WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL WEST AFRICA
The history of medieval West Africa utilizes archaeological artifacts, myths, chronicles, oral
traditions, and work of Arabian and European writers. Ibn Battuta, circa 14th century, wrote about
his experience in Timbuktu, the major city, that “…women were treated with more respect than
men…” yet he denounced the nudity of their women and their lack of seclusion. As can be
expected, caution is needed when using these Muslim sources, as from the 9th c. on Muslims
attempted to conquer and convert West Africans. In the process many native customs were
forgotten and many documents and artistic renderings were destroyed.
Women were greatly esteemed for their importance in various roles: state founders, mothers,
creators, and queens. Women were regarded as the source of life and wisdom. Leading roles in
agricultural, architecture, culture, religion, economy and defense were played by women. However,
with the introduction of Islam, there began a change from matrilfocal society to patriarfocal one,
albeit a long process. Remnants of a matrilineal society in places could be observed until recently.
In some areas women were held at a higher status than men. Changes in society that decreased
women’s status were: elders, chiefs, kings, & heads of big families, development of early feudal
relationships, and development of towns. These are the same conditions that affected women in
medieval Europe too.
Marriage and family practices
Prior to Muslim Jihads of the Almoravids in the 11th c. we know that polygamy was
practiced, but mainly by people of high status, although it was not especially favored. Lower class
men and women were monogamous. A bride price was given by the perspective bridegroom as a
guarantee that betrothed women were to be respected, honored, and protected. Once women were
married, they could bring complaints about their husbands to the council of elders. If the problems
in the marriage were irreconcilable, and the fault rested with the husband, then the wife could
divorce him and get another husband.
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Most marriages were arranged outside of the tribe. This exogamy meant that women could
be active partners in starting their relationship. If they were in love with a specific male, then they
sent him a dish of tasty food with pytto or palm wine. Premarital relations were a matter of mutual
consent. It appears that love and mutual affection dominated the decision to get married.
Wedding Customs (more will be added later)
There were a wide variety of wedding customs. Certain areas a medicine man or magician
was present at the wedding. Secret ceremonies and sacrificial rites were carried out too.
Motherhood
Great honor was attached to motherhood. As there was widespread belief in reincarnation,
every child born was believed to be a fully or partially reincarnated form of a beloved ancestor.
Mothers were considered receptacles or sources for bringing the reincarnated back to earth. The
dead were enjoined to return to their communities as quickly as possible. The names of the children
reflected this. “Yetunde” meant mother has returned again. “Babatunde” meant that the father has
returned again. As shrines were erected in honor of mothers, then it appears the mother’s place was
a more honorable position than the father’s. Women and mothers were also immortalized as
goddesses. Music, dancing, and poetry were all used to honor mothers. One tribe the daughters
erected a personal matrilineal shrine and called it the “The Mothers.” There were shrines in the
homes to honor their deceased mothers too. This was often a small rounded conical clay mound.
This was the reward for being a good mother.
Children – more later
Stylized wooden dolls were worn as amulets or used as statutes to protect against infertility,
and to insure easy delivery, and that the child would be healthy and well-formed.
Queens, princesses, court ladies
In many African countries their inhabitants retain memories of famous women rulers,
women warriors, co-regents and queen mothers. In Ghana according to folk tales there were many
female co-regents. In one of the Ashanti states eighteen queens were reputed to have reigned
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between 1295 and 1740. Queen Amina 1550-1590 was the most famous. Her image is on the
Nigerian’s government home page and currency today. Amina was probably the granddaughter of
the Sarkin King Zazzau Nohir. Zazzua was one of the Hausa city-states that dominated the transSaharan trade after the collapse of the Songhai Empire. At the age of sixteen, Amina became the
heir apparent to her mother, the ruling queen of Zazzua. When her mother died around 1566, her
younger brother Karama became King. Apparently it was Amina’s choice as she was the leading
warrior of the Zazzua cavalry and wanted to continue that as her military achievements brought her
great wealth and power. When her brother Karama died after a ten-year rule, Amina became queen.
She ruled for thirty-four years, expanding Zazzua to its largest extent. This meant their territory
went all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It is now thought that Amina was instrumental in keeping
England out of the gold fields of West Africa because of her military might. Queen Amina built
many earthen city walls and fortifications, many of which are still standing, and known as Amina’s
walls. The annexation of neighboring lands was not necessarily done with warriors stationed at
these sites, but forcing them to accept vassal status, so her Hausa traders would be safe. Amina also
utilized eunuchs in her government as she felt they were better servants, so she encouraged men to
be castrated. Amina is also credited with introducing kola nuts to the economy. They became the
recognized symbol of hospitality and the universal expression of good will. Even though they
contained a mild narcotic stimulant, they were acceptable to the Muslims. Thus, kola nuts were
used for both medicinal and ceremonial use in West Africa.
Another prominent West African queen was Queen Kufuru. The Nigerian area Hausa citystate was founded and ruled by her. Eight queens succeeded her. When Kings took over the ruling
of these lands, a story about a snake was told to justify this change. Apparently, a Muslim stranger
killed a sacred snake who had prevented getting water out of the only well. Thereafter it was ruled
by men.
Where polygamy was practiced by rulers, the chief wife had enough status that if the king
tried to replace her, it was forbidden to do so. In many areas the Queen Mother was the only
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person who could countermand the king’s orders, initiate action to remove him from the throne,
preside over subsidiary courts where cases regarding women were held, and could pardon or offer
sanctuary to criminals condemned by the king. It appears that these queen mothers regulated the
affairs of women in the kingdom, and had official roles in society. If the mother of the king was not
available then they used a relative, somewhat analogous to the British Queen Mum.
Women and Religion
It appears that goddesses played prominent roles in the African creation myths, and other
aspects of religious worship. While we know a lot about female deities in Yoruba, Asante, Ibo
Dahomey, Mossi, and other tribes, knowledge is lacking about goddesses in Ghana, Mali, Songhay,
and Kamem Bornu. Veneration of goddesses is still present today among Africans and Africans
living in Europe and America.
In the earliest times, African religious practices were what modern-day scholars called
animism and ancestral worship. Incorporated into this was the worship of various inanimate
objects, what is called today fetishism. Ancestors were visual represented as statues or masks, and
the people offered prayers and sacrifices to them. Then polytheistic state religions developed and
took over many aspects of the old tribal beliefs. From the ghosts of ancestors deities were
developed. Gods were linked by close relations and dominated by leaders; akin to a sort of
hereditary aristocracy. In some areas kings and queens were elevated into deities, who then in turn
declared their ancestors gods too.
Goddesses of creation, fertility and agriculture existed, and many were self begotten or selfborn without any assistance from male gods. Goddesses also created the moon, sun, stars, etc.
Another name for these early creation goddesses was mother killers, indicative that they not only
were givers of life, but takers of life too. Some of these deities possessed both gender
characteristics. These goddesses were also part of a trinity or triad.
The Ibo in Nigeria constructed temples to honor their earth mother, Ala. For these people
Ala was the most beloved goddess of all the deities. We find that the worship of Ala goes back as
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far as 3000 b.c.e. There were also some structures where she was worship with a figure of Ala
with a child on her knee. This motif of mother and child was widespread in African art.
Priestesses presided over the activities relating to worship of the deities in various holy
places. These priestesses oversaw the dances, rituals, and processions in honor of the goddess and
the fetish, where an object was worshiped that represented a deity. Some of these totems or fetishes
were made of bone, feathers, horns, animal claws, stones, and living or stuffed animals. An
equestrian figure of a woman was apparently designed to bring good luck to hunters. There is also
evidence of secret societies of women regarding their religious practices. Compared to women all
over the world, African women were most instrumental in preserving their religious traditions.
Women and the Economy
Women in medieval Africa contributed significantly to the economic development and
growth of the various West African kingdoms. Women were leaders in the domestication of plants.
These plants, roots and various herbs were utilized for consumption and medicinal use. Women
also invented tools for processing foods, and used the celestial cycles for farming. Integral to the
development and expansion of local and international trade were women. Timbuckto is a famous
city that was started by a woman. The name means Buckto’s well, and she was a woman.
Women made or processed the weaving of cloth. They manufactured items from leather,
did metal working, and played a leading role in the mining and production of the most important
commodities in the region, namely, soap, salt, pottery, and cooking and cosmetic oils. The soap
that was made by these women was of such high quality that the Portuguese prohibited its
importation as too much competition with its own soap. Even enslaved women were prominent in
the soap making business. The slave would be freed if she made the ruler ten cakes of soap each
year as a sign of her appreciation. Women worked in the copper mines, and played two extremely
important roles in the gold trade. Gold mining and trade might go back to the 5th century b.c.e. The
people of Wangara mined and sold the gold under the aegis of the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
Empires. The system known as dump barter was probably initially developed by women to keep
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the gold location secret. It was a half day’s journey from the goods and gold left to pay for them,
and if not enough given, then the process continued. The city of Timbuckto was the main importer
and exporter city.
We know that women were also artisans and singers. Women sang lullabies of their people
as they went about the daily chores. Some of the songs were joyful and others were sad. This
tradition of singing songs has continued up to the modern time. Women were also griots or story
tellers. This oral tradition is now being researched. Women were also fisherwomen, farmers, and
healers. Some women practiced their healing arts as priestesses of gods of medicine. Body and
facial herbs and mixtures were used to attract men as well as used for medicinal and spiritual
efficaciousness. Women would apply white clay called spiritual power to their faces. They
believed that without this powder the ancestral spirits would be unable to communicate with them.
Women were also teachers. They taught a variety of subjects: values, traditions, rituals, and laws.
Proverbs and incantations were used to inculcate valuable lessons to people.
African Art pertaining to women
Clothing of many hues was worn by women. They also decorated themselves with jewelry
made from a variety of resources. That much money was spent for the dying and weaving of cloth
for women’s garments, implies the high status women enjoyed in medieval West Africa.
Conclusion
There were many factors that eventually led to the decrease in women’s status. As Islam
spread to more people, women’s important place in society was eroded. As more chiefs and kings
developed, then feudal relationships occurred, and feudal society is not conducive to women’s high
status. Towns developed too, and as most of municipalities eventually become republican forms of
government, then women’s place in their political structure declines.