Month: October 2026

Rain Tribute and Regional Diplomacy: How the Lovedu Rain Queens Became Climate Arbiters for Zulu, Swazi, and Boer Neighbors

| The Rain Queens |

The Lovedu Rain Queens, known by the hereditary title Modjadji, exercised a unique form of sovereignty in southern Africa: their authority rested not on military force but on the ritual control of rain. From the early nineteenth century, Zulu, Swazi, Pedi, Venda, Tsonga, and Boer communities sent tribute to the Rain Queen to secure her intervention in times of drought. This article examines how rain tribute and regional diplomacy transformed the Balobedu polity into a climate arbitration centre whose influence extended far beyond its modest territorial size.

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Rainmaking as Political Power: Weather Ritual and the Legitimisation of Female Sovereignty in Southern Africa

| Rainmaking & Ritual Authority |

This article examines how rainmaking ritual served as a foundation for female political sovereignty in Southern Africa, focusing on the Lovedu Rain Queens (Modjadji) and comparable institutions. It explores the mythological origins, ritual mechanisms, succession systems, and colonial encounters that shaped this unique form of governance, and assesses its enduring legacy in contemporary South Africa.

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Nyabingi: The Warrior-Priestess Tradition of the Great Lakes and Its Female Heirs

| Rainmaking & Ritual Authority |

Nyabingi is a precolonial spirit-medium tradition of the Great Lakes region in which predominantly female mediums, known as bagirwa, exercised real political, judicial, military, and ritual authority. Rooted in the veneration of a powerful female spirit, the tradition became famous for its rainmaking power and its anti-colonial resistance under mediums such as Muhumuza. This article examines the evidence, origins, governance, succession, spiritual power, colonial encounters, and enduring legacy of Nyabingi.

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Benin’s Queen Mothers and the Portuguese: Diplomacy, Trade, and the Ivory Mask of Idia

| Queen Mothers & Royal Offices |

This article examines the Iyoba institution of the Benin Kingdom, focusing on the sixteenth-century Queen Mother Idia, her role in diplomacy and trade with the Portuguese, and the famous ivory pendant mask that bears her likeness. Drawing on Edo oral traditions, Portuguese written accounts, and material culture, it explores how queen mothers exercised real political, spiritual, and economic power within a complementary system of governance.

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Ranavalona I of Madagascar: The Queen Who Directed a Generation of Resistance

| Queens & Empresses |

Ranavalona I (c. 1778–1861) ruled the Merina Kingdom of Madagascar for over three decades, expelling European missionaries, repelling French and British attacks, and building a centralised state through military, legal, and ritual power. Her reign remains a contested symbol of anti-colonial resistance and internal repression. This article examines her genealogy, governance, military strategy, diplomacy, economic policies, legal authority, and enduring legacy.

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Mbundu Rainmakers and Spirit Mediums: Ritual Authority in Nzinga’s Ndongo

| Rainmaking & Ritual Authority |

This article examines the intertwined roles of rainmakers and spirit mediums among the Mbundu people of Ndongo, focusing on the seventeenth-century reign of Queen Nzinga. It explores how ritual authority underpinned political legitimacy, shaped succession, and enabled resistance to Portuguese colonialism, drawing on oral traditions, missionary accounts, and modern scholarship.

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The Cycad’s Life Cycle and the Rain Queen’s Succession: Botanical Metaphors of Rebirth and Continuity in Balobedu Sovereignty

| The Rain Queens |

This article examines how the slow, resilient life cycle of the Modjadji cycad (Encephalartos transvenosus) provides a living metaphor for the matrilineal succession of the Lovedu Rain Queens. Drawing on oral tradition, ethnographic record, and contemporary legal recognition, it explores the botanical and ritual logics of rebirth, continuity, and sacred custodianship in the Balobedu polity.

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