Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: April 12, 2021 at 7:41:07 PM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Africa]: Jones on Achebe, 'Female Monarchs and > Merchant Queens in Africa' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Nwando Achebe. Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa. Ohio > Short Histories of Africa Series. Athens Ohio University Press, > 2020. Illustrations. 224 pp. $9.99 (e-book), ISBN > 978-0-8214-4080-3; $16.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8214-2407-0. > > Reviewed by Hilary Jones (Florida International University) > Published on H-Africa (April, 2021) > Commissioned by Dawne Y. Curry > > Female Monarchs and Merchants of Power > > In Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa, Nwando Achebe goes > beyond a synthesis of scholarship on powerful women in African > history to open up new avenues for discussion about what constitutes > female power. She advances the argument that female authority in > African societies must be understood not only in terms of power in > the physical world but also as it relates to the spiritual realm. > Published under the Ohio Short Histories of Africa series, Achebe's > book provides a compact yet authoritative account of the scores of > influential African women across time while also paying close > attention to gendered power by analyzing such categories as female > husbands, male priestesses, female headmen, female king, and female > pharaoh. Writing in the preface, Achebe states that the purpose of > the book is to counter the legacy of colonialist interpretations of > African worlds by Africanizing and feminizing knowledge. In so doing, > her aim is to give voice to African perspectives and to center > African women in the retelling of narratives about the past. > > Organized into five chapters, an introduction, conclusion, notes, and > bibliography, the work focuses on themes rather than on a > chronological march through time. In the introduction, Achebe lays > out her methodology. To address the silences, gaps, and omissions of > powerful women in the documentary record, Achebe relies on an > analysis of African worldviews and develops the concept of the > "female principle" and "female spirit principle" to communicate "the > totality of leadership and authoritative roles occupied by female > entities in Africa" (p. 23). To reconstruct African perspectives of > power and authority, Achebe makes the case that the African worldview > is one of dualities where the material and spiritual worlds are > interconnected. She finds that whether in the seen or unseen worlds, > African societies seek a balance between male leadership and female > leadership that cuts across the socioeconomic or spiritual hierarchy. > Consequently, power in the physical realm cannot be understood > without considering power in the spiritual realm. > > The book begins with an examination of the role of gods and > goddesses, spirit mediums, diviners, healers, priests and > priestesses, prophets and prophetesses, and rain queens. Chapter 1 > outlines female power and authority in the spiritual world by > explaining the gendered nature of African cosmologies and the > transformation of African concepts of the Creator God from either a > female, dual-gender (male and female) or a gender-neutral view to the > idea of God as male as defined by the Abrahamic religions. Achebe > categorizes goddesses, oracles, and female medicines as "Great God's > Helpers." This category includes ancient Egyptian goddesses Hathor > and Nut of ancient Egypt, Oshun of the Yoruba (Nigeria), and Nimba of > the Baga (Guinea) as well as such oracles as Arochukwu of eastern > Nigeria and the identification of female medicines cultivated at > specific moments to deal with such crises as the threat of slave > raiding. This chapter explains the role of the Lovedu Rain Queens > among the Sotho of southern Africa, and spirit mediums as a mechanism > whereby women gained authority through spirit possession among such > people as the Nyamwezi of East Africa. Achebe elaborates on the role > of women in divination and healing, as priestesses or servants to > deities, and as leaders of prophetic movements. This chapter lays the > groundwork for the book by illustrating the complexity of the spirit > world and the importance of the gender balance of power to African > cosmologies. This chapter shows that in order to understand what > female power means in the physical world, one must first understand > how female power is conceived in the spiritual realm. In doing so, > Achebe achieves her goal of Africanizing and feminizing knowledge > about the African past. > > Chapter 2 considers women who held positions of power that either > equaled or complemented the power of the monarch or sovereign of > African state systems. Achebe addresses the female principle among > women who inherited titled offices through hereditary succession, > women who held power as royal consorts and queen regents, and > "elderly women who ruled as daughters" (p. 72). The chapter gives a > wide range of examples from queens who ruled as regents in ancient > Egypt, the royal women of ancient Meroe known as _kandake_ > (transliterated as candaces), empresses of Ethiopia, and the queen of > ladies or the _iyalode_ among the Yoruba. This chapter shows that > African women ruled in their own right as equal to male rulers or as > co-rulers with male chiefs, for example, the Asante (Ghana) paramount > queen mothers (_ahemaa_) and paramount chiefs (_amanahene_). Other > powerful women raised armies and played key roles in securing the > well-being of the nation, such as Al-Kahina the "Berber Warrior > queen" who led an army against Arab invasion (693-698) or the Ganda > Queen Mothers of Buganda (Uganda) who had the authority to check the > king's excesses, determine the legitimacy of succession, and protect > the nation. Achebe finds that princesses and warrior princesses > occupied positions of authority as daughters or granddaughters of a > ruling monarch or as the wife or widow of a prince. She also pays > attention to the distinct nature of female authority in decentralized > states where power is not hierarchical but vertical and where women > wielded authority within the governing apparatus as a result of their > age, their own accomplishments, and their role as daughters and > wives. > > Chapter 3 examines influential women in African economic life. Achebe > argues that the prolific nature of market trade in precolonial West > African societies and the central role that African women play in > managing local market activities has conferred leadership status, > political influence, and even high political office to women. We > learn of esteemed Nigerian market women and merchants, for example, > Iyaloja Madame Efunroye Tinubu of Abeokuta (ca. 1805-60s) and Omu > Okwei (1872-43) of Igboland (Nigeria). Among the Asante women are > _ahemaa_ or titled women who lead the associations of various > commodity trades and the _ahemaafo_ or the person who represents the > interests of all the market traders in negotiations with the market > manager and non-traders during times of crisis. The "Mama or Nana > Benzs" of Lomé, Togo, carry this honorific title given to successful > women who control the sale of printed African textiles, and thus > possess chauffeur-driven Mercedes-Benzs. In highlighting West African > women entrepreneurs, middlewomen, and commodity traders, Achebe makes > the case that African women achieve leadership roles in society and > political power as a result of their entrepreneurial acumen. > > Chapter 4 uses case studies to show the flexibility of African gender > systems that allows for women to assume maleness in order to rule as > men. The most compact of the five chapters, this chapter covers a > principle familiar to scholars of African gender studies but new to > nonspecialists. Achebe explains the idea that for most African > societies sex and gender do not coincide, allowing for women to > become men and men to become women. Titled "Female Headmen, Kings and > Paramount Chiefs," this chapter explains how exceptional African > women have transformed themselves into men to rule their societies in > offices inhabited by men. The chapter gives a variety of examples, > including Hatshepsut who ruled as pharaoh; Ebulejonu, the first > female king of the Igala monarchy (Nigeria); King Nzingha of Ndongo > (Angola), who dressed as a man and forbade her subjects to address > her as queen; Headman Wangu wa Makeri of Gikuyuland (colonial Kenya); > Chief Mosadi Seboko of the Balete people of Botswana; and Ahebi > Ugbabe, the female king of colonial Nigeria. > > The final chapter of the work, "African Women Today," brings the book > to the present by considering how and why women have assumed > leadership positions and achieved success in politics, religious > life, and business. In doing so, the chapter shines a light on highly > educated and successful African women. Achebe gives examples of women > who have achieved the highest levels of political office from > presidents to prime ministers, cabinet ministers, and legislators. We > learn the biographies of influential women in the Christian Church > movement (from denominational Christianity to African Independent > Churches) and in Muslim societies across the continent where women > have excelled as intellectuals, journalists, female clerics, and > prayer leaders. Lastly, Achebe addresses African women "millionaires > and billionaires" who constitute a "nouveau riche." Achebe points out > that women of this category vary from self-made entrepreneurs--such > as Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu of Ethiopia, founder of one of Africa's > largest footwear companies--to those who have made a fortune by means > of "inheritance-trust" or being "corruption-enabled" (p. 177). By > telling the stories of contemporary women often not well known > outside of the continent, the chapter illustrates the progress that > African women have made in the struggle to "revitalize" the types of > influential positions that women in Africa held prior to the colonial > era (p. 151). This chapter demonstrates a through line from ancient > Africa to the present. Whether considering the role of local market > women, Mama Benzs or African women millionaries, entrepreneurship > serves as a key mechanism for gaining power and authority for women > in African societies. > > _Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa_ is a unique volume. > It is suitable for specialist researchers and popular audiences > alike. The book is written in such a way that one could read or teach > each chapter independently. The book offers a useful companion for > such texts as Kathleen Sheldon's _African Women: Early History to the > Twenty-First Century_ (2017) or Iris Berger and E. Frances White's > _Women in Sub-Saharan Africa_ (1999). Written in a concise yet > nuanced manner, the book is accessible for undergraduate students and > it contains critical analysis of key frameworks in African gender > studies for researchers or graduate students. Although the plethora > of examples may at times feel like a march across the continent, > Achebe achieves the difficult task of covering change over time from > ancient Africa to the present and showing similarities and > differences between female power in all regions of the continent from > North Africa, to South Africa, and from West and West Central Africa > to East Africa and the Horn of Africa. > > In the conclusion, Achebe writes that her goal is to "document the > lives and worlds of elite African women and females of privilege" and > to show the complexities of female power and diverse forms of > leadership in African societies (p. 183). In centering African > perspectives and feminizing knowledge about power and authority in > Africa, this study chips away at common assumptions and stereotypes > about the powerless or invisible African woman. As readers, we are > the beneficiaries of Achebe's life-long study of powerful African > women as we are of her lived experience as witness to the power of > African womanhood, and as part of the continuum of influential > African women. > > Citation: Hilary Jones. Review of Achebe, Nwando, _Female Monarchs > and Merchant Queens in Africa_. H-Africa, H-Net Reviews. April, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55615 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#7972): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/7972 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/82054343/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
