Gagoangwe

Gagoangwe (c. 1845 – 1924) was the Acting (Regent), Paramount Chieftess, the Queen Mother[1] or Mohumagadi of the Mmanaana Kgatla and BaNgwaketse in what is now Botswana.[2] Gagoangwe was a member of the Kwena family and a devout Christian[3] and regent for her grandson, Bathoen II.

Early life

Gagoangwe was the daughter of Sechele I,[2] kgosi or king of the BaKwena. Sechele I was converted to Christianity during the late 1840s through the work of David Livingstone; converting the entire BaKwena tribe, including Gagoangwe.[4] When she was young, she gouged out the eye of a servant. Her father allowed the servant to put out one of her eyes in return, in accordance to the biblical Old Testament principle 'an eye for an eye'. Thereafter, she was known as the "one-eyed Queen".[5]

Marriage and children

Gagoangwe married her first husband, Kgosi Pulane. In 1875, she eloped with Bathoen I who was heir to the leadership of the BaNgwaketse.[6] In 1890, Bathoen I and Gagoangwe remarried in a Christian marriage ceremony, legitimizing their marriage in the eyes of the Christian church.[7] She was a devout Christian and impacted Bathoen I's support of the London Missionary Society.[6] In 1910, Bathoen I died and Gagoangwe's older son, Seeapsito II, became king. He was later killed by his own brother, Moeapsito, in 1916.[6] Following this, Gagoangwe had her murderous son, Moeapsito, killed, and obtained control of the regency in 1923.[6] She is reported to have said that "since one of her breasts [sons] had been cut off, let the other be cut off too".[8]

Reign

In 1923, Gagoangwe became the Acting Paramount Chieftess as regent for Bathoen II.[2] She took her place as regent to preserve bogosi for her grandson. She reigned over BaNgwaketse, territory of a subgroup of the Twsana people in what is now Botswana during a crucial time for this territory. The territory was in the midst of a fight for independence against the Boers and the colonial British Empire.[2]

Gagoangwe continued the development projects of Seeapstio II, and secured the regency for her daughter Ntebogang Ratshosa before her own death.

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References
  1. McDonagh, Eileen L. (2009). The motherless state : women's political leadership and American democracy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226514543. OCLC 938228232.
  2. Morton, Fred; Ramsay, Jeff; Mgadla, Part Themba (23 April 2008). Historical dictionary of Botswana. Scarecrow Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 9780810864047. Retrieved 10 March 2020 – via Google Books.
  3. Sheldon, Kathleen E. (2016). Historical dictionary of women in Sub-Saharan Africa. ISBN 9781442262928. OCLC 952050712.
  4. Volz, Stephen C. (2010). Them who kill the body : Christian ideals and political realities in the interior of Southern Africa during the 1850s. OCLC 775890092.
  5. Volz, Stephen C. (2010). Them who kill the body : Christian ideals and political realities in the interior of Southern Africa during the 1850s. OCLC 775890092.
  6. Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong; Mr. Steven J. Niven (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. pp. 407–. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
  7. Edwin Lloyd (1895). Three Great African Chiefs (Khâmé, Sebelé and Bathoeng). T. F. Unwin. pp. 165–.
  8. Women writing Africa : the southern region. Daymond, M. J. (Margaret J.) (First ed.). New York. pp. 187. ISBN 1-55861-406-0. OCLC 50235100.CS1 maint: others (link)
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