Magira (Queen Mother)

Magira is the title of the Queen Mother in Bornu and some neighboring kingdoms.

Like the Magajiya of the house states , the "official" queen mother of Bornu, who did not necessarily have to be the birth mother of the king, had great power over the king. The Duguwa Queen Hawwa '/ Siyu, who came to power in Kanem as the first Muslim ruler in 1060, was probably the ancestor of all Magira.

With regard to Bir b. Dunama (1133–1160) notes on the divan that the Magira had him imprisoned because he had passed a judgment that contradicted Sharia law. From this it can be concluded that the Queen Mother in Kanem-Bornu previously had the power to depose the king under certain circumstances.

The same abundance of power existed for the Magajiya of Daura until the middle of the 20th century. It could explain why the divan indicates the Assyrian queen Siyu (10) / Semiramis - and not Arku (10) / Assur-uballit II - as the last king of the ancient oriental ancestors despite chronological inconsistencies.

When Ali Gaji (1455–1487) built a new permanent capital for the Sefuwa with Birni Gazargamo in the 1460s , he ensured that the Magira in Gambaru , six kilometers north of the city, built its own, particularly magnificent residence.

The "Maigira" ( sic ), the official queen mother in the kingdom of Pabir south of Bornu, had a similar official residence north of the capital .

Due to the increasing influence of Islam, today's Magira of Bornu no longer has any power over the Shehu or king.

bibliography

• Cohen, Ronald: "Oedipus rex and regina: The queen mother in Africa", Africa , 47 (1977), 14-30
• Lange, Dierk: "The Queen Mother in the Lake Chad region: historical considerations", Paideuma , 36 (1990), 139–156.
• Lange, Dierk: Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa , Dettelbach 2004 (here pp. 555–6).
• Platte, Editha: Women in Office and Dignity: Scope of Action for Muslim Women in Rural Northeast Nigeria , 2000.