Africa, a place which has always seen the dominance of male. The continent, where a lot of times, people think that African culture is inherently chauvinistic.
Although, little efforts shows that some cultures and traditions have excluded this set norm way before the beginning of modern era, where women were honoured and ruled as ‘Queen’.
Recently, a digital content and video creator Lucky Udu from Abuja, Nigeria explored the Adamawa State. During his exploration, he experienced the culture of Kingdom: Arnado Debbo.
Arnado Debbo is a small rural community located in the southern part of Adamawa State, where women have established themselves on the throne, by ruling the nation for about two and a half centuries.
Throughout the history of Arnado Debbo, it has been exclusively stressing upon rights of women to ascend the throne of Dimgyeb.
In the process of exploring the community, the video creator Lucky Udu shared photographs from the community and wrote a note, “In this Kingdom, only females are allowed to rule.”
“I just finished interviewing the female ruler, as this is happening live in Adamawa State. You have to clap 3 times to greet here,” added the creator. He also said further that video will be dropping soon.
The present 76-year-old Nyagangwu (word used for ruler) of the village – Bintu Namda was crowned in November 2014 after winning against another female contestant to the throne.
The contest followed a screening by members of the ruling clan to reduce the number of contesting princesses. Namda is the 16th ruler in the succession since the first female ruler – Gangwun Sukhbarun blazed the trail for women 246 years ago.
Council member of the community – Malam Atiku Gende, aged 89, has worked with the six rulers in the traditional house, and explained that the traditional council consists of 10 kingmakers (kemembu), the Yeba (who is custodian of the newly selected rulers) and four elders from the area.
He added that the area is under the control of the ruler that extends to seven surrounding villages., each with its male ward head reporting to the Gangwu.
Gende also said that the Kemembu are charged with the responsibility of selecting a new ruler. He further added that after the selection, they keep selected ruler in his custody (known as Yeba), until the day she will be accompanied to the palace.
“Everything around her must be traditional. She eats from a wooden plate and lives in a traditional room,” said Gende.
As far as he is aware of, now men no-longer lay claim to the throne. In fact, it has become a taboo for men to show interest on the throne. The council member noted that the community is properly guided by the ancient tradition and the people are comfortable with their female rulers.
Gende further explained that following the consensus which transfers the power to women – Nyagangwu Sukbarub ruled for nine years wile the second female ruler – Nyagangwu Seuduu ruled for twenty-two years.
Another ruker, Nyagangwu Jubkuna ruled for 31 years, Nya Gangwu Shukji ruled for 17 years and Nyagangwu Kuhube ruled for eight years, and many other also.
The current ruler – Nyagangwu Bintu Namda, has spent two years on the throne. Gende said that there was a drought or other natural disasters, the ruler is also a traditional and spiritual leader of the community, she leads the people to offer sacrifices on the mountains and seek guidance from the gods.
He then noted that with the advent of Islam and Christianity, the ruler now mobilises religious leaders to conduct prayer sessions in their respective worship places.
Gende, was appointed as council member 54 years ago, and could still remember when a hyena and an antelope came to the village during the reign of Nyagangwun Saante. He said the ruler saw that as a warning from the spirits, hence she quickly summoned the council to discuss the strange occurrence.
After consultations with the then traditionalists on the mountains, it was found out that an unmarried girl got pregnant. So the girl’s father was made to pay a fine of a male-goat and 20 measures of guinea corn, which would be used to offer sacrifice.
He revealed that, for a princess to be selected as a contestant to the throne, she must be at least 60 years of age. This is because at this age, she is expected to be experienced in life and free from sexual relationships, even with her husband.
Shedding more light on the activities of the kingdom, the Wakili (word for the prime minister) – Muhammadu Kambari, said the rulers (Nyagangwu) were installed from Sugu, the district headquarters of the community.
He added that every person, known as gangwun, must live in the traditional compound in the village, from where she rules, while the Wakili liaises with other traditional rulers and government officials in the district to represent her in public functions.
All visitors to the Nyagangwun, including her family members and children, were received by the Wakili, as tradition forbids her from receiving or meeting any guests. However, during festive periods, the ruler hosts women, where she interacts with them and cracks jokes.
But despite its rich history, Arnado Debbo lacks basic social amenities. The only primary school in the village was established in 1979, and since then, no new structure has been added to it. The community relies on local wells as the only source of water.
A resident of the village expressed that “The kingdom comprises of seven villages, three of which are located in the mountains, but we do not have a single dispensary, not to talk of basic primary health clinic. Our women and children have to go to Sugu for medical treatment; and you can see that there is no road to Suku. We call on the government to construct the road to this place.”
A male member of the ruling clan, who did not want to be quoted, lamented that successive governments in Adamawa State had neglected the community and its traditional structure. He emphasised the need to improve the traditional architecture of the palace to promote the cultural heritage of the state and harness its tourism potentials.
“Although Nyagangwun’s needs to be very simple and traditional, the palace needs some architectural upgrade to represent the rich history of the ruling dynasty. Government should invest in this cultural treasure,” he said.
