Europe, due to their own sexism, negotiated only with titled men in the areas that they operated in. Queen mothers in Africa, essentially, were not recognized as important and were often referred to in colonial/missionary historical documents as "sisters" of the men in power. The denial of status these women faced facilitated their titles' losses of power - hence, under colonial rule, queen mothers, like other women on the continent, lost "social, religious, constitutional, and political privileges and rights."
Post-colonial governments "continued with policies that undermined women's traditional authority": In 1957, as an example, Ghana's independence leaders did not include queen mothers in their affairs, choosing instead to only work with the male chiefs. Women's absence in politics and, particularly, traditional institutions has created and worsened an unequal distribution of power and resulted in women's "concerns and rights not being adequately addressed."
In 1988, the Ashanti Queen Mother Association was formed. It now has around forty-four women leaders from the Ashanti region as members. The group attends to issues relating to women.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana included Article 277 which defines chieftaincy. Article 277 defines a chief as a person who has been properly nominated from the correct lineage and "enstooled, enskinned or installed as a Chief or a Queen Mother in accordance with the relevant customary law and usage." In the summer of 2010, the National House of Chiefs in Ghana announced the inclusion of 20 queen mothers. Queen mothers are appointed to the house for four-year terms.
In 2006, the United Nations Children's Fund started working with queen mothers to help support welfare efforts for women and children in different parts of West Africa.
More recently, areas such as the Upper West Region of Ghana, where the tradition of having queen mothers has not been practiced, have been encouraged to "reinstall" queen mothers by advocates of women's empowerment. More women have been installed as queen mothers in the northern part of Ghana, an occurrence which has raised the status of women in the area.
In 2014, the Ghanaian Chieftaincy Minister, Henry Seidu Danaa, declared that queen mothers' participation in the House of Chiefs was constitutional.
Description and duties
The title of queen mother is an English compound word used to collectively describe women in traditional African leadership roles. The Akan peoples use the term ohemmaa, which means "female ruler". In the Ga tradition, they are called manye or "community mother". In the Pabir tradition, they are known as maigira, a word that means "female monarch." In the Benin tradition, queen mothers are known as iyobas. In the traditions of Yorubaland, a woman who is ritually invested with the title is known as an iya oba or "titled mother of the king".The office of the queen mother is also known as the "stool". In Ghana, queen mothers are selected from the royal family of each town and village. It is the head of the royal family and the elders who choose both the chief and the queen mother, a pair that might be related to one another. The royal families are made up of the first settlers of an area.
Akan tradition
In the Akan tradition, queen mothers rule alongside the chief or the king in their area. Queen mothers are considered the spiritual heads of their communities and the keepers of genealogical knowledge. They have veto power of the king or chief and may appoint their own ministers. Queen mothers also select candidates for the next chief if the chief's "stool" is vacant. Queen mothers preside over courts which hear cases about disputes brought to the court by women. In their courtrooms, queen mothers and their court officials "wield power over disputants." When necessary, queen mothers can "assume full control of central authority." In some instances, they have "acted as war leaders."Bini tradition
The Kingdom of Benin did not have queen mothers until after the end of the fifteenth century when there was a conflict for the throne. During the conflict, women gained power and the first of their number, Queen Idia, became a queen mother. Queen mothers in the Benin tradition are, like those in Western monarchies, the literal mothers of the kings. The classical queen mothers of Benin, each known as an Iyoba, had a great deal of power and were venerated as the protectors of the kings.Burundian tradition
In the defunct Kingdom of Burundi, a queen mother was known as a Mugabekazi. This titleholder served as a powerful figure during the reign of either her son or - as was the case with Queen Ririkumutima - her stepson.Dahomeyan tradition
Amongst the Fon people of Dahomey, the Kpojito serves as the queen mother. Traditionally, this titleholder had religious appeals, served as a counsel to the king, or Ahosu of Dahomey, and pleaded before him in capital cases. A prominent holder of this title was Queen Hwanjile.Today the kpojito still holds a position of influence within the kingdom's great council, and also oversees both a significant portion of Dahomey's day-to-day administration and the ceremonial remnant of the famous Dahomey Amazons military unit. She shares this latter function with Queen Hangbe, chief of the name of the Hangbe royal family.
Egyptian tradition
In ancient Egypt, one of history's most important nations, the principal consort of the king - or Pharaoh of Egypt - was known as the Great Royal Wife; she presided over her husband's harem, served a variety of priestly functions in the kingdom, and was even sometimes an heir to the throne in her own right due to her hereditary background. An important holder of the title was Queen Hatshepsut.Later, in the Egyptian successor state that was itself ruled by the Muhammad Ali dynasty, the king - now referred to as the Khedive of Egypt - had a consort known as a Khanum whose activities followed the precedent set by the queens and empresses of Ottoman Turkey, whose empire the khedivate had once been part of. Queen Hoshiyar Qadin was arguably the most prominent holder of this latter title.
Hausa tradition
In the customs of the Hausa peoples, a female ruler was known as either a Kabara or a Magajiya. The old kingdom of Daura, which features prominently in the origin myth of their culture, is said to have had a line of such queens regnant that ended with Queen Daurama II.Following the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early 1800s, Magajiya became the title that is held by the most prominent woman in a given emirate - often a relative of its ruling emir, who is expected to preside on his behalf over the company of women in the state that he rules.
Kongolese tradition
In the old Kingdom of Kongo, a queen mother was known as a Mwene Nzimba Mpungu. She was usually the reigning king's paternal aunt, and was expected to lead the four women that were ex officio members of the Ne Mbanda Mbanda, the kingdom's crown council.Krobo tradition
Among the Krobo, there is the "paramount queen mother" and several "lesser" queen mothers ruling under her. Krobo queen mothers have less power than the queen mothers of the Akan tradition do. It is speculated the tradition of the queen mother may have been adopted from the Akan.The Krobo select queen mothers through a secret election by the elders. After her selection, she is notified of her new role by having white clay smeared on her arm. A ritual installation is performed where she is taught, advised, given a new name and then presented to the chief. Krobo queen mothers are seen as "mothers" of their community and while there is an emphasis on women's affairs for the queen mother, she helps both men and women.