Queen Modjadji, or the Rain Queen, is the hereditary queen of Balobedu, a people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The Rain Queen is believed to have special powers, including the ability to control the clouds and rainfall. She is known as a mystical and historic figure who brought rain to her allies and drought to her enemies. She is not a ruler as such, but a powerful rainmaker and a traditional healer (ngaka).

The traditional installation of a male factional claimant to the title, Prince Lekukela Modjadji, as the king of the Balobedu took place in October 2022 at Khetlhakoni Royal Palace in Modjadjiskloof outside Tzaneen in Limpopo. Princess Masalanabo, who was expected to be the next Rain Queen prior to this event, was said by the faction of the Modjadji Royal Council that installed him to be expected to take a position reserved for her and become the Khadikholo (or great aunt) of Balobedu. Originally planned for April 2024, her coronation was postponed to September 2024 and later March 2025. Following the recognition of her holding of the monarchical title by the president of South Africa, her coronation date was once again rescheduled to August 2025.

History

There are several different 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 gain rain-making skills. Another story involves a scandal in the same chief's house, in which the chief's son impregnated Dzugundini. Dzugundini was held responsible and was forced to flee 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 Mokoto, a male leader, but the peace and harmony of the village were disrupted by rivalries between different families; therefore, to pacify the land, Mokoto impregnated his own daughter in order to restore the tribe's matrilineal tradition. In another version, Mokoto had a vision that he had to marry his daughter in order to create a matrilineal dynasty. and remains one of the standard anthropological works. One species of cycad, the Modjadji cycad, is named after the Rain Queen. The rain-making powers are also believed to be transmitted through matriarchal mitochondrial DNA. Therefore, the Queenship is inherited through matrilineal lineage by the daughters of the Rain queen.

The Rain Queen has become a figure of interest; she and the royal institution have become a significant tourist attraction contributing to the South African economy.

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. The official cause of death was listed as chronic meningitis. She is survived by a son, Prince Lekukela Hex Modjadji (b. 1997), and a daughter, Masalanabo Modjadji VII (b. 20 January 2005), the latter of whom became qualified to succeed her in 2023 when she turned 18. Prince Lekukela Modjadji has voiced strong opposition to the recognition of his sister as the queen, which has caused deep discontent between the Modjadji royal family and the Motshekga family that helped raise Masalanabo.

Succession

The Rain Queen's official mates are chosen by the Royal Council, so that all of her children will be of dynastic status, from which future Rain Queens may descend. Makobo's brother Prince Mpapatla was designated regent for Princess Masalanabo. However, Mpapatla himself has a daughter by his cousin, a woman from the royal Modjadji line. Mpapatla, however, has insisted that his late sister's daughter, Princess Masalanabo, will be enthroned as the queen when she turns 18.

However, in May 2021, a faction of the Modjadji Royal Council appointed Masalanabo's older half-brother, Prince Lekukela, as king of the Balobedu nation with the support of Prince Regent Mpapatla, citing Masalanabo's lack of preparation on divine processes traditionally assumed by Rain Queens, as she lived in Gauteng with the family of Mathole Motshekga, a former advisor to the Balobedu Royal Council. Mpapatla claimed there was a 2006 Royal Council resolution appointing Lekukela as heir to the Balobedu throne, which was allegedly kept secret due to security concerns. An online petition against Lekukela's appointment was launched in May 2021, even though the Royal Council stated the their decision was irreversible.

thumb|right|200px|She: A History of Adventure.

The second Rain Queen, Masalanabo Modjadji, is said to have been the inspiration for H. Rider Haggard's novel She: A History of Adventure. Her office would also serve as the source of the title She-who-must-be-obeyed, which was borne by the book's antagonist Queen Ayesha of Kor and which the subsequent Rain Queens came to receive as an informal subsidiary title as a result. Mujaji is also the name of the goddess of sustenance in The Orisha, the pantheon of Wakanda. In Wakanda, Storm is called Hadari-Yao ("Walker of Clouds" in ancient Alkamite), a goddess who preserves the balance of natural things.

In the 2018 animated television series DuckTales, the character Scrooge McDuck states that he convinced the Rain Queen of Balobedu to make the Sahara Desert less dry in the episode "The Ballad of Duke Baloney".

See also

  • Balobedu
  • Matrilineality
  • Matrilineal succession
  • Rainmaking (ritual)
  • She (novel)
  • The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

References

  • 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, low-impact Ecotours"
  • "The Balobedu of Modjadji".
  • Rain Queens of Africa and other Female Leadership traditions
  • The Sacred Forest of the Department
  • The Lobedu: A North Sotho Tribe