By Yadira Cruz Valera
Editor-in-Chief for Africa and the Middle East
From the expansionist ambitions of Rome and its emperors (before our era), the disgrace of the slave trade of 16 Currently, the continent has always been the coveted fruit.
Alongside the tales of plunder, pillage, humiliation and domination, there are tales of women, queens, chieftains or simple warriors who defied the invaders, whose exploits and legends survive as national symbols despite sparse documentation and Western attempts to turn them into emblems to silence evil or its glory.
MEKATILILI WA MENZA, KENYA HEROINE
Born in the 1840s in the village of Mutara wa Tsatsu Ganze in the Kilifi region, Mekatilili wa Menza was one of the leaders of the Giriama rebellion against the British colonial powers.
In 1885, under the Treaty of Berlin, the Protectorate of British East Africa was established to control what is now much of Kenya, and a year later the Protectorate of British East Africa was established, beginning a long process of looting. , exploitation and subjugation. But long before that, the people of Giriama spoke of the Mepoho prophecy, a traditional story that dates back to the 13th century, where the arrival of white men was announced, for whom the presence of the British was always marked by rejection rebellion of its inhabitants, whose Actions intensified in 1913.
Anti-colonialist fighters met at Kaya Fungo, a center where rituals and social events were held; Mekatilili, then in his 70s, had an intense participation and leadership position in the movement, which among other things called for the consolidation of traditional culture as a means of resistance.
Meanwhile, they urged not to cooperate with the white man in any way, including by not paying the house tax.
Africa became a source of raw materials and labor that fed the imperialist powers.
On August 13, 1913, the Giriama carried out one of their most famous acts of rebellion: they said that in an audience with Arthur Champion, the colonizer who was trying to mollify local resistance and recruit young people for the war, they were the leaders with of a hen and her chicks entered space.
They challenged the British to take one of the chicks, and then the hen pecked at his hand; They assured him they would respond if he tried to lead the sons of their people to war. In response, the British opened fire, killing indiscriminately the residents and demolishing the homes of the community.
Mekatilili, along with another leader, Wanje wa Mwadorikola, was sent to Kisii, near Lake Victoria, where they were arrested. After six months incarceration, they escaped from prison on January 14, 1914 and walked more than 700 kilometers to Kilifi on the Kenyan coast.
In retaliation, the colonialists shot dozens of men, women, and children, captured animals, burned food stores and homes, and bombed the kaya (sacred places of the forest that hold great spirituality within).
The attacks on the city and its symbols sparked a violent rebellion that forced the British authorities to reduce their control over the territory.
On August 16, 1914 Mekatilili was arrested again and on this occasion transferred to Kismayu in Somalia; Five years later she was released and was able to return to her country, where she held a leading position in the women’s council and was a tireless campaigner for her people’s rights until her death in 1924.
His remains were buried in the Dakatcha Forest and each year he is honored with a festival named after him.
Lydia Dola, singer and World March of Women activist, described the African leader as a pioneer of the feminist struggle.
RANAVALONA I, TERROR OF THE COLONIALISTS
The history of the disputed monarch of Madagascar, Ranavalona I de Merina, is steeped in horror legends and mysticism about her cruelty, largely based on the fear she inspired among Europeans.
Aside from his bloody methods, some historians point to his steadfast defense of independence against French and British colonial ambitions as a great merit.
Ramavo was nothing more than a simple girl of ordinary origin who never aspired or dreamed of becoming queen, but her fate changed the day her father informed the king of Madagascar that they were plotting a conspiracy to to murder him.
The prince, grateful for his loyalty, rewarded him by marrying his daughter to Crown Prince Radama, and so the legend begins.
Marrying the despotic prince, who mercilessly murdered all suitors, including his wife’s relatives, upon his accession to the throne, made her life hell.
Having no issue, she was excluded from the line of succession by Radama I, who chose her nephew as the future king, while the monarch patiently and calmly rallied around her loyal followers from the noble classes and the army.
In 1828 the king died under strange circumstances; Some historiographical versions speak of a suicide during a delirium caused by the long illness, but the most common thesis was that his wife had murdered him.
With the help of her supporters, she staged a coup and became Queen of Madagascar under the name of Ranavalona I.
“I will rule for the good of my people and for the glory of my name. I will worship no other god than that of my ancestors. The ocean will be the limit of my kingdom and I will not give up even a hair’s thickness of my territory,” he announced as he took over the reins of the country.
The new monarch adhered to Madagascar’s cultural values, pursued a policy of isolation from Europe, eliminated almost all her husband’s measures, and threw out trade deals with France and the United Kingdom.
Contrary to her husband’s policies, she did not trust the real intentions of the colonists and was convinced that they wanted to end the kingdom of Merina; Seeing that the Malagasy faith was threatened by the spread of the Christian faith, he began a kind of religious crusade against his Western enemies.
He expelled the Christian missionaries established on the island under the old government and forbade the practice of Christianity in his kingdom.
They say that his despotism reached such a point that his own son sent a secret letter to French Emperor Napoleon III to end that rule, but he did not agree; When the queen discovered the conspiracy, she permanently expelled the British and French and confiscated their property.
Although Western historiography places great emphasis on his cruelty, extreme measures against whatever he saw as a threat became a means of countering the colonization of two powerful empires, one of which eventually achieved its goal and proved Ranavalona I absolutely right .
In 1896, Madagascar became a French colony, its timber resources and exotic species such as vanilla were exploited, and the country finally became independent on June 26, 1960.
Each in their own time and from different perspectives, Mekatilili, Ranavalona and many others outraged, condemned, criticized or turned into demons, African women were protagonists of the most diverse exploits and acts of rebellion against any form of domination or oppression.
arb/ycv