Queen Ti Memenne of La Gonâve (also written as Timemenne; 19th-century – fl. 1929) was the tribal ruler of La Gonâve, a

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an island located west of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

in the

Gulf of Gonâve The Gulf of Gonâve (french: Golfe de la Gonâve; ht, Gòf Lagonav) is a large gulf of the Caribbean Sea along the western coast of Haiti. Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, is located on the coast of the gulf. Other cities on the gulf coast ...

. While her reign was not officially recognized by the republican government of Haiti during American occupation, she maintained political, economic, spiritual, and social leadership of the island. Arrested by the Garde d'Haiti for being a practitioner of Vodou, she was shown compassion by Faustin E. Wirkus, an American military officer who assisted in her release. She later proclaimed Wirkus to be the reincarnation of former Haitian Emperor

Faustin Soulouque Faustin-Élie Soulouque (15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Haitian Army w ...

and crowned him as a co-ruler over La Gonâve.

Biography

Ti Memenne was a leading figure over a group of

matriarchal Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general E ...

societies, dominating social and economic affairs on La Gonâve. Her reign over La Gonâve was not officially recognized by the

republican government Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

, which had abolished the monarchy and nobility in Haiti. Despite this, she was viewed by the other native people of the island as their political and spiritual leader. As a young woman, Ti Memenne was captured by American military officials during the

United States occupation of Haiti The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when 330 U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the National City Bank of New York convinced the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, to take control of ...

and charged with "trivial voodoo offenses." She received aid from Faustin E. Wirkus, an American sergeant serving in the Garde d'Haiti who had been stationed on La Gonâve. Wirkus sent her to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

with a recommendation for lenient treatment. For the next year Ti Memenne built a friendship with Wirkus, who advised her on governmental and civil matters. Due to his help, and because he shared a name with the former Haitian emperor

Faustin I Faustin-Élie Soulouque (15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Haitian Army wh ...

, she and her people proclaimed Wirkus to be Faustin II in a Vodou ritual, allowing him to co-rule over La Gonâve with her for three years (1926 – 1929). She reportedly believed Wirkus to be Faustin I's reincarnation.

In popular culture

Ti Memenne is remembered in

William Seabrook William Buehler Seabrook (February 22, 1884 – September 20, 1945) was an American occultist, explorer, traveler, journalist and writer, born in Westminster, Maryland. He began his career as a reporter and City Editor of the ''Augusta Chronic ...

's 1929 novel ''The Magic Island'' and Wirkus' memoir ''The White King of La Gonave: The True Story of the Sergeant of Marines Who Was Crowned King on a Voodoo Island''.

References

{{Authority control 19th-century Haitian people 19th-century monarchs in North America 19th-century women rulers 20th-century Haitian women 20th-century monarchs in North America 20th-century women rulers Haitian prisoners and detainees Haitian religious leaders Haitian Vodou practitioners Haitian women in politics Monarchs of Haiti People from Ouest (department) Queens regnant Republic of Haiti (1859–1957) Year of birth missing Year of death missing Nobility of the Americas