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Amazons

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topic icon Author Topic: Amazons  (Read 660 times)

The Australian Panther

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Amazons
« on: July 30, 2022, 09:52:48 AM »

I moved this thread over here, Prof wants his thread focused on his work.
Captain Audio wrote:-
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There have been Black African matriarchal cultures, mainly on islands off the coast. Female warrior queens with armies of highly skilled amazon warriors are known into the 19th and 20th centuries.

Australian Panther wrote:-
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can you give references and details to that statement?
What islands? 

Captain Audio responded:
https://historyofyesterday.com/african-amazons-give-frenchmen-a-dressing-down-b0dcfb117f41
http://mmstudies.com/matriarchies/west-africa/
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g28565280/matriarchal-societies-list/
The Island civilizations are a complex subject.
Starting here you can trace back to possibly the earliest civilization on the islands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranavalona_I
The Vazimba who were often ruled by women.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vazimba

The history of these island cultures is just too much to unpack here.

I will read these links and respond later.
Thanks Captain!
« Last Edit: July 31, 2022, 12:29:39 PM by The Australian Panther »
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The Australian Panther

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Re: Amazons
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2022, 01:39:42 PM »

This is what I wrote in my original post.
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The comics have already had a female Black Panther, so that is what I expect.
Totally against African tribal traditions, I believe, but they don't really care about Africa.

I wasn't referring to female soldiers or fighters, but female rulers, as in the European king or queen.   
Thanks for the reference material. I always like to learn something new.
On the Dahomey Amazons.
I quote,
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The female corps was formed in the mid-17th century from a small group of elephant hunters established by the second king of Dahomey, Wegbaja.

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in those days African tribes usually had no army. In case of war, they would gather their warriors, fight the battle and disband the army 

So in that instance, while there was a formidable female army, it was established by, and answerable to, a male king.
The two links on matriarchy reflect current western-oriented attitudes toward West Africa, which are highly slanted against European presence in West Africa, since what they are really interested in is damming western society.
So we get this.
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Lerone Bennett writes in his Before Mayflower; a History of Black America, that the European penetration and the slave trade debased much of that which was vital and in African culture.
 
But the Muslim arabs were regularly taking slaves across the continent to the Sudan and then across to Arabia and points further west.
Slavery was and still is a cultural norm in Africa.
Black Slavery exists today in Muslim-dominated African nations
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/353018
Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume One: Islam and the Ideology of Enslavement (Slaves & Slavery in Muslim Africa)
https://www.amazon.com/Slaves-Slavery-Africa-Ideology-Enslavement/dp/0714631426
The Origins of the African Slave Trade
https://scaruffi.com/politics/slavetra.html
I apologise for going off topic but I can't let that pass. I know, probably not your opinion.
The articles on Matriarchy are biased and politically motivated.
Here are two contradictory articles by an African Feminist.
Pre-colonial Africans were also patriarchs
https://www.judicaelleirakoze.org/pre-colonial-africans-were-also-patriarchs/
Patriarchy in Ancient Africa
https://www.judicaelleirakoze.org/patriarchy-in-ancient-africa/ 
Take an effort to read them. Worth it.
Ranavalona I is a fascinating character but like queens Elizabeth and Victoria, untypical.
This article, from Wikipedia of course, is classic.
Conclusion:-
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Later academic research recast Ranavalona's actions as those of a queen attempting to expand her empire while protecting Malagasy sovereignty against the encroachment of European cultural and political influence
Well, of course 'later academic research' did!
Lets ignore:-
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She made heavy use of the traditional practice of fanompoana (forced labor as tax payment) to complete public works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Merina soldiers, whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and further expand the realm. The combination of regular warfare, disease, difficult forced labor and harsh trials by ordeal using a poisonous nut from the Tangena shrub resulted in a high mortality rate among both soldiers and civilians during her 33-year reign, with Madagascar's population reducing from 5 million in 1833 to 2.5 million in 1839. 

And how many of those forced labourers and those who died were women and children?   

Also, as the article points out, Madagascar has cultural connections to the Indonesian Islands and is not typically African.
I have spent time in Ghana. Contrary to the perception most have, Ghana and the Gold coast countries are divided, Christian [much more so than most western nations] in the south and Muslim in the North.
Back to my original post, lets see if I can make myself clearer. My point was that Disney now uses its movies to promote values that are contrary to, not only a great percentage of its intended audience but also of the original creators of the characters and concepts, and that is what i expect of the new Panther movie.
The first film was a great hit, and not just in the US and understandably so. I don't have such high hopes for the next one.
Back to my original point.
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Totally against African tribal traditions, I believe, but they don't really care about Africa. 

I do not mean to imply a value judgement for or against patriarchy, just to point  out that it was the traditional norm.
I stand by that statement.     
Danke! 
« Last Edit: July 31, 2022, 02:01:54 PM by The Australian Panther »
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Captain Audio

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Re: Amazons
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2022, 07:55:48 PM »

I believe we agree on most points. I didn't write any of those articles they were just ones most easily found.
My point was not that all of Africa was a matriarchy but that matriarchies did exist .
Even in many tribes ruled by men only the right of succession or inheritance was matrilineal by the mother's blood line. To some extent this was true of early Scotland as well, by way of the old pre Roman Pictish traditions.
The term "husband" originally meant the man of the house husbanded the resources of the household and land that belonged to the wife by way of inheritance.

The further you go back into African history the greater the role of Female rulers and warrior queens.
Wakanda is supposed to be an ancient insular culture so ancient traditions may survive. Of course its just a fictional nation so it doesn't really matter in the real world.
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The Australian Panther

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Re: Amazons
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2022, 02:16:41 AM »

Been a good learning experience. I thank you.
with reference to what you say about scotland, the issues between womens and mens roles seem to be fairly constant in aboriginal cultures world-wide.
Cheers!
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K1ngcat

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Re: Amazons
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2022, 11:19:40 PM »

All fascinating stuff! I like a drop of gin myself but I can't imagine drinking enough to make me want to skin a bull with my teeth. Well done, ladies.
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