Mmanthatisi (c. 1780–c. 1836)

Tlokwa leader . Born around 1780 in the present Orange Free State, South Africa; died around 1836; married; children: at least several sons.

Mmanthatisi was born around 1780 into the Tlokwa tribe in what is now the Orange Free State in the Republic of South Africa. She married the chief of her tribe and had several sons. At the time of her husband's death in 1817, their eldest son was only 13 years old, so Mmanthatisi became tribal regent with complete responsibility for leading the Tlokwa. Her rule came during a time of turmoil, the Mfecane (the crushing), which historian John Omer-Cooper has described as "one of the great formative events of African history." Both the Zulu and the Boers (Dutch colonial farmers) were campaigning to assert their dominance in southern Africa; the Zulus, under Shaka, were conquering great swathes of land, causing local tribes to flee, while the Boers were taking over other great swathes of land and causing yet more refugees. Mmanthatisi planned military operations for the Tlokwa, although she did not personally participate in any of their battles with the Boers and Zulus, and her warriors were legendary for their ferocity. A missionary wrote of Mmanthatisi: "It was said that a mighty woman … was at the head of an invincible army, numerous as locusts, marching onward among the interior nations, carrying destruction and ruin wherever she went." Eventually, after much fighting, the Tlokwa migrated to what is now Lesotho, out of the reach of both Boers and Zulus. Once she had led her tribe to safety, Mmanthatisi turned the chieftainship over to her son. She died in approximately 1836.

Grant Eldridge , freelance writer, Pontiac, Michigan