Amina The Queen

 Is a Muslim Woman Military Strategist from Africa, the Queen of Africa who Loves Her People. This tough female figure who is touted as the Queen Mother of Africa is a 16th century Muslim female knight from Nigeria.

A statue stands in honor of Amina Sukhera in front of the National Theater of the Arts in Lagos, Nigeria. Describing the struggle of a hero, and being an example for his nation. She is the Muslim Queen of Fighters from the Dark Continent

She ruled for 34 years in the tribal region of Zazzau (now northern Nigeria) and became the first woman to rule there.

Amina Sukhera is known as Aminatu and is known as the Queen of Zazzau (Zaria). He was born around 1533 in the African Kingdom of Zazzau to King Nikatau, the 22nd ruler of Zazzau and Queen Bakwa Turunku. Growing up in a majestic palace, he could see how his grandfather and father ruled his territory well.

Amina Sukhera earned a reputation as a mighty woman who served her community there. During his reign he has made Zazzau a center of trade, thus prospering its people. Farming in Zazzau also flourished under his leadership by introducing cola, a type of bean, to surrounding countries. He also built schools and public facilities to make it easier for the community to get an education.

If you watch the story of the Marvel character, Black Panther, it’s just a fictional fantasy. But the heroic story of Amina Sukhera is a historical fact. The story of African women who dared to risk their lives on the battlefield is not fictitious.

Records of Queen Amina of the Nigerian plains prove that it was not always women who took refuge behind the men who fought. Amina is thought to have lived in the 1500–1600s and was the eldest daughter of the ruler of Zazzau — a city-state in the Hausa kingdom located in northwestern Nigeria. She is known as a Muslim female warrior and is nicknamed “Amina, Yar Bakwa Ta San Ra” which means “Amina, son of Nikatau, a woman who is equal in ability to men”.

At the age of 16, his mother ascended the throne. Under the leadership of Amina’s mother, Zazzau is actually quite peaceful, but Amina has ambitions to make life in her country even better, writes James Pusch Commey in The Glory of African Kings and Queens (2012). Since she was a teenager, Amina has been fond of honing her skills in war with the male-dominated Zazzau armies and developing her knowledge of politics. The training and forging was useful when he grew up and later became the leader of the city-state.

After Amina’s mother died around 1566, the throne was occupied by Karama, Amina’s brother. Karama is interested in war and has a desire to expand Zazzau’s power to other city-states in the Hausa Kingdom, in the two years of Karama’s reign, there were four wars fought. Interest in war got Amina involved in two of them.

Ten years after being appointed leader of Zazzau, Karama died following his mother. The reins of government fell into the hands of Amina. Just three months as queen, Amina returned to war until her death in 1610. Her motive was to secure the Trade Route.

The war after war that happened during Amina’s reign was based on a reason. Commey writes that the residents of Hausa at that time excelled in leather crafts, weaving, and the production of metal objects, while people in neighboring areas excelled in agriculture. To meet each other’s needs, these people can work together, but in practice it is constrained by outsiders who want to control their territory, especially Zazzau. The reason is, Zazzau is located at the crossroads of trade routes that connect northern Africa, the jungle in the south, and the west of Sudan.

On the one hand, there are those who think that Amina is fighting for a positive cause, at least for the Hausa people. He just wanted the Hausa merchants to carry out their transactions safely without interference from other region leaders.

But on the other hand, Amina’s war can be seen as an attempt to exploit other areas. Every territory Amina conquered, such as Nupe to the south of Zazzau and Kwararafa to the north of Zazzau, was obliged to pay tribute to her or merge with Zazzau. But things like this have been common in any part of the world, since there was human civilization.

J.P. Martin, author of African Empire vol. 2 (2017) states, according to the Kano Chronicles (Hausa-language writings on pre-colonial African traditions translated by Muhammed Bello), the King of Nupe gave Amina a tribute in the form of 40 male slaves and 10,000 kola seeds. “The kola seed that Amina introduced [to the people of Zazzau] is one of the treasures of West Sudan; this is appreciated because of its bitter taste, aphrodisiac properties, and thirst quenching properties,” wrote Guida Myrl Jackson-Laufer in the book Women Rulers Throughout The Ages (1999).

Amina’s legacy In the video about Queen Amina released by the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, it is said that it was this woman who introduced the helmet and metallic clothing that became part of the Zazzau armor. In addition, Amina also built defensive fortifications along the 15 km in the outermost area of ​​Zazzau known as “Ganuwar Amina” aka Amina’s wall. He also built several military camps behind the fort. Some parts of Ganuwar Amina can still be found in Nigeria today.

Amina’s brave figure and skill in conquering a number of areas in Nigeria made local residents immortalize her as the name of a number of educational institutions. A statue of him holding a spear and riding a horse was also placed in front of the National Arts Theater, Lagos, Nigeria. Amina’s story is also said to have inspired the making of the popular TV series in the 1990s, Xena, The Warrior Princess.

After Amina’s death because she died on the battlefield in Atagara, the leadership was continued by her younger sister: Zaria. However, unlike the previous queen, Zaria was not good at leading, so Zazzau’s power and prosperity gradually faded under his rule.

source : BBC dan tirto — Humanities

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