FReeper Canteen ~ Part IV of Women Warriors: Africa ~ February 10, 2004

GenderGap.com ^ | February 10, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part IV: Africa

Matriarchal warrior tribes and matrilineal tribal descent are a continuing theme in African history and in some cases survived into modern times. One of the great African warrior queens of the ancient world was Majaji, who led the Lovedu tribe which was part of the Kushite Empire during the Kushite's centuries long war with Rome. The empire ended in 350 AD when the Kushite stronghold of Meroe fell to repeated Roman assaults. Majaji led her warriors in battle armed with a shield and spear and is believed to have died on the walls of Meroe.

The Egyptian warrior queens, descended from the royal house of Kush, included Ahotep, the 7 Cleopatras and Arsinoe II & III. They ruled Egypt and led her army and navy through Roman times. A succession of Ethiopian Queens and military leaders known as Candace were also descended from the Kush. The first Candace, leading an army mounted on war elephants, turned back Alexander's invasion of Ethiopia in 332 BC. In 30 BC Candace Amanirenas defeated an invasion by Patronius, the Roman governor of Egypt and sacked the city of Cyrene.

In 937 AD Judith, Queen of the Falash, attacked Axum, sacred capital of Ethiopia killing all the inhabitants including the descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Through the 10th and 11th centuries the Hausa states (modern day Nigeria) were ruled by the Habe warrior queens: Kufuru, Gino, Yakumo, Yakunya, Walzana, Daura, Gamata, Shata, Batatume, Sandamata, Yanbamu, Gizirgizir, Innagari, Jamata, Hamata, Zama and Shawata. Centuries later Amina, daughter of Queen Turunku of the Songhai in mid-Niger ruled the Hausa empire from 1536 to 1573. She extended her nation's boundaries to the Atlantic coast, founded cities and personally led her army of 20,000 soldiers into battle.

Queen Amina was a brilliant military tactician and is credited with the building of the famous Zaria wall. In the Songhai language she is remembered as "Amina, Yar Bakwa ta san rana," meaning "Amina, daughter of Bakwa, a woman as capable as a man."

Mbande Zinga was the sister and advisor of the king of Ngola (today Angola) and served a his representative in negotiating treaties with the Portuguese. She became queen when her brother died in 1624 and appointed women, including her two sisters Kifunji and Mukumbu, to all government offices. When the Portuguese broke the peace treaty she led her largely female army against them inflicting terrible casualties while also conquering nearby kingdoms in an attempt to build a strong enough confederation to drive the Portuguese out of Africa. She accepted a truce and then agreed to a peace treaty in 1635. She continued to rule her people and lived to be 81. When Angola became an independent nation in 1975 a street in Luanda was named in her honor.

Llinga, a warrior queen of the Congo armed with ax, bow and sword fought the Portuguese in 1640. Women warriors were common in the Congo where the Monomotapa confederacy had standing armies of women.

Kaipkire, warrior leader of the Herero tribe of southwest Africa in the 18th century led her people in battles against British slave traders. There are records of Herero women fighting German soldiers as late as 1919.

Nandi was the warrior mother of Shaka Zulu. She battled slave traders and trained her son to be a warrior. When he became King he established an all-female regiment which often fought in the front lines of his army.

Mantatisi, warrior queen of the baTlokwas in the early 1800s fought to preserve her tribal lands during the wars between Shaka Zulu and Matiwane. She succeeded in protecting the baTlokwas heritage although her son, who became King when she died, was eventually defeated by Mahweshwe.

Madame Yoko ruled and led the army of the fourteen tribes of the Kpa Mende Confederacy, the largest tribal group in 19th century Sierra Leone. At that time at least 15% of all the tribes in Sierra Leone were led by women, today approximately 9% have women rulers.

Menen Leben Amede was Empress of Ethopia. She commanded her own army and acted as regent for her son Ali Alulus. She was wounded and captured in a battle in 1847 but was ransomed by her son and continued to rule until 1853.

Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh, was a leader of the Dahomey Amazons under King Gezo. In 1851 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. In 1892 King Behanzin of Dahomey (now Benin) was at war with the French colonists over trading rights. He led his army of 12,000 troops, including 2,000 Amazons into battle. Despite the fact that the Dahomey army was armed only with rifles while the French had machine guns and cannons, the Amazons attacked when the French troops attempted a river crossing, inflicting heavy casualties. They engaged in hand to hand combat with the survivors eventually forcing the French army to retreat. Days later the French found a bridge, crossed the river and defeated the Dahomey army after fierce fighting. The Amazons burned fields, villages and cities rather than let them fall to the French but merely delayed Dahomey being absorbed as a French colony.

In the late 19th century Mukaya, the leader of the Luba people of central Africa whose nation stretched along the rain forest from Zaire to northern Zambia, led her warriors in battle against enemy tribes and rival factions. Initially she fought alongside her brother Kasongo Kalambo, after he was killed in battle she assumed sole control of the empire and the army.

Nehanda (1862-1898) was a priestess of the MaShona nation of Zimbabwe. She became a military leader of her people when the British invaded her country. She led a number of successful attacks on the English but was eventually captured and executed.

Taytu Betul (1850-1918) was Empress of Ethopia. During her 14 year reign she established and named the modern capital of Addis Ababa, she led troops in battle and negotiated peace treaties. She retired from public life after the death of her husband.

Yaa Asantewaa (1850-1921) the Queen Mother of one of the Asante states of Ghana led her army in continuous battles against the British until her capture.

"If you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then we will. We the women will. I shall call upon you my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight until the last of us falls in the battlefield." ---Ya Asantewa, an Ashanti queen who led the resistance to British colonial rule in Ghana. She succeeded in the short run, but the Ashanti were heavily outgunned.

Next Tuesday, Part V of Women Warriors:
Asia

[tiamat]

Good Morning, Diva Betsy!

Sorry to hear you are so tired!


As I recall, you have two ad they are pretty little yet?

If you have a large, empty box, you may be able to buy yourself some peace. ( Big enough to crawl into is best ) Give the box to the littles with some crayons.... they will turn it into a space-ship or a mansion or something and leave YOU alone for a bit!

Just a thought!

[The Mayor]

It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good.

We can endure life's wrongs because we know that God will make all things right.

[tiamat]

Good for bar-bets or just showing off:


 SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING?
 
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge
.
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
 
A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.

A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
 
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds.

Dogs only have about 10.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. 

If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights. (That's all?)

It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an  American flag.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. (Um, never?)

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

Th cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left(palindromes).

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order:  "abstemious" and "facetious."

There's no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins. (Clear case of discrimination!)

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.

Now you know everything!

[tomkow6]

 

SALUTE!

 

[tomkow6]

Good morning, LaDiva! Good morning, Canteen Crew! Good morning, EVERYBODY!

GOOD  

MORNING

TROOPS!

 

[tomkow6]

 

Today's FEEBLE

(attempt at humor):

Why is it harder to lose weight as you get older?

Because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

[tomkow6]

 

Chicagoland Weather

February 10, 2004
Chicago, IL
Sunrise	6:53 AM (CST)
Sunset	5:13 PM (CST)
Hrs. of Daylight	10 Hrs., 20 Mins

 

Currently
27°

Light Snow

	Hi: 27

	Lo: 11

5 Day Forecast

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

SUN

Cloudy

High:	31
Low:	16

Partly Cloudy

High:	21
Low:	11

Partly Cloudy/Wind

High:	31
Low:	19

Few Snow Showers/Wind

High:	30
Low:	12

Partly Cloudy

High:	27
Low:	16

[beachn4fun]

Good morning Ms. Linda. Sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Please to remember to wear a mask over your mouth while visiting the Canteen. Do you realize what it would be like if everyone at the Canteen got sick at the same time and no one showed up? OMG.....LOL Seriously, if it is the flu, you must go immediately to bed....rest...fluids.....etc.

[beachn4fun]

Morning Diva. Thanks for the history lesson. Have a good day.

[beachn4fun]

Morin' EG. ((Hugs)) My, but you are early today. Right in behind Diva.

[beachn4fun]

Mornin' Mr. Tonk. Thank you for the lovely flowers.

[beachn4fun]

Mornin' Diva Betsy. Sounds like you need some of this......

[E.G.C.]

(HUGS)Right back at'ya. How's it going?

[beachn4fun]

Good morning. Where in Michigan are you? My husband is from Michigan and has family in the New Baltimore area.

[Soaring Feather]

[beachn4fun]

Good morning tomkow. Thank you for share that vast well of knowledge. Now I understand better why that spare tire just refuses to leave me. It is truly faithful!

[tiamat]

Good morning to you!

We live about 12 miles West of Ann Arbor, smack between the two small towns of Manchester and Chelsea in farm country!

I've never been to New Baltimore.

[beachn4fun]

Good morning Ms. Feather. Thanks for the blessing. Would you please keep your little blinky sign on the ready? I see in tom's tagline, he mentions burka. That usually means a warning. I think we need to be prepared.

[beachn4fun]

Well, I've never been to Ann Arbor yet. But, I hope to see more of Michigan when we go up for visits. Kinda hard when your husband hasn't been home to see family in 2 or 3 years. Zeros in on New Baltimore and then back to Maryland. LOL.

[beachn4fun]

Going well so far. I'm kinda hoping to be able to get outside for a walk today. Suppose to be another warm day (50s) before our temps start a nose-dive! Have a good day yourself.