Queen Modjadji, or the Rain Queen, is the hereditary queen of Balobedu, a people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The Rain Queen is believed to have special powers, including the ability to control the clouds and rainfall.[1] She is known as a mystical and historic figure who brought rain to her allies and drought to her enemies. She is not a ruler as such, but a powerful rainmaker and a traditional healer (ngaka).[2]
As of March 2024[update], the title is in dispute between two claimants.
The traditional installation of Prince Lekukela Modjadji as the king of the Balobedu took place in October 2022 at Khetlhakoni Royal Palace in Modjadjiskloof outside Tzaneen in Limpopo.[3] Princess Masalanabo, who was expected to be the next Rain Queen, is intended by the faction of the Modjadji Royal Council that installed him to now take a position reserved for her and become the Khadikholo (great aunt) of Balobedu.[4][5][6]
The other claimant is Lekukela's sister, who is known to loyalists as Masalanabo II Modjadji VII. She is the daughter of the last Rain Queen, Makobo Modjadji VI. A ceremony to celebrate her 18th birthday was held in April 2023 at the Kara Heritage Institute in Pretoria; it was organized by the Balobedu Heritage Society, which was founded by her great grandmother Mokope Modjadji V. The event was used to launch her history booklet "Masalanabo Modjadji VII: Daughter Of The Sun". She will be crowned by a rival faction of the Modjadji Royal Council.[7][8][9][10] Originally planned for April 2024, her coronation will take place in September 2024.[11]
The matter of the succession is currently before the courts of South Africa.
History
There are several different stories relating to the creation and history of the Rain Queens of Balobedu. One story states that an old chief in 16th century Monomotapa (South eastern Zimbabwe), was told by his ancestors that by impregnating his daughter, Dzugundini, she would gain rain-making skills. Another story involves a scandal in the same chief's house, in which the chief's son impregnated Dzugundini. Dzugundini was held responsible and was forced to flee the village. Dzugundini ended up in Molototsi Valley, which is in the present day Balobedu Kingdom.
The village she established with her loyal followers was ruled by a Mokoto, a male leader, but the peace and harmony of the village were disrupted by rivalries between different families; therefore, to pacify the land, Mokoto impregnated his own daughter in order to restore the tribe's matrilineal tradition. In another version, Mokoto had a vision that he had to marry his daughter in order to create a matrilineal dynasty.[12] She gave birth to the first Rain Queen, known as Modjadji, which means: "ruler of the day".
During the 1930s, social anthropologists Eileen Krige and Jack Krige carried out fieldwork on the society of the Rain Queens. Their work was published in 1943 as The Realm of a Rain-Queen. A Study of the Pattern of Lovedu Society,[13] and remains one of the standard anthropological works.[1]
Customs
According to custom, the Rain Queen must shun public functions, and can only communicate with her people through her male or female councillors.
Every November she presides over the annual Rainmaking ceremony at her royal compound in Khetlhakone Village.
She is not supposed to marry, but has many "wives", as they are referred to in the Balobedu language. These are not spouses in the usual sense of the word; as a queen regnant, she has the equivalent of royal court servants, or ladies-in-waiting), sent from many villages all over the Balobedu Kingdom. These wives were selected by The Queen's Royal Council and in general are from the households of the subject chiefs. This ritual of "bride giving" is strictly a form of diplomacy to ensure loyalty to the Queen.
The Rain Queen's mystical rain-making powers are believed to be reflected in the lush garden which surrounds her royal compound. Surrounded by parched land, her garden contains the world's largest cycad trees which are in abundance under a spectacular rain belt.[citation needed] One species of cycad, the Modjadji cycad, is named after the Rain Queen. The rain-making powers are also believed to be transmitted through matriarchal mitochondrial DNA[citation needed]. Therefore, the Queenship is inherited through matrilineal lineage, by the daughters of the Rain queen.
The Rain Queen is a prominent figure in South Africa, many communities respecting her position and, historically, attempting to avoid conflict in deference thereto. The fifth Rain Queen, Mokope Modjadji, maintained cordial relations with Nelson Mandela. Even presidents of South Africa during apartheid visited the Rain Queens.[12]
The Rain Queen has become a figure of interest, she and the royal institution becoming a significant tourist attraction contributing to the South African economy. The Rain Queen was offered an annual government civil list. The stipend was also expected to help defray the costs of preserving the cycad trees found in the Rain Queen's gardens.
Rain Queen Makobo Caroline Modjadji VI (22 July 1978 – 12 June 2005) was the sixth in a line of the Balobedu people's Rain Queens. Makobo was crowned on 16 April 2003, at the age of 25, after the death of her predecessor and grandmother, Rain Queen Mokope Modjadji V. This made her the youngest queen in the history of the Balobedu.
Makobo was admitted into the Limpopo Medi-Clinic for an undisclosed illness on 10 June 2005 and died two days later, at the age of 27. The official cause of death was listed as chronic meningitis. She is survived by a son, Prince Lekukela Hex (b. 1997), and a daughter, Masalanabo Modjadji VII (b. 20 January 2005) who succeeded her in 2023 when she turned 18.[14]
Succession
The Rain Queen's official mates are chosen by the Royal Council, so that all of her children will be of dynastic status, from which future Rain Queens may descend. However, the Rain Queens are not expected to remain in exclusive relations with these partners. In the past, the Rain Queen was allowed to have children only by her close relatives.[citation needed]
Perhaps uniquely, the Balobedu crown descends according to matrilineal primogeniture: her eldest daughter is always her successor, so the title of Rain Queen is normally passed from mother to daughter. It is said that she ingests poison when she is near death so that her daughter will assume the crown more quickly. Lately, however, many traditions have been abandoned, influenced by Christian missionaries.
The government of South Africa recognized Princess Masalanabo as the future Rain Queen in a 2016 memorandum and she was expected to officially receive her certificate in 2021, when she turned 18, as minors are not allowed to be traditional leaders.[15] Makobo's brother Prince Mpapatla was designated regent for Princess Masalanabo. However, Mpapatla himself has a daughter by his cousin, a woman from the royal Modjadji line. Mpapatla, however, has insisted that his late sister's daughter, Princess Masalanabo, will be enthroned as the queen when she turns 18.[16][17][18]
However, in May 2021, the Modjadji Royal Council appointed Masalanabo's older brother, Prince Lekukela, as king of the Balobedu nation with the support of Prince Regent Mpapatla, citing Masalanabo's lack of preparation on divine processes traditionally assumed by Rain Queens, as she lives in Gauteng with the family of Mathole Motshekga, a former advisor to the Balobedu Royal Council. Mpapatla claims there is a 2006 Royal Council resolution appointing Lekukela as heir to the Balobedu throne, which was allegedly kept secret due to security concerns.[6] The Royal Council plans for Princess Masalanabo to instead assume the position of khadi-kholo (great aunt) of the Balobedu kingdom.[19][6] Lekukela was installed as King elect by the Modjadji royal council in October 2022, although his coronation is still pending judicial approval after a court application was submitted by Princess Masalanabo's legal team in order to challenge the Royal Council's decision, which they claim to be illegal under the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act and to ignore the recognition of Masalanabo as Rain Queen by President Cyril Ramaphosa.[20][21] An online petition against Lekukela's appointment was launched in May 2021, even though the Royal Council has stated the decision is irreversible.[22]
A male branch of the extended royal clan has also petitioned the South African president to restore the male line of the Balobedu royal house, which reigned before 1800. This request is considered unlikely to be granted, since the Rain Queen heritage is recognised as a national cultural legacy and interest in it has stimulated significant tourist trade. This male branch is reportedly considered by some to be a faction that promotes division within the royal clan of the Balobedu people.[citation needed]
The Marvel Comics character Storm is a fictional descendant of the dynasty that produces the Rain Queens through the line of the Sorceress Supreme Ayesha from the Hyborian Age.[25] Mujaji is also the name of the goddess of sustenance in The Orisha, the pantheon of Wakanda.[26] In Wakanda, Storm is called Hadari-Yao ("Walker of Clouds" in ancient Alkamite), a goddess who preserves the balance of natural things.[27]
Sesotho sa Leboa is a Sotho-Tswana language group spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa, most commonly in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Limpopo provinces. It is also known by Pedi or Sepedi and holds the status of an official language in South Africa.
Rainmaking is a weather modification ritual that attempts to invoke rain. It is based on the belief that humans can influence nature, spirits, or the ancestors who withhold or bring rain.
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relative. In most contexts, it means the inheritance of the firstborn son ; it can also mean by the firstborn daughter, or firstborn child.
Alice Maud Krige is a South African actress and producer. Her big break came in 1981, when she starred as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the British historical film Chariots of Fire, and as Eva Galli / Alma Mobley in the American supernatural horror film Ghost Story. She received a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in the West End theatre production of Arms and the Man (1981) and later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.
A queen regnant is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns suo jure over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning king; or a queen regent, who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules pro tempore in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it de jure in sharing power or de facto in ruling alone. A queen regnant is sometimes called a woman king. A princess, duchess, or grand duchess regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over a principality or (grand) duchy; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over an empire.
Makobo Modjadji VI was the sixth in a line of the Balobedu tribe's Rain Queens. It is believed by her people that Makobo Modjadji had the ability to control the clouds and rivers. Makobo became queen on 16 April 2003 at the age of 25, after the death of her predecessor and grandmother, Queen Mokope Modjadji, and she reigned until her own death just two years later. This made her the youngest Queen in the history of the Balobedu tribe.
The Lobedu or Balobedu(also known as the BaLozwi or Bathobolo) are a southern African ethnic group that speak a Northern Sotho dialect. Their area is called Bolobedu. The name "balobedu" means "the mineral miners," lobela or go loba, - to mine. Their ancestors were part of the great Mapungubwe early civilization. They have their own kingdom, the Balobedu Kingdom, within the Limpopo Province of South Africa with a female ruler, the Rain Queen Modjadji.
Mokope Modjadji V was the fifth Rain Queen of the Balobedu tribe in the Limpopo Province of South Africa from 1981 until her death in 2001.
Makoma Modjadji IV was the fourth Rain Queen of the Balobedu tribe of the Limpopo Province of South Africa, succeeding her mother, Queen Khesetoane Modjadji III, in 1959 and reigning until her death. She married Andreas Maake, with whom she had several children.
Encephalartos transvenosus is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae, with a localized distribution in Limpopo, South Africa. Its common names, Modjadji's cycad or Modjadji's palm, allude to the female dynasty of the Lobedu people, the Rain Queens, whose hereditary name is Modjadji. The queen resides near a valley which is densely forested with these cycads, which they protected and hold sacred. The species name transvenosus refers to the fine network of veins between the main veins. These can be seen when the leaf is held up to the light.
Khesetoane Modjadji III became the third Rain Queen from the South African Balobedu nation of the South African Limpopo Province. Khesetoane reigned from 1895 to 1959. She was preceded by Rain Queen Masalanabo Modjadji II and succeeded by Rain Queen Makoma Modjadji IV.
Queen Modjadji was the hereditary female ruler and queen of Balobedu, South Africa. She is known to be mythical and historical, and she is believed to have had powers that let her control the clouds and rainfall by bringing rain to her friends and drought to their enemies.
Masalanabo Modjadji II was the second Rain Queen of the South African Balobedu people.
Mathole Serofo Motshekga is a retired South African politician and lawyer. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between May 2009 and May 2024, during which time he was the Chief Whip of the Majority Party from 2009 to 2013. Before that, he was the second Premier of Gauteng from 1998 to 1999.
In Eswatini, no king can appoint his successor. Instead, on the demise of a king, the Liqoqo, an independent traditional council, decides which of his wives shall be "great wife" and Indlovukazi, 'She-Elephant'. The son of the chosen Indlovukazi will automatically become the next king.
Eileen Jensen Krige (1905–1995) was a prominent South African social anthropologist noted for her research on Zulu and Lovedu cultures. Together with Hilda Kuper and Monica Wilson, she produced substantial works on the Nguni peoples of Southern Africa. Apart from her research she is considered to be one of the 'pioneering mothers' of the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa, where she taught from 1948 until retirement in 1970. She inspired many women to devote themselves to research. Krige is also associated with a group of South African anthropologists who were strongly against the segregation policies of apartheid in South Africa. These include amongst others, Isaac Schapera, Winifred Hoernlé, Hilda Kuper, Monica Wilson, Audrey Richards and Max Gluckman.
Maselekwane Modjadji I was the first Rain Queen of the South African Balobedu nation. Maselekwane reigned from 1800 to 1854. She was succeeded by Rain Queen Masalanabo Modjadji II.
Toek Blignaut was a South African writer. She wrote over 80 books and 200 short stories. She interviewed heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard and she made the first interview with Rain Queen Mokope Modjadji. Blignaut was an agony aunt at the Afrikaans teenage magazine Rooi Rose where she rose to be vice-editor.
Chief (Kgoshi) Mamphoku Makgoba was a Lobedu Chief who ruled Makgobaskloof in the Soutpansberg, former Northern Transvaal, Mopani district, South Africa. His tribal totem is the Tlou of BaTlou tribe.
↑ Goitsemodimo, Gosiame Amy (6 September 2019). "Modjadji – The Rain Queen". National Museum Publications. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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