Four centuries ago in Bolobedu, a Northern Sotho region in present day Limpopo, lived King Mugodo. Mugodo was adamant in eliminating the symbolic power of patriarchy and remapping our understanding of gender dynamics. He instituted an exclusively matrilineal line of succession.

Firstly, he named the throne Modjadji — A female name meaning Ruler of The Day. In royal terms, Modjadji isn’t name to any single individual, but name to the throne. One (read She) only becomes Modjadji upon ascension. This naming permanently displaces patriarchy from the throne.

Secondly, he introduced suicide as an alternative to filicide & patricide, which plagued precolonial thrones, causing leadership crises and controversy as evidenced by King Shaka. Every Modjadji was to commit ritual suicide, a peaceful transition giving way to the next Modjadji.

This suicide is committed at a time seen fit by Modjadji Herself, the agency & autonomy here is noteworthy. Thirdly, to further distance male presence from the throne, Mugodo forbid men from taking any of the Modjadji as wife. It is She who instead, takes multiple symbolic wives.

Lastly, to ascertain that no male lays claim to the throne & heir, Mugodo declared he be the first & last known father to Modjadji. How Modjadji recreates is sacrosanct & not public knowledge. It’s considered taboo to enquire about Modjadji’s paternity or that of Her children.

Balobedu believe Modjadji to be the highest form of carnal authority, close to the gods. She is last to act in the community’s annual rain making ceremony, this is where the misconception and bastardisation of Modjadji as Rain Queen stems from, no thanks to racist ethnographers.

Rain Queen is a misnomer on two accounts; first because Modjadji isn’t referred to by Balobedu as MmaKhosi (Queen) but simply as Khosi (King) due to the gender fluid demands of the throne. This positions Her not as an Other, but equal to male counterparts ruling nearby regions.

Second, is Her colonially given label as rainmaker. Though She be integral to the rainmaking process, it is a collaborative undertaking involving the community. There is no word for rainmaker in Khelobedu, instead, nearby communities hail Balobedu as Banesapula (Rainmakers).

Rainmaking communities are well known in Northern South Africa. The collective name Mapulana (another marginalised nation in South Africa like Balobedu) is said to be attributed to the nation’s rainmaking capabilities. The same is alleged about the Ramabulana Royal House in Venda

Mugodo credited his proposed succession plan to ancestral divinity, which undoubtedly permeated the psyche of his successor’s subjects, reconfiguring our view and understanding of leadership, gender and power relations in society.

Unfortunately, Balobedu weren’t spared from western patriarchal doctrine and dogmatism, thus only residues of this feminist approach to sex and gender remain. Here I cite internationally acclaimed music pop star King Monada, a native of Bolobedu as but one example.

King Monada’s body of work can be interpreted as a feminist counter narrative. To maintain dominance, patriarchal structure dictates that one distance themselves from the female and femininity. Monada embraces man as woman and woman as man in his music.

Monada’s discography includes a number of songs which take the form of dialogue between heterosexual couples. For such, mainstream SA music industry conventionally requires that an artist of the opposite sex be featured, reifying gender as a mutually exclusive binary.

I posit that the presence of a centuries old native female leadership culture influences King Monada’s stance, a masculinity that isn’t afraid to associate, identify and express itself as the female, one not threatened by female castration unlike Freud’s Oedipal masculinity.

As I conclude, I’m careful not to credit the Modjadji matrilineal throne to Mugodo alone. Though he theorised and instituted the system, it is the six Modjadji who endured the lived experience of being a signifier of difference, sometimes under very unpleasant circumstances.

The first Modjadji, Maselekwane Modjadji I, lost a brother to the throne. Upon Her ascension, he denounced the family out of anger and founded an independent kingdom, allegedly in present day Sekgosese, located in the Eastern regions of Bolobedu.

The apartheid regime deposed Mokope Modjadji V from official recognition when forming the Bantustan of Lebowa, claiming Afrikaaner ideology doesn’t believe in female leadership. President Zuma championed the recognition of Modjadji as native leaders, a process finalised in 2018.

Much as Africa wasn’t a utopia & shouldn’t be romanticised, erstwhile African leaders like King Mugodo were patriarchal — but also subverted the status quo planting the seed of women empowerment & gender non-conformity, to pioneer feminist praxis which lasted multiple generations

The last Modjadji, Khosi Makobo Modjadji VI passed on in 2005. Her only daughter, named after Masalanabo Modjadji II will be crowned Modjadji once she comes of age. The descendants of Mugodo (now Mokoto) have lodged claims to restore patrilineal lineage to the throne. Thobela!

Penned this thread after being triggered by a tweet claiming gender non-binary/transgender identity is an attack on Blackness. Some Africans use oppressive colonial tools such as the Bible to denounce African practices & ideologies that predate western indoctrination.

Africa has always had advanced and diverse philosophies on gender and sexuality, some which include feminism and transcend heterosexuality. I referenced my own cultural history and identity to substantiate.