Queen Modjadji, or the Rain Queen, is the hereditary
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
of
Balobedu, a people of the
Limpopo Province
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. The Rain Queen is believed to have special powers, including the ability to control the clouds and rainfall.
Modjadji Royal council have a new King. The traditional installation of Prince Lekukela Modjadji as the king of the Balobedu took place at Khetlhakoni Royal Palace in Modjadjiskloof outside Tzaneen in Limpopo.
Princess Masalanabo who was expected to be the next Rain Queen will take a position reserved for her to be Khadikholo (great aunt) of Balobedu Nation.
History
There are several different stories relating to the creation and history of the Rain Queens of Balobedu. One story states that an old chief in 16th century
Monomotapa (South eastern
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
), was told by his ancestors that by impregnating his daughter, Dzugundini, she would gain rain-making skills. Another story involves a scandal in the same chief's house, in which the chief's son impregnated Dzugundini. Dzugundini was held responsible and was forced to flee the village. Dzugundini ended up in Molototsi Valley, which is in the present day Balobedu Kingdom.
The village she established with her loyal followers was ruled by a Mokoto, a male leader, but the peace and harmony of the village was disrupted by rivalries between different families; therefore, to pacify the land, Mokoto impregnated his own daughter in order to restore the tribe's matrilineal tradition. In another version, Mokoto had a vision that he had to marry his daughter in order to create a matrilineal dynasty.
She gave birth to the first Rain Queen, known as Modjadji, which means: "ruler of the day".
Oral histories recount that the Rain Queens are originally from
ancient Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa, the emergence of Ethiopian civilization dates back thousands of years. Due to migration and imperial expansion, it grew to include many other primarily Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities, includ ...
and built the fortress of
Great Zimbabwe.
During the 1930s, social anthropologists
Eileen Krige and Jack Krig carried out fieldwork on the society of the Rain Queens.
Their work was published in 1943 as ''The Realm of a Rain-Queen. A Study of the Pattern of Lovedu Society'', and remains one of the standard anthropological works.
Customs
According to custom, the Rain Queen must shun public functions, and can only communicate with her people through her male or female
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
s.
Every November she presides over the annual
Rainmaking
Rainmaking, also known as artificial precipitation, artificial rainfall and pluviculture, is the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation, usually to stave off drought or the wider global warming. According to the cloud ...
ceremony at her royal compound in Khetlhakone Village.
She is not supposed to marry, but has many "wives", as they are referred to in the Balobedu language. These are not spouses in the usual sense of the word; as a
queen regnant
A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...
, she has the equivalent of
royal court
A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
servants, or
ladies-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
), sent from many villages all over the Balobedu Kingdom. These wives were selected by
The Queen's Royal Council and in general are from the households of the subject chiefs. This ritual of "bride giving" is strictly a form of diplomacy to ensure loyalty to the Queen.
The Rain Queen's mystical rain-making powers are believed to be reflected in the lush garden which surrounds her royal compound. Surrounded by parched land, her garden contains the world's largest
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...
trees which are in abundance under a spectacular
rain belt. One species of cycad, the
Modjadji cycad, is named after the Rain Queen. The rain-making powers are also believed to be transmitted through matriarchal mitochondrial DNA. Therefore, the Queenship is inherited through matrilineal lineage, by the daughters of the Rain queen.
The Rain Queen is a prominent figure in South Africa, many communities respecting her position and, historically, attempting to avoid conflict in deference thereto. The fifth Rain Queen,
Mokope Modjadji, maintained cordial relations with
Nelson Mandela. Even presidents of South Africa during
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
visited the Rain Queens.
The Rain Queen has become a figure of interest, she and the royal institution becoming a significant tourist attraction contributing to the South African economy. The Rain Queen was offered an annual government
civil list. The
stipend
A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...
was also expected to help defray the costs of preserving the
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...
trees found in the Rain Queen's gardens.
Makobo Modjadji
Rain Queen Makobo Constance Modjadji VI (1978 – 12 June 2005) was the sixth in a line of the Balobedu people's Rain Queens. Makobo was crowned on 16 April 2003, at the age of 25, after the death of her predecessor and grandmother, Queen
Mokope Modjadji. This made her the youngest queen in the history of the Balobedu.
Makobo was admitted into the Limpopo
Medi-Clinic
Mediclinic International plc, founded in 1983, is an international private hospital group with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. The Group's head office is based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It has be ...
for an undisclosed illness on 10 June 2005 and died two days later, at the age of 27. The official cause of death was listed as chronic
meningitis. She is survived by a son, Prince Lekukela Hex (b. 1997), and a daughter, Princess Masalanabo (b. February 2005).
Succession
The Rain Queen's official
mates
Mates is an English surname, and may refer to:
* Mates (born 1964), British newsreader and journalist
* Michael Mates (born 1934), British politician
* Frederick S. Mates, founded the Mates Investment Fund in 1967 that crashed in the bear market ...
are chosen by the Royal Council, so that all of her children will be of
dynastic
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...
status, from which future Rain Queens may descend. However, the Rain Queens are not expected to remain in exclusive relations with these partners. In the past, the Rain Queen was allowed to have children only by
her close relatives.
Perhaps uniquely, the Balobedu crown descends according to
matrilineal primogeniture: her eldest daughter is always her
successor
Successor may refer to:
* An entity that comes after another (see Succession (disambiguation))
Film and TV
* ''The Successor'' (film), a 1996 film including Laura Girling
* ''The Successor'' (TV program), a 2007 Israeli television program Musi ...
, so the title of Rain Queen is normally passed from mother to daughter. It is said that she ingests poison when she is near death so that her daughter will assume the crown more quickly. Lately, however, many traditions have been abandoned, influenced by
Christian mission
A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...
aries.
The government of South Africa recognized Princess Masalanabo as the future Rain Queen in a 2016 memorandum and she was expected to officially receive her certificate in 2021, when she turned 18, as minors are not allowed to be traditional leaders. Makobo's brother Prince Mpapatla was designated
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for Princess Masalanabo. However, Mpapatla himself has a daughter by his cousin, a woman from the royal Modjadji line. Mpapatla, however, has insisted that his late sister's daughter, Princess Masalanabo, will be enthroned as the queen when she turns 18.
However, in May 2021, the Modjadji Royal Council appointed Masalanabo's older brother, Prince Lekukela, as king of the Balobedu nation with the support of Prince Regent Mpapatla, citing Masalanabo's lack of preparation on divine processes traditionally assumed by Rain Queens, as she lives in
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
with the family of Mathole Motshekga, a former advisor to the Balobedu Royal Council. Mpapatla claims there is a 2006 Royal Council resolution appointing Lekukela as heir to the Balobedu throne, which was allegedly kept secret due to security concerns.
The Royal Council plans for Princess Masalanabo to instead assume the position of ''khadi-kholo'' (great aunt) of the Balobedu kingdom.
Lekukela was installed as King elect by the Modjadji royal council in October 2022, although his coronation is still pending judicial approval after a court application was submitted by Princess Masalanabo's legal team in order to challenge the Royal Council's decision, which they claim to be illegal under the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act and to ignore the recognition of Masalanabo as Rain Queen by President
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
. An online petition against Lekukela's appointment was launched in May 2021, even though the Royal Council has stated the decision is irreversible.
A male branch of the extended royal clan has also petitioned the South African president to restore the male line of the Balobedu royal house, which reigned before 1800. This request is considered unlikely to be granted, since the Rain Queen heritage is recognised as a national cultural legacy and interest in it has stimulated significant tourist trade. This male branch is reportedly considered by some to be a faction that promotes division within the royal clan of the Balobedu people.
List of Rain Queens
# Rain Queen I
Maselekwane Modjadji (1800–1854)
# Rain Queen II
Masalanabo I Modjadji (1854–1894)
# Rain Queen III
Khesetoane Modjadji (1895–1959)
# Rain Queen IV
Makoma Modjadji (1959–1980)
# Rain Queen V
Mokope Modjadji (1981–2001)
# Rain Queen VI
Makobo Modjadji
Makobo Modjadji VI (Makobo Caroline Modjadji; 1978 – 12 June 2005) was the sixth in a line of the Balobedu tribe's Rain Queens. It is believed that Makobo Modjadji had the ability to control the clouds and rivers. Makobo was crowned on 16 Apri ...
(2003–2005)
# Prince Regent Mpapada Modjadji (2007-2022)
# King Lekukela Modjadji VII (2022 -)
In popular culture
The second Rain Queen,
Masalanabo Modjadji is said to have been the inspiration for
H. Rider Haggard's novel ''
She: A History of Adventure''.
The
Marvel comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
is a fictional descendant of the dynasty that produces the Rain Queens through the line of the Sorceress Supreme Ayesha from the
Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian.
The word "Hyborian" is derived from the l ...
. Mujaji is also the name of the goddess of sustenance in The Orisha, the pantheon of
Wakanda
Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther (comics), Black Pa ...
. In Wakanda, Storm is called Hadari-Yao ("Walker of Clouds" in ancient Alkamite), a goddess who preserves the balance of natural things.
See also
*
Balobedu
*
Matrilineality
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
*
Matrilineal succession
Matrilineal succession is a form of hereditary succession or other inheritance through which the subject's female relatives are traced back in a matrilineal line.
Systems
*''matrilineal primogeniture'' where the eldest female child of the subje ...
*
Rainmaking (ritual)
Rainmaking is a weather modification ritual that attempts to invoke rain.
Among the best known examples of weather modification rituals are North American rain dances, historically performed by many Native American tribes, particularly in the ...
*
''She'' (novel)
*''
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana
''The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana'' (original Italian title: ''La Misteriosa Fiamma della Regina Loana'') is a novel by the Italian writer Umberto Eco. It was first published in Italian in 2004, and an English language translation by Geoffrey ...
''
References
{{Reflist
External links
Rain Queen customs and history from a South African website for the Ikageng Community Empowerment of
Tzaneen
Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...
Rain Queen customs from a commercial website promoting "very small-scale, locally produced, low-impact Ecotours"
Rain Queens of Africa and other Female Leadership traditions
Limpopo
Royal titles
Monarchies of South Africa