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Chiefs and Other Great Female Ancestors: Voice, Authority, and the Politics of Gendered Temporality in Northern Mozambique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2023

Jonna Katto Open the ORCID record for Jonna Katto [Opens in a new window]
Jonna Katto*
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
*
Email: jonna.katto@helsinki.fi
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Abstract

The matrilineal Yaawo of northern Mozambique are recognized as having had a tradition of female figures of spiritual and political authority, though little is known of their history. This article takes “voice” as its analytical focus to explore how these women feature in the historical memories of the region. Methodologically, it brings together the study of oral traditions and oral history. Focusing on the narratives as “collections of diverse voices” (Barber 1989), I analyze how past voices echo in the narratives and intertwine with the voices of their contemporary narrators and how contemporary narrators engage with the remembered voices of the past. As this article argues, examining the ways that the relationship between the deeper past and the present is performed in oral history can bring us a better understanding of women’s gendered leadership in a more distant past, as well as its changing shape in more recent times.

Résumé

Résumé

Les Yaawo matrilinéaires du nord du Mozambique sont reconnus comme ayant eu une tradition de figures féminines détenant une autorité spirituelle et politique, bien que l’on sache peu de choses sur leur histoire. Cet article utilise le concept de « voix » comme axe analytique pour explorer comment ces femmes figurent dans la mémoire historique de la région. Méthodologiquement, il rassemble les études de traditions orales et d’histoire orale. En se concentrant sur les récits en tant que « collections de voix diverses » (Barber 1989), j’analyse comment les voix du passé résonnent dans les récits et s’entrelacent avec les voix de leurs narrateurs contemporains et comment les narrateurs contemporains relatent avec les voix remémorées du passé. Cet article soutient qu’en examinant les manières dont s’effectue la relation entre le passé le plus profond et le présent en histoire orale, il est possible de mieux appréhender le leadership genré des femmes dans un passé plus lointain, ainsi que sa forme changeante dans une époque plus récente.

Keywords

past and present voicesgendered historythe deeper pastprecolonial women of authorityMozambiquenonlinear history
Type
Research Article
Information
History in Africa , Volume 50 , May 2023 , pp. 40 - 72
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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