Rain Queen

The Modjadji or Rain Queen is the hereditary queen

of Balobedu, a people of the Limpopo Province of South
Africa. The succession to the position of Rain Queen is
matrilineal so her eldest daughter is the heir, and males
are not entitled to inherit the throne at all. The Rain
Queen is believed to have special powers, including the
ability to control the clouds and rainfall.

gain rain-making skills. Another story involves a scandal

in the same chiefs house, where the chiefs son impregnated Dzugundini. Dzugundini was held responsible and
was forced to ee the village. Dzugundini ended up in
Molototsi Valley, which is in the present day Balobedu
Kingdom. The village she established with her loyal followers was ruled by a Mugudo, a male leader, but the
Currently, there is no ruling Rain Queen as the previous peace and harmony of the village was disrupted by rivalries between dierent families, and therefore to pacify
Rain Queen died on 12 June 2005.
the land, the Mugudo impregnated his own daughter to
restore the tribes matrilineal tradition. She gave birth to
the rst Rain Queen known as Modjadji which means;
1 History of the Rain Queens
ruler of the day.
The second Rain Queen, Masalanabo Modjadji is said to
have been the inspiration for H. Rider Haggards novel,
She: A History of Adventure.

2 Customs
According to custom, the Rain Queen must shun public functions, and can only communicate with her people
through her male councillors.
Every November she presides over the annual
Rainmaking ceremony at her royal compound in
Khetlhakone Village.
She is not supposed to marry but has many wives, as
they are referred to in the Balobedu language (These are
not spouses in the usual sense of the word; as a queen
regnant she has the equivalent of royal court servants, or
ladies-in-waiting), sent from many villages all over the
Balobedu Kingdom. These wives were selected by The
Queens Royal Council and in general are from the households of the subject chiefs. This ritual of bride giving
is strictly a form of diplomacy to ensure loyalty to the
Queen.
The Rain Queens mystical rain making powers are believed to be reected in the lush garden which surrounds
her royal compound. Surrounded by parched land, her
garden contains the worlds largest cycad trees which are
in abundance under a spectacular rain belt. One species
of cycad, the Modjadji cycad, is named after the Rain
Queen.

She: A History of Adventure.

There are several dierent stories relating to the creation and history of the Rain Queens of Balobedu. One
story states that an old chief in 16th century Monomotapa
(South eastern Zimbabwe), was told by his ancestors that
by impregnating his daughter, Dzugundini, she would

The Rain Queen is a prominent gure in South Africa,

many communities respecting her position and, historically, attempting to avoid conict in deference thereto.
Even Shaka Zulu of Zululand sent his top emissaries to
ask her for her blessings. The fth Rain Queen, Mokope
1

2
Modjadji maintained cordial relations with Nelson Mandela.

PREVIOUS RAIN QUEENS

abo (b. February 2005).

The Rain Queen has become a gure of interest, she and

the royal institution becoming a signicant tourist attrac- 4 Succession
tion contributing to the South African economy. The
Rain Queen was oered an annual government civil list.
The Rain Queens ocial mates are chosen by the Royal
The stipend was also expected to help defray the costs
Council so that all of her children will be of dynastic staof preserving the cycad trees found in the Rain Queens
tus, from which future Rain Queens may descend. Howgardens.
ever the Rain Queens are not expected to remain in exclusive relations with these partners. In the past, the Rain
Queen was allowed to have children only by her close rel3 Makobo Modjadji
atives.
Perhaps uniquely, the Balobedu crown descends accordMain article: Makobo Modjadji
ing to female primogeniture: her eldest daughter is alRain Queen Makobo Constance Modjadji VI (1978 ways her successor so the title of Rain Queen is normally
passed from mother to daughter. It is said that she ingests poison when she is near death so that her daughter will assume the crown more quickly. Lately, however, many traditions have been abandoned, inuenced
by Christian missionaries. Because Makobos daughter, Princess Masalanabo, was fathered by a commoner,
traditionalists are not likely to accept her as the rightful
successor to the throne. Therefore, there are worries that
the 400-year-old Rain Queen dynasty may be coming to
an end. No new Rain Queen has been enthroned since
Makobo died.
Makobos brother Prince Mpapatla has been designated
Regent for Masalanabo. However, Mpapatla has a daughter by his cousin, a woman from the royal Modjadji line,
and a group of members of the Royal Council has indicated a preference for Mpapatlas daughter to succeed
as Rain Queen. Mpapatla, however, has insisted that his
late sisters child Princess Masalanabo will be enthroned
as the queen when she turns 18.[1][2]
A male branch of the extended royal clan has also petitioned the South African president to restore the male
line of the Balobedu royal house, which reigned before
1800. This entreaty is considered unlikely to be granted,
inasmuch as the Rain Queen heritage is recognised as a
national cultural legacy and interest in it has stimulated
signicant tourist trade.

Makobo Constance Modjadji VI

5 Previous Rain Queens

12 June 2005) was the 6th in a line of the Balobedu peoples rain queens. Makobo was crowned on 16 April 2003
at the age of 25 after the death of her predecessor and
grandmother, Queen Mokope Modjadji. This made her
the youngest queen in the history of the Balobedu.

1. Rain Queen I Maselekwane Modjadji (1800-1854)

Makobo was admitted into the Limpopo Medi-Clinic for

an undisclosed illness on 10 June 2005 and died two days
later at the age of 27. Ocial cause of death was listed
as chronic meningitis. She is survived by a son, Prince
Lekukena (b. 1998), and a daughter, Princess Masalan-

4. Rain Queen IV Makoma Modjadji (1959-1980)

2. Rain Queen II Masalanabo Modjadji (1854-1894)

3. Rain Queen III Khetoane Modjadji (1895-1959)

5. Rain Queen V Mokope Modjadji (1981-2001)

6. Rain Queen VI Makobo Modjadji (2003-2005)

See also
Balobedu
Matrilineality
Matrilineal succession
Rainmaking
She (novel)
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

References

[1] Rain Queen nally recognised. Sowetan LIVE. Retrieved 2016-08-19.

[2] Bongani Nkosi (2016-05-30). State recognises the Rain
Queen. Times LIVE. Retrieved 2016-08-19.

External links
Rain Queen customs and history, from a South
African website for the Ikageng Community Empowerment of Tzaneen
Rain Queen customs, from a commercial website
promoting very small-scale, locally produced, lowimpact Ecotours
The Balobedu of Modjadji.
Rain Queens of Africa and other Female Leadership
traditions
The Sacred Forest of the Rain Queen
The Lovedu Rain Queen
The Lobedu: A North Sotho Tribe

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Rain Queen Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Queen?oldid=746668306 Contributors: Bearcat, Texture, Rich Farmbrough,

Alansohn, Ghirlandajo, BD2412, Unfortunate, DaGizza, Wavelength, RussBot, Gods Refuse, CorbieVreccan, Asarelah, SmackBot,
Colonies Chris, Tamfang, OrphanBot, Modjadji, Suidafrikaan, Cydebot, Barticus88, Fang 23, An Sealgair, R'n'B, FrinkMan, Tlgivg,
Goustien, Dodger67, Boneyard90, Andrei Iosifovich, SchreiberBike, FactStraight, Addbot, Lightbot, Amirobot, AnomieBOT, Night w,
Ponticalibus, GrouchoBot, Tokiohotelover, JesseLeeStamper, Gransir, Theo Pepler, Shamanicmedicine7, Needingchange, Aliwal2012,
ColRad85, Johnsoniensis, Milktwosugars, UnequivocalAmbivalence and Anonymous: 21

9.2

Images

File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0

Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Rain_Queen_Makobo_Constance_Modjadji_VI.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/
4f/Rain_Queen_Makobo_Constance_Modjadji_VI.jpg License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist:
MichaelStreatonPhotography
File:She_first.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/She_first.jpg License: PD-US Contributors: ? Original artist:
?

9.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0