It’s no secret that I love African history (I have over 30 books specifically on it). I’ve already covered 2 African warrior queens, Amina and Ana Nzinga (you can find them in the Rhymes with Nerdy archives). This time, I’ll highlight a lesser known kingdom from central Africa…

The Kuba Kingdom

Starting sometime in the 16^th century several different peoples from just below of the Sahara, migrated south. They ultimately settled at the bottom edge of the Great Equatorial Forest and the start of the savanna in between the Kasia river – to the east, Sankuru – to the north, and Lulua – to the south, in modern day the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This large group consisted of 18 or 19 different ethnic peoples including – The Ngeende, Kel, Pyaang, Bulang, Bieng, Ilebo, Idiing, Kaam, Ngoombe Kayuweng, Shoowa, Bokila, Maluk, Bushong, Ngongo, and others. Upon their arrival, they came across the Twa. Another people, who were already settled there. Things were civil and the Twa assimilated into the already dense cultural melting pot.

The name, Kuba, originally came from a neighboring kingdom, the Luba. The Kuba referred to themselves as the Bakuba, which translates to, “People of the Throwing Knife.” They spoke Bakuba, a branch of the massive Bantu language tree, consisting of over 200 languages. The other major powers around them were the Kongo and Pende kingdoms, both of whom would prove to be very influential in the formation of the eventual Kuba kingdom.

Initially, they were just a loose confederation of separate villages that shared the same culture. There was no centralized government to speak of. They didn’t become a formally organized kingdom until roughly 1625. Shyaam a-Mbul a Ngoong-Shyaam, turned this cultural composite into a kingdom. It isn’t known where exactly he was from, but he was orphaned early on. A local Kuba queen adopted and raised him as a Bakuba. He left as an adult. Shyaam traveled to the nearby Kongo and Pende kingdoms, studying their cultures and political structures. Upon returning home, he revamped his homeland.

Some of the renovations he brought were: better iron forging techniques, new crops (cassava, maize, tobacco, beans), multi-branch centralized government, professional military and police, annual census, a complex economy, new tax policies, executive councils, trial by jury, merit-based ranking in government jobs, and bureaucracy. All of this was established without a written constitution.

A mesmerizing Kuba design.

The new kingdom was divided into 9 provinces – Kel, Bushong, Ngongo, Coofa, Pyang, Kete, Shoowa, Ngende, and Nsheng. These were in turn divided into smaller counties. The king, Nyim, was always ethnically Bushong and the capital was where the current king had grown up. Each ethnic group was in turn represented in the aristocratic courts. The queen mother was an essential role in the court. She represented the women on a federal level. The line of inheritance was through your mother NOT your father. That included who would be the next king.

The staple of the civilization was weaving, specifically raffia weaving. Raffia was essential for them to survive. Everything was woven from raffia, including the money. That was primarily because of the lack of local metals in the region. The Kuba designs are the most identifiable aspect of the their civilization. Their designs grew more and more complex as time went on. The Kuba design is perfectly symmetrical and asymmetrical at the same time in a beautiful, mesmerizing way. Once you see it, you can always identity it as Kuba in origin. The size and detail of the design on your house was an indicator of your rank in society. These designs were key in the development of Cubism. Picasso was a huge fan and collector of African and specifically Kuba art.

Wood craving and mask making were firmly in second place to weaving. They were equally as intricate and distinctive as the cloth designs. Art in general was highly appreciated and valued. The direction of art was heavily influenced by the Nyim. The most famous case of this was under Nyim Misha mi-Shyaang a-Mbul. He commissioned a new type of sculpture, the ndop. This was a large wooden sculpture of the Nyim. These were made to keep track of the past kings and honor the king. An ibol, personal symbol revealed at a Nyim’s coronation, was always at the forefront. Shyaam the Great’s ndop, prominently featured a mankala board. This represented his cunning, intelligence, and foresight, since mankala requires all 3 qualities. As the kingdom grew stronger, the uniquity of the art grew at a faster pace than rest of society.

Religion was a relatively lesser aspect of society. The creator god, Mfcoom/Bumba the Sky Father, created all and more or less left after that. The main deity worshiped was Woot. He was the first man created by Mfcoom. There were other gods but like Mfcoom, they weren’t that formally worshiped either. The Kuba saw the efforts of humanity more important and relevant than that of the supernatural. Everyone was buried with the items necessary for the afterlife. There was no heaven or hell. If you were good, you became a ghost and reincarnated at some point in the future. If you weren’t, you were stuck in limbo forever. The Nyim was the spiritual leader and head of the sorcerers. In addition, they are the head Ngesh, nature spirit, that bridged the divine with the human. Dogs were seen as messengers of the gods and given special treatment above other animals.

Primarily the regular diet consisted of fish, given the 3 rivers surrounding them. They regulated the fish population with man-made fish farms, that the women would harvest twice a year along with fishing in the rivers. Vegetables made up the other majority. Surrounded by fertile farmland, there was plenty of irrigation from the 3 rivers. Meat was only eaten during the dry season. During the rainy season, both men and women had to maintain the vegetable crops. Farming was much less intensive, the rest of the year.

As with the rest of their contemporaries, they were eventually discovered and colonized. They were one of the last left untouched by Western Europe. In 1892, William Sheppard, an African American Presbyterian missionary, writing about the exploitation of Africans under Belgium’s King Leopold II (That is a story for another day). Sheppard opened the door for the Germans to later colonize the region in 1907. The art regressed and morphed into a more European style but never completely lost its Kuba identity.

Sources

http://www.randafricanart.com/kuba_Ngady_aMwaash.html

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kuba/hd_kuba.htm

https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/peoples/show/Kuba

http://econ.columbia.edu/files/econ/content/kuba_final.pdf

http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/02/kuba-people-most-artistic-and-highly.html

http://kubaafricanart.weebly.com/background.html

http://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn/wn08/wn08-1/wn08-102.html

https://museum.gwu.edu/weaving-abstraction-kuba-textiles-and-woven-art-central-africa

http://www.zyama.com/kuba/

AMINA OF ZARIA: African Warrior Queen Extraordinaire

Amina Even Has A Stamp!

Africa has a deep and rich history going from the Pharaohs of Egypt to the golden coast of the Asasnte to the Dahomey Amazons. One of the greatest aspects of this continent’s legacy is the queen, or more specifically, the warrior queen. There were several but most are overlooked. One of those is Amina.

First, there are a few things that need to be addressed. 1) She was a real person but there isn’t that much detailed information on her. 2) Some argue that she never existed but that isn’t true. She was a real person. She really ruled over the Zazzau city-state in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. 3) She ruled over Zazzau, currently that region of Nigeria is called Zaria in the Kaduna state.

Map of Modern Nigeria, Kaduna is in pink.

Before the era of Amina, the Songhai Empire dominated West Africa. They collapsed after 2 centuries. The remains of the Songhai in modern day Nigeria were split up into the 7 city-states – Zazzau, Katsina, Kano, Gobir, Rano, Biram, and Daura. These are now known as the Hausa Kingdoms, after the Hausa people from that region. The kingdoms were active in trade with the Arabs and other African states. If you were trading goods through Africa, you had to trade with one of the kingdoms. Amina was born into the formidable family controlling this city-state. Her exact birthdate is unknown. Her grandfather, Zazzau Nohir, was Sarkin (king) when she was born. Not much is known about her early life. She had a brother and probably other siblings. Just like other powerful royal women everywhere else, she was allowed to be educated. She was even allowed to join the military.

Nohir passed in 1549. Amina was 16. Her mother Bakwa, became queen regent, making Amina Magajiya (heir apparent) after her brother’s reign. She was given formal responsibilities in running Zazzau by her mother. These included, a daily meeting with a council on city activities, and a ward position within the court. In addition, she joined the military. She specialized in the Calvary. While her mom was queen, there weren’t many opportunities for her to excel in the Army. Despite that, Amina became one of the top warriors to contend with. She proved to be a smart tactician, expert equestrian, and mastered every weapon.

Her mother ruled for 17 years. Bakwa died in 1566. Her brother, Karama, took over as Sarkin. Amina was next in line. Karama unlike his mother, liked war. This gave his sister a chance to prove herself as a warrior and leader. Over the 10 years, she expanded territory for her brother and continued her role as ward in Zazzau. In 1576, Karama died. This was Amina’s time to shine. She still led troops in battle and was frequently on campaign. The Zazzau territory reached the Atlantic coast under her reign. Even though, she frequently fought, defense was on high priority. Massive walls that are still around were built her encampments. Many of which are still standing in major cities across Nigeria.

Amina with a Sword.

Her sex life is legendary. She never married nor had any children. After battles though, she’d take a temporary husband from the opposing force. They would spend a night together. The next day, he would be killed. Amina didn’t want rumors and stories of her sexual exploits to be spread. It would ruin her hold on Zazzau. So she made sure that never happened.

While on campaign in 1610, her army was staying in Altagara. She just died suddenly, after 34 years as queen regent. Her life and adventures inspired the series, Xena: Warrior Princess.

I’d like to reiterate; she was an actual person that lived on Earth. The main claim for the opposite is that this society wouldn’t have allowed a woman to be regent in charge. There are plenty of examples from around the world of a woman ruling a country where it was unheard of (read the TSI’s on Czarevna Sophia, Ana Nzinga, Margrete I for examples). It’s just blatant sexism to make that claim. There isn’t much on her but that doesn’t mean she never existed either. The legends and stories about her are a testament to her huge impact on the Hausa and Nigeria.

Amina earned her spot in history but not many seem to care. She defied expectations and took it to another level. The world followed suit.

References:

http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2013/07/queen-amina-of-zaira-west-african.html

http://afrolegends.com/2014/01/17/queen-amina-of-zazzau-the-great-hausa-warrior-ruler-born-to-rule/

http://www.historyandwomen.com/2010/08/amina-of-zaria.html

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/medrenqueens/p/amina.htm

http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/bio/queen_amina_of_zaria/

http://www.nairaland.com/2382816/great-hausa-queen-amina-zazzau

http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/zazzua.html

http://historyofafricaotherwise.blogspot.com/2014/06/nigeria-amina-of-zaria-mint-religious.html

http://www.blackpast.org/gah/hausa-city-states

QUEEN ANNA NZINGA: The Humiliator of the Portuguese

This has taken far, far, far too long but I am finally tackling African history. I’m sorry and formally apologize for that. Also there are several spellings of her name, so I’ll refer to her as Nzinga to keep it simple.

Now, to the fun part, or not so fun part. The time is the 1500s CE, the slave trade in Europe was booming. Several prominent nations had strong claims in Africa and began colonization worldwide. Portugal had established a strong position in West Central Africa, using the standard method of capturing people against their will for slavery in colonies around the world.

Naturally, not everyone involved was happy about this practice. In 1582, the French and British were making strong moves cutting into Portuguese trade. The Portuguese had begun raiding the Ndongo and Mbundu Kingdoms in modern day Angola as a result. That same year, Nzinga was born to Ngola (king) Ndambi Kiluanji and Kangela, Kiluanji’s 2^nd wife. Nzinga was given her name because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck when she was born. She had a brother, Mbandi, and 2 sisters, Kifunji and Mukambu.

Her father had fought the Portuguese once they started taking his people and stealing his silver mines. The Portuguese called them the Angola because they were too lazy to actually learn anything about the Ndongo or Mbundu peoples. They mistook the word Ngola as Angola.

Nzinga was the favorite child. Kiluanji showed her all aspects of ruling a kingdom from military operations to diplomacy to dealing with other nobles. He even regularly took her on military campaigns and hunting trips. She received military training and knew how to hunt. In addition to this she received a top notch education. She was even fluent in Portuguese, which came in handy down the road.

Her father attempted to work with the Portuguese diplomatically but it never worked out. Mbandi took over in 1617. His father died under mysterious circumstances. He kept on fighting the Portuguese. This went rather poorly. After 5 years, he was desperate. Diplomacy was the only choice but who should he send?

Nzinga left Kabasa, the Ndongo capital, with an entourage for Luanda, the nearest Portuguese port. The resident colonial governor, Joào Corria de Sousa, had only one chair for this meeting. It was for him. He had an Mbundu floor mat for her. This sounds like it shouldn’t matter (but hear me out first). In Mbundu culture this floor mat was reserved for those inferior to you while you had a chair or stool. Nzinga was his equal, and proved it. She had her a servant get on all fours as her seat. The Portuguese were wildly caught off guard and actually took her seriously as a result. A peace treaty was reached. A large part of the success came from her getting baptized as a Christian and taking the name Donna Anna de Sousa after Joào’s wife.

Upon her return to Kabasa, her brother died. It’s murky how this happened. Some speculate that she had her brother killed, some believe that he killed himself, some believe that he was killed by a third party. Either way, it was Nzinga’s time to shine. Her claim to the throne was challenged since the Ndongo Kingdom was still a relatively new centralized kingdom and several nobles didn’t want a woman ruling them. However, she had the support of the military. Also her son, Kaza was too young to rule so he was she ruled in his place. He died under mysterious circumstances shortly after her crowning. Some suspect that she had him killed but there isn’t enough evidence to really support this. This probably isn’t the case. Her sisters served as her key advisers. She was given full regent powers. She was the first female Ngola.

Under her reign, things turned ugly quickly. The Portuguese saw this moment of weakness and attacked Kabasa. They annihilated the city and burned it down. Ngola Nzinga had to move her people out of Kabasa. She moved the capital to Kidonga with the refugees from Kabasa. She lost the Ndongo kingdom but formed a new one, the Matamba Kingdom (centralized at Matamba in 1630). She had worked out more peace treaties with the Portuguese but only she actually honored them. The Portuguese continued to pester Nzinga forcing her to relocate a few more times and form a new army. In order to secure even the slightest buffer from the Portuguese, she allied with the Imbangala state nearby. In addition, she also renovated the military with the Kilombo. These were villages where boys were sent to be trained for the military.

Nzinga is seen smoking in this engraving.

In the meanwhile, a puppet king was put up in Ndongo. Philip, he was related to Nzinga but she didn’t officially recognize him as the Ngola. One of her sisters was captured in the skirmish of various battles. She luckily found a way to still communicate with Nzinga.

During the 1630s, Nzinga herself, led troops in resistance. These campaigns heavily utilized guerillas tactics given the stark differences in weapons technologies. By 1639, the Portuguese were tired of fighting not only was Nzinga stronger than they thought but the neighboring kingdoms and states as well. A Portuguese priest and soldier were sent to discuss a peace treaty but these failed. They made some headway but not enough.

The fighting continued after the attempt at peace. In 1641, the Dutch with the Kongo kingdom seized Luanda. Quickly, they realized the Portuguese were the real enemy. They united. Nzinga moved her capital to Kavanga at this point. A few years later in 1644, with the allied kingdoms crushed the Portuguese at Ngoleme, a major Portuguese settlement, but did not completely defeat them. They regrouped and gave the united force a massive defeat at Kavanga in 1646. At this point, Nzinga’s other sister was captured and they raided her archives. The sister that had been a prisoner, for close to 10 years, was sending Nzinga Portuguese plans. That sister was drowned in the Kwanza River.

The Dutch helped by sending reinforcements and the fight continued. They assaulted the Portuguese capital at Masangano but again the Portuguese took her capital in retaliation. The war went back and forth for almost a decade more. Nzinga resisted until 1657. They signed a peace treaty. Each side honoured it this time. It even had a clause that made the Portuguese help her regain power, she didn’t have a living son to pass the throne onto. They attempted to marry off a noble or two but it never worked out. She still wasn’t safe from attempts by usurpers but none succeeded. She got the Ndongo Kingdom back and still reigned in the Matamba Kingdom. She transformed the kingdoms into economic powers. They became formidable for their businesses as opposed to military like before.

Nzinga’s Funeral.

Ngola Nzinga died on December 17, 1663 peacefully at the age of 82. She fought in battle with her soldiers until her 60s. She offered refuge for former slaves. She was a vocal advocate for women. As much as she used war, she attempted peace. She was widely respected, even by the Portuguese. She should be known by everyone in every history class but she isn’t. She even had a harem of men that would fight to spend a night with her. She was in charge and everyone knew it.

It took a few more centuries before the Portuguese finally conquered the Ndongo and Matamba.

References

https://madamsabi.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/queen-ana-de-sousa-nzinga-mbande/

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002301/230103e.pdf

http://afrolegends.com/2013/03/18/queen-nzingha-great-queen-of-angola/

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/medrenqueens/p/nzinga.htm

http://rainqueensofafrica.com/2011/05/nzinga-of-ndongo-and-matamba/

http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2011/03/queen-ana-de-sousa-njinga-mbande-of.html

http://www.blackpast.org/gah/queen-nzinga-1583-1663

http://www.amazingwomeninhistory.com/anna-nzinga-mbande-fearless-africa-queen/

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pwmn_2/hd_pwmn_2.htm

http://africanhistory.about.com/od/biography/fl/Queen-Nzinga-African-Leader.htm

http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/Curriculum-Materials/AngolanConnection.pdf