Akwa Boni (died c. 1790), was a sovereign Queen of the Baoulé people. The niece of

Queen Pokou Queen Pokou, or Awura, Aura, or Abla Pokou (reigned c. 1750 - c. 1760) was Queen and founder of the Baoule ethnic group in West Africa, now Ivory Coast. She ruled over a branch of the powerful Ashanti Empire as it expanded westward. A subgroup of ...

, she inherited the throne in around 1760 and ruled until her death in about 1790. She expanded the territory of the Baoulé, crossing the Bandama River and into the central Ivory Coast. In order to cross the river, one story has it that she needed to sacrifice her son to the river god; in doing so she gave her people their name, ''bauli'', meaning 'the son is dead'. (Other versions of the story associate the incident with her aunt Queen Pokou.)

References

History of Ivory Coast 18th-century women rulers 1708 births 1790 deaths Year of death uncertain Queens regnant in Africa {{Africa-royal-stub