A sober reminder for Kenya

Female power houses - Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana

The past few days I have been searching for very powerful women in African history and to my surprise they are numerous all over the continent.

It comes as a surprise when you are dealing with a continent that is heavily patriarchal. We complain about women not being empowered, fair enough, there is a lot of truth in that. But what can women learn from history to re-evaluate ourselves and pick ourselves up. These women were power houses. They fought for their communities’ interests mostly during the colonial period!

Today I am looking at Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana. She was popularly referred to as Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa. Like Mekatilili of Kenya, she was in the forefront in the fight against colonial powers in her native Ashanti community in Ghana.

Asantewaa was born in 1863 in the Edweso clan of the Ashanti Kingdom. She rose to be the queen of the clan. The Ashanti kingdom was one of the many powerful African Kingdoms. This kingdom was established in the 1700s and covered western and central Africa; what is known today as Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo.

The kingdom consisted of clans ruled by paramount chiefs. And it is from the paramount chiefs that the king of the Ashanti was selected. The golden stool is the symbol of the Ashanti kingdom. And it is believed that a spiritual leader summoned the golden stool from Heaven and landed on the lap of the first king of the kingdom; King Osei Tutu I.

And it is during the colonial period that the British exiled the King and other leaders at the time who failed to yield to their rule. And in 1900 the British governor general ordered a meeting with the Paramount chiefs of the Ashanti and stated that the release of their King and other leaders was on condition that the Ashanti surrender the golden stool, as a sign of submission to the British.

Yaa Asantewaa was appalled by the audacity of the British. It is said that she was the gatekeeper of the golden stool. She is quoted as saying;

No white man could have dared to speak to a leader of the Ashanti in the way the Governor spoke to you this morning.

Is it true that the bravery of the Ashanti is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be!

I must say this, if you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then we will. We the women will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields."

And to the battlefields it was. Yaa Asantewaa rallied up five thousand troops to fight the British. Asantewaa was eventually caught and exiled to the Seychelles were she remained for 20 years and eventually died. But that was the beginning of the internal stir for independence that led Ghana to be the first state in Africa to receive independence in 1957. 

Laziness Defeated and Hurray for Southern Sudan!

It has been a very long time since I made an entry. To be honest it was laziness that ruined the momentum I once had. Reading and researching on history takes sometime I convinced myself. But now to get us warmed up again. I thought it would be nice to share some links on Africa's newest Kid on the block; South Sudan.

 http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sudan.html

I know it is a lot to read at a go. And yes as I mentioned earlier I am weaning myself off of the laziness, so I will begin to condense information from tomorrow's entry; please bare with me. :-)

More Tomorrow!

Introducing General Butt Naked

The curse of Africa's oral tradition

Oral tradition is the gift of History that we have as Africans but with the advent of colonisation, urbanisation and technology we lost our soul and worth as Africans. This is a series I stumbled upon that I thought I would share with you. You may have heard of several famous African Kingdoms...but have you heard of the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom. Have a look.

Origins of mankind...the debate begins

It's topics like these that get me wondering...Please share your thoughts on this video. It is an interesting argument.

African Bronze works

Africa's Amazon Queens

I doubt that there is any community in Africa which is exclusively Matriarchal. But I came across one African Kingdom whose success was as a result of it's Female powerhouse army!  I just want to share my new found fascination in the Dahemian Female Army of 1841. Dahomey has been documented as the last African Kingdom to collapse due to European colonization in Africa.  And the Kingdom’s prosperity was attributed to its powerful army some said was invincible. 

And it wasn’t just any army. The Dahomey army initially was 25,000 man strong with 5,000 women! These women were referred to as Amazons, and they were feared more than their male counterparts in the army. They were referred to as Amazons due to their semi mythical similarities to Greek Amazons. These Amazon queens served as royal body guards when not in combat. And they were handpicked by King Behanzin Bowelle himself.

The women were recruited based on their strength and health and sexual purity; they were all virgins. Some of the women enrolled voluntarily. And others were forced into it by their husbands who complained to the king about their wives. 

The training regimen was rigorous. One of the training drills includes charging, three times, barefoot into thorny areas while nude from the waist. And this was coupled up with gymnastics to keep fit. The training emboldened these women to the point that they believed that they were invincible. 

By 1894 there were 4000 amazons in 3 different brigades, ready to give up their lives for their king! These women of Dahomey were what preserved the honour of the Kingdom! fascinating!

I can only imagine what they may have looked like. And what fascinates me is that the Dahomey Kingdom was located in what is modern day Benin. When I think of women who are power houses I think of Nigerian women. This was primarily because of their demeanor and physique. 

I am amazed. Part of me wishes that I was a descendant of these Amazon Dahomey women!

Queen & Warrior

For many years I have heard the name Mekatilili, a common name in Kenyan history. But like most in my generation; It remains just that, a name in Kenyan history. I want to hit myself for not paying attention to this great woman. She was remarkable woman; who played a crucial role in the independence of Kenya from the grip of colonial rule. Similar to what Rosa Parks did almost 50 years later in Southern America.

Mekatilili wa Menza wasn’t just any woman; she was a powerhouse. She was a woman driven by justice. And she understood the need to preserve cultural practices. Mekatilili awoke the communities of Coastal Kenya to ward off the British.

She was a Giriama; one of the nine subgroups of the Mijikenda community based in coastal Kenya. Mekatilili wa Menza lead the Giriama people in ridding themselves of the exploitation and extortion of the British colonial administration.

Mekatilili wa Menza (daughter of Mekatilili) discovered the horror her community was facing as a girl. Being based in the coastal region of Kenya, her community was a base for the acquisition of slaves by Arabs and the British; who sought cheap and strong labour for their expansive farms.

 What attracts my attention the most to Mekatilili’s story is that she worked to restore the Kaya. Kaya were important gathering places for the Mijikenda. These were sacred places where the Mijikenda prayed, conducted religious rituals and rights. It was also a place that was a seating place of governance. The Kayas were located deep in forests and it was considered taboo to cut down trees or vegetation in these areas.

It is from these Kayas that Mekatilili was able to rally the coastal community to reject the imposed taxes and the way of the British. 

She did pay the price for her crusade; she was accused of being a witch. And in October 1913, Mekatilili and her husband Wanje were arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment; in Kisii prison located in Western Kenya.

But in 5 months Mekatilili and her husband escaped from prison and found their way home.  Only to find her Kaya had been destroyed by explosives. And she found that the British were still collecting taxes. And they were planning to invade the fertile north land of the Sabaki River to set up their farms.

Although Mekatilili and her husband were recaptured, the momentum for the uprising had reached full throttle. In September 1914 the Mijikenda attacked the unsuspecting British who surrendered.

And in 1919; Mekatilili and her husband; Wanje were released from prison to help rebuild the Kaya. The soul of the Mijikenda community! It’s strength like Mekatilili’s that we need today. A strength and understanding of the pride of heritage, culture and the heart of self sacrifice.  

Here are some sites and books to give you  more insight on Mekatilili and the Mijikenda in Kenya. 

http://muingachokwe.com/history/mijikenda/

http://www.enhols.com/kenya_safari/people/mijikenda/

http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/mijikenda-tribe.html

http://www.amazon.com/Mekatilili-Wa-Menza-Woman-Warrior/dp/9966951032

2011 Serious

In April 2009 I began a quest; a quest to restore pride and purpose in the African populace. I tried out dabbing a bit of politics here and there. Explored the misconceptions individuals have of our beautiful continent. And finally began a Patriot’s diary to re-discover what patriotism is all about. And why we should care about whom we are and where we are.

That said and done I took a long break not sure what to write anymore. Africa’s Solutions then re-emerged in 2010 hopeful to focus on the rich history of it’s people. The Kingdoms, the cultures, governance and social order all the things that is endangered or lost today.

But the journey proved difficult, difficult because I begun to lose faith in my own culture, society and government. My heart was stripped of hope. And the energy kicked out of me. But as we awaken Africa’s Solution Now in 2011, we will explore the individuals and the Kingdoms. And the systems that made African society functional; successful.

Forget the fact that we walked around barefoot, topless and all the other negative stereotypes. I believe and am convinced that the practices that we abandoned are the reason why we are messed up now as a continent. And I want to explore and share with you certain cultural practices and remarkable individuals who defined the pride, purpose and potential African societies have.

We need to restore these things as Africans to get back on the right track. I strive to ensure that you will have regular updates on the true and factual history of what Africa is really made of.

Thank you for your continued support and patience.