THE LITUNGA LAMBOELA: A WOMAN-KING AMONG PEOPLE WITH “YELLOW HEARTS”
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This paper is about the Litunga La Mboela, which literally translates to ‘earth of the south or King of the south’ among the Barotse or Lozi. This woman-king rules the southern kingdom. The Rotse woman-king presents a unique synarchy (joint sovereignty) conception of power in an African setup. The powerful position of the Litunga La Mboela is not a new political invention because female kingship among the Lozi can be traced to the centralisation of power through the matriarchy.This history of the Litunga la Mboela offers a counter narrative to colonial patriarchal or androcentric historiography by demonstrating that women were not the “wretched of the earth” but were active participants and architects of power. By using textual analysis of archival and published resources and oral sources, the paper demonstrates the importance of female kingship in stabilising the Lozi Kingdom. The treacherous political manoeuvring which the Litunga La Mboela had to navigate in the 19th Century proves this point.
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Referencias
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