Legendary Warrior Princess Yennenga

Between the 11th and 15th centuries lived the legendary warrior princess Yennenga, although it is accepted that she would perhaps be in the 12th century.

Yennenga is daughter of Naba (King) Nedega and Queen Napoko, rulers of Dagomba Kingdom north of present-day Ghana.

The story tells that Nedega, having no sons initially and being Yennenga his first daughter, decided to educate her in the martial arts of war and hunting.

The figure of Yennenga challenges tradition and stereotypes of the time in some cultures, basically a woman was expected to marry, have children, take care of the home and be subject to male authority.

Yennenga broke this stereotype, rode a horse, activity reserved for men and warriors, handled the sword, spear, bow and various weapons, had become her father's favorite daughter.

At the age of 14, Yennenga was already leading the Dagomba cavalry in battle, against his father's opponents, he ended the criticism of both men and women.

Yennenga came to exude an aura of invisibility in the battle that her father came to consider irreplaceable.

Yennenga whose name means "The slender", was described as a thin and beautiful woman, despite dressing in warrior clothes, masculine, she had no shortage of contenders.

King Nedega rejected everyone who asked for his daughter's hand, even despite already having male sons who could inherit the throne. Queen Napoko is said to be sad that her daughter was not going to get married or basically have the life of a maid, it is said that Yennenga seeing her mother, started thinking about love.

To show his displeasure in front of his father, he planted some seeds of okra in a field, I take care of them until they matured, but I do not collect them, I let them die.

Her father called her to the palace to respond to this negligence, she simply told him that he was letting her wither like that field, angry because Nedega ordered his daughter to be locked up.

It is said that Nedega, escaped at night with the help of one of the guards, mounted on his white stallion, escaping were surprised by malink warriors, rivals of the dagombas, dying in the process Yennenga's friend and she escaping further north.

Finally you will find refuge in the cottage of Riale, young hunter of Bissa origin, finally this one discovers that Yennenga is a woman despite men's clothing, ends up falling in love and they share their stories, Riale is a prince who also had to escape. They both fell in love and bore a son named Ouedraogo "Stallion" in honor of Yennenga's horse who facilitated the match.

Years passed and Yennenga was beginning to miss her home, family and father. Wanting to reconcile with his father, he decides to send his son.

Ouedraogo arrives in Gambaga, capital of Dagomba kingdom, where he is received by Nedega who is already elderly, excited listening to the story of his grandson and Nedega told him that Yennenga could go home with her husband, waiting for her to organize a big party.

It should be added that Ouedraogo returned with his parents, with cattle, gifts and soldiers from his grandfather, to founded a kingdom.

Ouedraogo would be the founder of the first Mossis kingdom in what is Burkina Faso, his mother Yennenga and father Riale, the ancestors of the other Mossis reigning houses.

So for the mossi people, Yennenga is their founding mother.

Texts by Oumar Xavier.

Picture from Yennenga. Art by diddles25.

Fuentes:

Libro Dictionary of African Biography

Tomos 1-6 de Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 

- Book The Epic World by Pamela Lothspeich.

English  text:

Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the legendary warrior princess Yennenga lived, although it is accepted that she was perhaps in the 12th century.

Yennenga is the daughter of Naba (king) Nedega and Queen Napoko, rulers of the Dagomba kingdom north of present-day Ghana.

The story goes that Nedega, initially having no sons and Yennenga being her first daughter, decided to educate her in the martial arts of war and hunting.

The figure of Yennenga challenged the tradition and stereotypes of the time in some cultures, basically a woman was expected to marry, have children, take care of the home and be subject to male authority.

Yennenga broke this stereotype, she rode a horse, an activity reserved for men and warriors, she handled the sword, spear, bow and various weapons, she had become her father's favorite daughter.

At the age of 14, Yennenga was already leading the Dagomba cavalry in battle against her father's adversaries, enduring criticism from both men and women.

Yennenga came to give off an aura of invisibility in battle that her father came to consider her irreplaceable.

Yennenga whose name means "The Slender One", she was described as a woman with a fine and beautiful figure, despite dressing in masculine, warrior clothes, she had no shortage of suitors.

King Nedega rejected everyone who asked for the hand of his daughter, even though he already had male children who could inherit the throne. It is said that Queen Napoko was sad that her daughter was not going to marry or basically have the life of a maiden, it is said that Yennenga, seeing her mother, began to think about love.

To show her discontent to her father, she planted some okra seeds in a field, took care of them until they matured, but did not collect them, she let them die.

Her father called her to the palace to respond to this negligence, she simply told him that he was letting her wither like that field, furious because Nedega ordered her daughter to be locked up.

It is said that Nedega escaped at night with the help of one of the guards, mounted on her white stallion. While escaping, they were surprised by Malinke warriors, rivals of the Dagombas, Yennenga's friend dying in the process and she escaping further north.

Finally you will find refuge in the cabin of Riale, a young hunter of Bissa origin. Finally, he discovers that Yennenga is a woman despite the masculine clothing. He ends up falling in love and they share their stories. Riale is a prince who also had to escape. They both fell in love and fathered a son named Ouedraogo "Stallion" in honor of the Yennenga horse that led to that meeting.

The years passed and Yennenga began to miss her home, family and her father. Wanting to reconcile with her father, she decides to send her son.

Ouedraogo arrives in Gambaga, capital of the Dagomba kingdom, where he is received by Nedega, now an old man, excitedly listens to the story of her grandson and Nedega told him that Yennenga could return home with her husband, he was waiting for her to organize a great party.

It must be added that Ouedraogo returned to his parents, with livestock, gifts and soldiers from his grandfather, so that they could found a kingdom.

Ouedraogo would be the founder of the first Mossi kingdom in what is Burkina Faso, his mother Yennenga and father Riale, the ancestors of the other reigning Mossi houses.

So for the Mossi people, Yennenga is their founding mother.

Text by Oumar Xavier.

Image of Yennenga. Art by diddles25.

Sources:

Dictionary of African Biography Book

Volumes 1-6 by Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

- The Epic World book by Pamela Lothspeich.