Djoumbé Fatima (1837–1878), also known as Djoumbé Soudi or Queen Jumbe-Souli, was queen of

Mohéli Mohéli , also known as Mwali, is an autonomous island that forms part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the sma ...

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

from 1842 to 1865 and 1874 to her death in 1878.

Early life

Jumbe-Souli inherited the throne of the island of Moheli (Mwali) after the death of her father, King Ramanateka, also known as Sultan Abderahmane. Ramanateka was a Malagasy prince who ran away from Madagascar after the death of King

Radama I Radama I "the Great" (1793–1828) was the first Malagasy sovereign to be recognized as King of Madagascar (1810–1828) by a European state. He came to power at the age of 18 following the death of his father, King Andrianampoinimerina. Under Ra ...

. She was also a cousin of King

Radama II Radama II (September 23, 1829 – May 12, 1863 'contested'' was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, ...

. She had a sister, Jumbe-Salama, who died young. Her mother was

Merina The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.Merina ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Her father, General Ramanataka, was brother-in-law to

, King of Madagascar. He died in 1842 and Djoumbé ascended to the throne. Her mother, Ravao, ruled as regent for a time and married her husband's former adviser, Tsivandini, in 1843. He became Djoumbé's tutor and started making arrangements for her marriage to the sultan of Zanzibar.

Reign

When the missionary David Griffiths returned to Moheli in 1841, expecting to meet her father he in fact found his young daughter Jumbe-Souli on the throne. Jumbe-Souli, like the majority of people on the island was Muslim and did not convert to Christianity. Queen of Mohéli

Ravao and Tsivandini divorced in 1846.

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

had recently been ceded to France, and the French, eager to develop their presence on Mohéli, arranged for a Madame Droit to serve as governess for Djoumbé. The French also arranged for her coronation at the age of 12, in 1849. Two years later she expelled the governess and married Saïd Mohammed Nasser M'Kadar, who was cousin to Zanzibar's sultan. M'Kadar became prince consort and ruled with Fatima until 1860, when he was ousted by the French. Fatima held on to the throne, marrying two sultans. She renounced the throne for her son. In 1863, the French government sent a delegation to meet with Queen Jumbe-Souli and the event was recorded by a visiting photographer

Désiré Charnay Claude-Joseph Désiré Charnay (2 May 182824 October 1915) was a French traveller and archaeologist notable both for his explorations of Mexico and Central America, and for the pioneering use of photography to document his discoveries. Biograph ...

. He recorded that she seemed "melancholy and sickly" and had a number of attendants. She was dressed extremely finely in a "robe of rich Turkish tissue of silk and gold". Her dress covered most of her face, with only her hand visible. The purpose of the visit had been to impress upon the young queen the advantages of becoming a French colony; she resisted. Jumbe-Souli lived in the palace, overlooking the sea, next to which was the garrison - a white building of two rooms, which held 28 soldiers. When the French returned in 1871, she was restored to the throne and ruled until her death in 1878.

Children

* From her marriage to Said Muhammad bin Nasser Makadara, Prince Consort and Regent of Mohéli, Counsellor to Sayyid Sa’id bin Sultan,

Sultan of Oman The sultan of the Sultanate of Oman is the monarchical head of state and head of government of Oman. It is the most powerful position in the country. The sultans of Oman are members of the Busaid dynasty, which has been the ruling family of O ...

and

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, three sons: ** Mohamed bin Saidi Hamadi Makadara (c. 1859 − 1874), Sultan of Mohéli (1865–1874) ** Abderremane bin Saidi Hamadi Makadara (c. 1860 − 1885), Sultan of Mohéli (1878–1885) ** Mahmudu bin Mohamed Makadara (

Fomboni Fomboni (population approx. 19,000) is the third-largest city in the Comoros. It is also the capital and largest city on the island and the Autonomous Island of Mohéli, of which it makes up more than one third of the population. Characterized ...

, 1863 −

Saint-Denis, Réunion Saint-Denis (, , unofficially Saint-Denis de La Réunion for disambiguation; ) is the prefecture (administrative capital) of the French overseas department and region of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is located at the island's northernmos ...

, 18 October 1898), Regent of Mohéli for her halfsister, Sultana

Salima Machamba Salima Machamba (1 November 1874, Fomboni – 7 August 1964, Pesmes) was sultan of Mohéli (Mwali) in 1888–1909. Her official paternal name was ''Salima Machamba bint Saidi Hamadi Makadara''. She was a relative of Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagasca ...

(18 September 1889 – 9 October 1897), he had a son: *** Manini, Prince of Mohéli * From her relationship to Emile Fleuriot de Langle (1837–1881, assistant to explorer

Joseph-François Lambert Joseph-François Lambert, the "Duke of Imerina" (1824–1873) was a French adventurer, businessman, and diplomat who fathered the Lambert Charter. Early years Lambert was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine in 1824. He traveled to Mauritius where, at ...

), two children:Mwali
(Access date: 27 October 2014) ** Bakoko (–1901), Prince of Mohéli **

(

, 1 November 1874 –

Pesmes Pesmes () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Saône department The following is a list of the 539 communes in the French department of Haute-S ...

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Arpitan: ''Hiôta-Sona''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 7 August 1964), Sultana of Mohéli (1888–1909), married at

to French gendarme Camille Paule (

, 1 March 1867 –

Champagney, Jura Champagney () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Jura department The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of France. The com ...

, 22 September 1946) on 28 August 1901, and she had three children

Early life

Reign

Children

References

Further reading