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GeneralViewofWomeninPreColonialAfrica:Economy,Governance,Social[PartOne]|Yelhispressing

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ItisimportantwhenstudyingthestatusofwomeninAfrica,oneshouldbearin
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GeneralViewofWomeninPreColonialAfrica:Economy,Governance,Social[PartOne]|Yelhispressing

mindthatthecontinentishugeandtherearesignificantdifferencesbetween
countries.Inaddition,withinonestatethereareseveraltraditionsandvaluesthatare
different.Therefore,theaimofthispaperistousespecificexampleswithinthe
communitiesinAfricatoshowtheroleofwomenwhichcontributedtotheirstatus.
ThestatusofaprecolonialAfricanwomanisverydifficulttodefinebecausethereare
manyexampleswhereshedominatedandotherinstanceswhereshefaced
discrimination.Hence,itonewillseethattheprecolonialwomanwasbothaleader
andawomanonthesideline.Inbothcases,analysisofthestatusshowthestrength
andtheweaknessesoftheindividualcommunitiesorpeopleandnotabroad
standpointofAfrican.
Oneoftheissuesinvolvedinthedebateonthestatusofwomeninprecolonial
Africaiswomenandgovernance.Generallythebeliefisthatwomenheldvery
submissivepoliticalpositionsinmostoftheAfricancountries.Therehasbeenacry
fromfeministsandotherwomenadvocateswhocryoutagainstthepatriarchalsystem
whichexistedinmostcountries.WhilstitistruethatpatriarchydidexistinAfrica,
womenwerenotentirelyremovedfrompoliticalpositions.AccordingtoC.
MagbailyFyle,althoughmendominatedpoliticsinAfricaintheprecolonialperiod
therewereaquiteafewwomenwhoplayedanactiveroleinpoliticsandgovernment.
Forexample,intheYorubapoliticalculture,therewastheIyalodewhowasamember
oftheAlafinscounciljudiciarybodyinYoruba.TheIyalodewasafemale
representativewhosewasresponsibleforwomenissuesandtheirspokeswomanatthe
Alafinsmeetings.Additionally,inSierraLeoneamongtheMendeandSherbropeople
bythe19thcenturywomencanbeheadsoftownsandsubregionsagoodexampleis
MadameYoko.Furthermore,accordingtoFylethequeenmothergavewomen
influenceandleverageinthepoliticalsphereofsomeAfricancountries.Inthiswriters
opinion,theplaceheldbythequeenmotherandqueensisterwasimportantpolitically
butdidnotaffordthemmuchpowerauthoritybutnoopportunittoexertanypower
tothatplacesomeoftheWolofandSerenePeoplehadtheplaceoftheLingure
(Kingsmother).Herplacewasceremonial,shewasinchargeofsacredobjectsandthe
Awa(kingsfirstwife)possessedfieldsandslaves.Thetwopositionsdidnotmake
decisionsthatinfluencetheeconomicorpoliticalspheresoftheempiresorcountries.
FromtheoutsidelookingintotheprecoloniallifeofmanyAfricans,itmayseem
likewomenweretotallyinsubordinatebothinthepublicandprivatesphere.However,
accordingtoOnaiwuWOgbomo,womensometimesuseinformalmeanstoinfluence
decisionsmadeinthehousehold.Forexample,inOwan,EdoStateNigeriabeforea
titlesystem,thehouseholdwasthesmallestunitofadministration.Theleaderofeach
householdwouldfrequencyholdmeetingstohelpdiscussionsbetweenfamily
membersitwasherethatwomengotthechancetoexpresstheirviews.Furthermore,
womencreatedorganizationsthatservedthembothintheprivateandpublicsphere.
Forexample,inOwan,theIdegbewasagroupfortheunmarriedandmarried
daughtersofaparticularlineage.Additionally,thereweretheIkhuohoandthe
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GeneralViewofWomenin
PreColonialAfrica:
Economy,Governance,
Social[PartOne]
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GeneralViewofWomeninPreColonialAfrica:Economy,Governance,Social[PartOne]|Yelhispressing

Ikposafengroupsformarriedorwivesofthefamily.SincetheOwanfamilylinewas
patrilineal,theIdegbeperceivedasmalesofthefamily,gotcertainauthority.
AccordingtoOgbomo,theyhadagreatinfluenceontheirhusbandsandbrothersthat
theywereabletofamilyproblemssuchasmarriages.Inaddition,becausethey
operatedasagroupthemanconsultedthembeforeafinaldecision.TheIdegbewere
activeinbirth,deathandmarriageactivities,thusdemonstratingpartoftheirsocial,
economicandpoliticalconsciousness.Inthiswritersopinion,itisimportanttobring
attentiontothegroupingofwomeninpositionsasmales.Inthisinstanceinthe
Owancommunities,itshowsthatmenwerenotabletonegotiatewithwomenunless
themensawthewomenasoneofthem.

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ItisinterestingtonotethatforsomeAfricanwomenandmenpowercamewith
titlesbasedoneconomicgainandprosperity.Thetitlewasasinvoluntarybecauseof
tradition.Forexample,theEkwetitleinNnobiqwasawomanorgirlwhosefortune
looksprosperous.Theinvoluntarytitleopenedtoallwomenbutforsomemenitis
reserved,accordingtotheirlineage.
WomenalsofoughtinarmiesinsomecountriesinprecolonialAfricathus
demonstratingtheinfluencethattheyhadingovernance.Forexample,amongthe
SothoofSouthAfrica,daughtersofsubrulerswerewomenregiments.Inaddition,the
mostfamouswomenwarriorsweretheAmazonsofDahomey.InNigerandChad,
womenledmigrations,formedcitiesandconqueredkingdomssuchasQueen
AminaofKatsina(Songhaipeople)becamefamousforherconquestsduringtheearly
15thcentury.AlsoinZaria,BazoaTurunkuwastheheadofwarriorswholivedina
town.
AnotherareaofdebateisthewomansroleintheprecolonialeconomyinAfrica.
Althoughwomenhadlimitedpoliticalrights,shehastheresponsibiltyofprovidingfor
herfamily.InmostAfricansocietiessuchaswomenwereinchargeoffire,waterand
theearth.Meaningshecooked,transportedwaterandplantedthefields.Itwasher
roleandhercontributiontoherfamily.Forexample,cottoncultivationandweaving
wastheprerogativeofwomenintheOwancommunitiesbecameknownasthe
goldenageforwomen[Ca.16001632].Thus,isitjustifiedtosaythatwomendidmost
oftheworkinAfricasocieties,whilemenformedpoliticaldecisions?Inthiswriters
belief,sinceitwastheirtraditionandwomendiditforyears,thenhertaskessentialif
notappreciated.Shouldthewomendecidetoabandontheirrolesthen,thesocialand
economicspheresofthecommunitieswouldchange.Furthermore,onecanviewthe
arrangementasasignthatthecontributionofwomeninthosepropositionswashighly
valued.However,atthesametimeitwouldnotbewrongtosaythattheprecolonial
womanlookeddoubleburdenedandthusmanyoftheirargumentsfortheadvantages
ofapolygamousfamily.
Inaddition,Ogbomomadeaveryinterestingpointwhenhenotedthatthewealth

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obtainedfromthecottonboominfromthemid17thcenturyallowedthecirculation
ofcowriesandironbars.Thecowryandironbarcurrencyfacilitatedmorepurchased
titlesintheOwan.Ogbomoarguesthatoneofthereasonsfortheincreasingthe
numberoftitleswastocurtailthegrowinginfluenceofwomen.Thebeliefwasthatthe
traditionalprestigeofthecommunitieswasfading.Furthermore,Ogbomodidpoint
outthatwomenheldafewofthetitles.However,theshrewdnatureofsomeoral
traditions,donotclearlydefinetherelationshipbetweenthetitlesheldbymenand
womeninrespecttoequalityontheoccasionwhenitdidexist.
ThesociallifeinthecommunitiesacrossAfricaalwaysraisescontentiousdebates
aboutthestatusofwomenmarriage,landandreligionetc.Religioninparticular
influencestheidealsofmarriageandtheotherfunctionsofthefamily.Thepenetration
ofIslamintoAfricachangedseveraldynamicsontheroleandstatusofwomenin
society.Forexample,inHausaland,theinfluxofIslamresultedinthemeasureand
qualityofimportantpoliticalrolestodiminish.Islamalsohadanimpactonthe
economicactivityofafewsuchastheFulaniherderswhowereaccustomedtowomens
involvementinmarketday.However,womenbecameforbiddentogotothemarket
andtoworkinfieldstherewasanemphasisonreproductioninsteadofproduction.
Islambroughtinformaleducationforwomenbutitisimportanttonotethatthe
educationinvolvedthewomenlearningthesacredtextstounderstandtheirrightsand
placeinsociety.Inaddition,theearlyroleofChristianityintoAfricaespeciallyin
Ethiopiacreatedachangeinsomesocialcustoms.Themissionariestriedtoswaythe
womenfromdressingintheirtraditionaloutfitsbecauseoftheimagethatitwas
provocativeandcoarse.Inaddition,themissionarieswerecontentiousagainst
polygamyandearnestlytriedtofightagainstit.However,formyAfricanfamilies
polygamousfamiliesworkedforthembecauseitallowedthecommunalraisingof
childrenandsharedlabour.
LandownershipisanotherissueonthestatusofwomeninprecolonialAfrica.Since
landwascommunityowednooneownedlandindividuallyasonedidinwestern
societies,althoughthelandtraditiondifferedfrompeopletopeople.Forsomethe
AnloofGhana,landcamewithclansandmarriageplayedanimportantrolein
keepinglandwithinclans.Thus,ifawomanmarriedoutsideherclan,thenpartofthe
landthatherfamilypossessedwenttoherhusbandfromtheotherclan.Forthis
reason,manydaughterscontrolovermarriagebecausemorerestrictivebecausetheir
familiesstronglyencouragedaunionwithintheclan.Additionally,Greenecomments
thatinsituationslikethesewomenplacedtheclanbeforetheirneeds.Itisalso
importanttonotethatsincelandwascommunalandtendedmostlybywomenin
someAfricancountries,womenwereviewedasessentialtolanddevelopment.
AccordingtoAnthoniaC.Kalu,fortheBambarapeopleofWestAfricawomenwerein
controlofcertainforestproductslikefuelwoodandfruitsofcertaintreessuchasthe
Sheanuttree.Kalufurtherexplainsthatwomenhadcustomaryrightstothelandand
asaresultwerepartofthelandrightsthatgovernedtheBambaraland.Itis
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noteworthytopointoutthatsincemostoftheAfricanstates,countriesorempires
wereagrarianandsinceoneofthewomansroleswasinfoodproduct,shebecame
moreimportant.
Moreover,fromtheliteratureonecanseethattherewereseveralissueswhichfuelled
thedebateonthestatusofwomeninprecolonialAfrica.Theissuesofland,marriage,
workandpowerareessentialtotheprivateandpublicsphereactivities.Itis
importanttobearinmindthatwhenreadingaboutwomeninAfrica,mostofthetime
westernbeliefsandtraditioninfluenceourjudgements.Therefore,thiswriteragrees
withmanyAfricanwriterswhowarnthatthetraditionsofthewestwhenjuxtaposed
withthoseofAfrica,isverydangerousinunderstandingthesignificantrolesthat
eithermenorwomenperformed.Havingsaidthisitisalsonecessarytopointoutthat
therewereinstanceswhenwomenintheirrolesmayseemoverburdened,suchasher
roleasproviderusingfire,waterandearth.
WorkCited
Amadiume,I.MaleDaughtersandFemaleHusbands.NewJersey:ZedBooks,1987.
CoqueryVidrovitch,Catherine.AfricaandAfricansinthe19thCentury:ATurbulent
History.NewYork:Sharpe,2009.
Fyle,C.Magbaily.IntroductiontotheHistoryofAfricanCivilization:Precolonial
Africa.Maryland:UniversityPressofAmerica,1999.
Greene,SandraA.GenderandEthnicityinPreColonialWestAfrica.Janssens,
EileenBorrisandAngelique.ComplicatingCategories:Gender,Class,Raceand
Ethnicity.NewYork:PressSyndicateoftheUniversityofCambridge,2004.115.
Kalu,AnthoniaC.Women,LiteratureandDevelopmentinAfrica.Eritrea:African
WorldPressInc.,2001.
Lebeuf,Annie.TheRoleofWomeninthePoliticalOrganizationofAfricanSocieties.
Wright,DenisePaulmeandH.M.WomeninTropicalAfrica.Berkeley:Universityof
CaliforniaPress,1971.93120.
Ogbomo,OnaiwuW.WhenmenandWomenMattered:AHistoryofGenderRelations
AmongtheOwanofNigeria.Rochester:UniversityofRochesterPress,1997.

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