Maria Mwengere

Maria Mwengere (* around 1898 in the Kingdom of Barotse (today Western Province , Zambia ); † 1987 in Kayengona near Rundu , South West Africa ) was Shambyu Queen ( vaHompa ) of the Shambyu tribe in South West Africa from 1940 to 1987 .

Maria Mwengere end of the 19th century as a daughter of Mukosho and Mbava the Kingdom Barotse - in today's Western Province , Zambia - born, but decided at a young age because of tensions with neighboring communities to the court of her uncle, Shambyu King Mbambangandu II . to move to the Okavango . The king suffered increasingly from blindness and in the late 1930s looked to abdicate. He had originally planned his nephew Kashasha as his successor, but he died prematurely. So the king asked the Shambyu council of elders to appoint an heir to the throne , who proposed Mary. Mary was unanimously confirmed as the new Queen in 1940 by the Shambyu Council and the South West African Administration.

Female monarchs have been held in high esteem in Kavango since the 16th century, as their role as traditional leaders often goes hand in hand with qualities as spiritual healers . Maria's reign was determined by disputes with the South West African mandate administration in Windhoek, but she was viewed by the Kavango as a strong, open-minded and self-confident leader .

In the first years Maria moved the royal seat from the north side of the Okavango back to the south side to Kayengona near Uvungu-Vungu. On the one hand, Maria was held responsible for breaking the law of her subjects, some of whom she severely punished herself, on the other hand, she campaigned for better interaction between white teachers and black students. Among other things, she was also involved in cultural projects for children and young people, such as in 1972 in an area of around 400 hectares near Shambyu , which was handed over to the administration of Kavangoland , with the wish that it should be used for cultural and educational purposes. A leisure and animal park was created here , to which a museum was added in 1985, which later became the Kavango Museum .

Maria died in 1987 at the age of over 80. Her successor was Hompa Gotthard Mbotewa Haininga, son of Mariane Nankali and Haininga. However, he had an accident just a year later. VaHompa Angelina Matumbo Ribebe (born May 19, 1964), a granddaughter of Maria, has been the reigning Shambyu Queen since 1989 .

Afterlife

After Maria Mwengere are named:

• the Maria Mwengere Secondary School in Rundu ,
• Maria Mwengere Street in Rundu as well
• a cultural and environmental center, also in Rundu.

literature

• Maria Fisch: The South African military administration (1915–1920) and the early mandate period (1920–1936) in the Kavango region / Namibia . Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-89645-360-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.klausdierks.com/Geschichte/index_kings.htm
2. ↑ http://www.kavangorc.com.na/shambyu.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001332/133274e.pdf Women and Peace in Africa
4. ↑ http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1940.htm
5. ↑ http://www.namibweb.com/kavango.htm
6. ↑ http://www.museumsnamibia.org/docs/ReportKavangoWorkshopComplete.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

predecessor	Office	successor
Mbanbangandu II.	Queen of the Shambyu ( kings of the Kavango )	Angelina Ribebe