A Tribute To Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo

Ndaba Sibanda

A Women`s Day Special

 

A Tribute To Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo

Lozikeyi Dlodlo,

the Queen of the Ndebele,

 

Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo,

seen as intriguing by colonialists,

 

Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo,

King Lobhengula`s brave wife,

 

Daughter of Ngokho Dlodlo,

how did you ease into the King`s shoes?

 

When the King had gone missing, you rose

to the occasion in a majestic fashion and reigned!

 

Like Queen Nzinga, you taught us that ladies can be leaders,

military strategists , counselors and liberated thinkers and doers.

 

African Queens

 

In the Hebrew Bible, the Queen of Sheba

brings a caravan of valuable gifts

to the Israelite King Solomon.

 

Song of Solomon 1:5-7

 

I am black and beautiful,

O daughters of Jerusalem,

like the tents of Kedar,

like the curtains of Solomon.

 

Do not gaze at me because I am dark,

because the sun has gazed on me.

My mothers` sons were angry with me;

they made me keeper of the vineyards,

but my own vineyard I have not kept!

 

Tell me, you whom my soul loves,

where you pasture your flock,

where you make it lie down at noon;

for why should I be like one who is veiled

beside the flocks of your companions?

 

History has it that some of the world`s

greatest leaders were women , not only that,

but African Queens  who ruled with wisdom.

 

All through African history, in a man`s world,

women, especially royals, like Queen Njinga Mbandi,

Queen Hatshepsut ,Queen Amina have led with valor.

 

For instance, Njinga Mbandi distinguished herself

as a strategist in warfare and espionage, in forging

tactical alliances, in economic and religious issues.

 

Queen Aminatu , upon taking over Zazzau, one of the seven

original states of Hausaland in the 16th century, she expanded

it into a city of trade in the Western African and Saharan region .     

 

Makeda, the Queen of Sheba is believed

to have been a heroine, the Queen of Axum,

the northern Ethiopian Kingdom.

 

A biblical figure who had a son with King Solomon

of Jerusalem. The son`s name was Menelik 1 ,which

means the son of the wise, and he became the first ruler

 

of Ethiopia and the first in the Aksumite kings` line.

It is believed she and her son returned the Ark of the Covenant

to Axum. Kandake was Ethiopia`s empress, a military tactician.

 

Ghana`s Yaa Asantewaa of the Asante Kingdom led the Ashanti

Rebellion, the Golden Stool war against British colonialism.

Queen Muhumuza was the Rwandan King Kigeki IV`s wife.

 

Following the King Kigeki`s death, her son was prevented

from ascending to the throne as a result she rebelled but

was captured and detained from 1908  until her demise in 1945.

 

Queen Nandi, the mother of Shaka Zulu, had great influence

over the affairs of the kingdom. Cleopatra V11 was the Queen

Of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC.

 

The above cases, mythical or historical, show that women

held positions of power: Warrior Queen Amina scored strings

of victories, yet Queen Yaa led an army against the raiding British. 

 

Quote of the Month

Women are the tones and tonnes of love, nurses of peace and people, and tillers of tenderness and visions    – Ndaba Sibanda

 

Bio

Sibanda is a Bulawayo-born poet, novelist, nonfiction writer and educator who has authored twenty-eight published books of various genres and persuasions and coauthored more than 100 published books.  Some of Ndaba`s works are found or forthcoming in  Page & Spine,  Piker Press , SCARLET LEAF REVIEW , Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Pangolin Review, Kalahari Review ,Botsotso, The Ofi Press Magazine, Hawaii Pacific Review, Deltona Howl, The song is, JONAH magazine, Saraba Magazine, Poetry Potion, Saraba Magazine,  The Borfski Press,  East Coast Literary Review and   Whispering Prairie Press. Sibanda has received the following nominations: the national arts merit awards (NAMA), the Mary Ballard Poetry Chapbook Prize, the Best of the Net Prose and the Pushcart Prize.

Links:https://www.amazon.com/Books-Ndaba-Sibanda/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ANdaba+Sibanda

https://www.pagespineficshowcase.com/ndaba-sibanda.html.

https://ndabasibanda.wordpress.com/2017/03/26/first-blog-post/

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