Djoumbé Fatima Explained

Type:monarch
Djoumbé Fatima
Succession:Sultan of Mohéli (Mwali)
Reign:1842 - 1865
1874 - 1878
Coronation:26 May 1849, Fomboni
Predecessor:Ramanetaka
Muhammad bin Saidi Hamadi Makadara
Successor:Muhammad bin Saidi Hamadi Makadara
Abderremane bin Saidi Hamadi Makadara
Spouse:Said Muhammad bin Nasser Makadara
Dynasty:Merina
Father:Ramanetaka
Mother:Ravao
Birth Date:1836/37
Birth Place:Ouallah, Mohéli

Djoumbé Fatima (c. 1837–1878), also known as Djoumbé Soudi or Queen Jumbe-Souli, was the Sultana of Mohéli in Comoros from 1842 to 1865 and 1874 to her death in 1878.

Early life

Jumbe-Souli inherited the throne of the island of Moheli (Mwali) after the death of her father, King Ramanateka, also known as Sultan Abderahmane. Ramanateka was a Malagasy prince who ran away from Madagascar after the death of King Radama I.[1] She was also a cousin of King Radama II. She had a sister, Jumbe-Salama, who died young.[2]

Her mother was Merina of Madagascar. Her father, General Ramanataka, was brother-in-law to Radama I, King of Madagascar. He died in 1842 and Djoumbé ascended to the throne. Her mother, Ravao, ruled as regent for a time and married her husband's former adviser, Tsivandini, in 1843. He became Djoumbé's tutor and started making arrangements for her marriage to the sultan of Zanzibar.[3]

Reign

When the missionary David Griffiths returned to Moheli in 1841, expecting to meet her father he in fact found his young daughter Jumbe-Souli on the throne.[4] Jumbe-Souli, like the majority of people on the island was Muslim and did not convert to Christianity.Ravao and Tsivandini divorced in 1846. Mayotte had recently been ceded to France, and the French, eager to develop their presence on Mohéli, arranged for a Madame Droit to serve as governess for Djoumbé.[5] The French also arranged for her coronation at the age of 12, in 1849. Two years later she expelled the governess and married Saïd Mohammed Nasser M'Kadar, who was cousin to Zanzibar's sultan. M'Kadar became prince consort and ruled with Fatima until 1860, when he was ousted by the French. Fatima held on to the throne, marrying two sultans. She renounced the throne for her son.

In 1863, the French government sent a delegation to meet with Queen Jumbe-Souli and the event was recorded by a visiting photographer Désiré Charnay.[6] He recorded that she seemed "melancholy and sickly" and had a number of attendants.[7] She was dressed extremely finely in a "robe of rich Turkish tissue of silk and gold". Her dress covered most of her face, with only her hand visible.[8] The purpose of the visit had been to impress upon the young queen the advantages of becoming a French colony; she resisted. Jumbe-Souli lived in the palace, overlooking the sea, next to which was the garrison - a white building of two rooms, which held 28 soldiers.

When the French returned in 1871, she was restored to the throne and ruled until her death in 1878.

Children

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Five African queens you did not know existed - Page 3 of 6. 2018-09-01. Face2Face Africa. en. 2019-12-04.
  2. Book: CHARNAY, DÉSIRÉ. MADAGASCAR VOL D'OISEAU. 1862. 67.
  3. Book: Sheldon, Kathleen. https://books.google.com/books?id=36BViNOAu3sC&q=Djoumbe%20Fatima&pg=PA63. Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. 2005. 978-0-8108-5331-7. Lanham (Maryland). 63. Djoumbe Fatima (1837–1878).
  4. Book: Campbell, Gwyn. David Griffiths and the Missionary "History of Madagascar". 2012-04-03. BRILL. 978-90-04-19518-9. 112. en.
  5. Book: Ottenheimer, Martin. Historical Dictionary of the Comoro Islands. Ottenheimer, Harriet. Scarecrow Press. 1994. 978-0-8108-2819-3. Metuchen, NJ [u.a.]. 61.
  6. Web site: La Reine de Mohely The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. www.mfah.org. 2019-12-04.
  7. Web site: BnF - Trésors photographiques de la Société de géographie. expositions.bnf.fr. 2019-12-04.
  8. Book: Campbell, Gwyn. David Griffiths and the Missionary "History of Madagascar". 2012-04-03. BRILL. 978-90-04-19518-9. 729. en.
  9. http://atic.massiwa.com/mwali/ Mwali