ceremony takes place in the royal compound in
the village of Khetlahkone.
The Rain Queen, indeed, is believed to have the
mystical power to control rain. In a community
where agriculture and cattle rearing play a critical
role in the sustenance of its members, as it is with
the Lovedu people, the importance attached to the
falling of rain comes as no surprise. Furthermore,
rain, generally speaking, is linked in African life
and religion to the fundamental notions of fertility
and life transmission. Through her spiritual con-
trol of rain, the queen is therefore assumed to have
control over the welfare of her society. The Rain
Queen of the Lovedu people is therefore much
respected and feared. She is seen as the embodi-
ment of the divine and cosmic order on which har-
mony and balance rest. Although there have been
and continue to be many queens in Africa, the
Rain Queen of the Lovedu people has the distinc-
tion of being both a monarch and a rainmaker.
The Rain Queen is called Modjadji. There are
several stories about how Modjadji came into being.
According to one account, an old king who lived
during the 16th century in the kingdom of Karanga,
in what is now southeastern Zimbabwe, following
his ancestors’ orders, got his daughter, Dzugundini,
pregnant to pass on to her the powers to control
rain. As a princess, his daughter was called
Modjadji, literally “ruler of the day.” Modjadji gave
birth to a girl, who eventually succeeded her as
queen. In another account, it is Modjadji’s brother
who would have made her pregnant. Fleeing her
father’s kingdom out of shame, she settled in Venda
with some of her followers.
Although the queen is to have children, she is
to live in seclusion and never to marry. When the
time of her death nears, the queen must select her
successor, usually but not necessarily the oldest of
her daughters. She then commits ritual suicide by
absorbing poison.
Rain Queen Modjadji II succeeded her mother,
Modjadji I, and reigned between the years 1855 and
- A mysterious figure, she rarely appeared in
public. She had several children, but, following the
tradition established by her mother, she never mar-
ried her children’s father. In 1894, she committed
ritual suicide after having named Leakkali as her suc-
cessor. Rain Queen Khetoane Modjadji III reigned
until 1959, the year of her death. She was then suc-
ceeded by Rain Queen Makoma Modjadji IV, from
1959 to 1980. In 1981, Queen Modjadji IV was fol-
lowed by Rain Queen Mokope Modjadji V. Her
reign was characterized by a strict adherence to tra-
dition. For example, she lived in almost total seclu-
sion. Among the three children she bore, she chose
Princess Makheala as her successor. Unfortunately,
the latter passed away 2 days before her mother.
This is how her granddaughter, Makobo, rather
than her daughter, became the next Rain Queen in- She became known as Rain Queen Mokope
Modjadji V, but her reign was of short duration
because it ended in 2005. The circumstances sur-
rounding her death remain unclear. However, what
is certain is that Rain Queen Modjadji failed to dis-
play the behavior expected from someone of her
rank and importance. Fond of “modern” life, her
lifestyle did not conform to the traditions estab-
lished by previous Rain Queens. This might have
been the reason for her short reign because many
within the Royal Council were quite displeased with
her failure to live up to her noble lineage. Her suc-
cessor is yet to be nominated.
Ama MazamaSeealsoMediumsFurther Readings
Jones, A. (2001).Looking for Lovedu. New York: Alfred
Knopf.
Krige, E., & Jensen, J. D. (1943).The Realm of a Rain-
Queen. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Krige, J. D., & Krige, E. J. (1954). The Lovedu of the
Transvaal. In D. Forde (Ed.),African Worlds: Studies
in the Cosmological Ideas and Social Values of
African Peoples(pp.55–82). London & New York:
The International African Institute and Oxford
University Press.
Mbiti, J. (1991).African Religions and Philosophy.
London: Heinemann.
Middleton, J. (Ed.). (1997).Encyclopedia of Africa South
of the Sahara. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.RED
Among African people, red is commonly associated
with courage, desire, love, passion, physical energy,
power, royalty, sexual energy, strength, and war. It isRed 563