In recent years, however, scholars have combined African oral tradition with written European accounts to flesh out the details of the life of Pokou, with remarkable results. In the eyes of many Africans, the technologically advanced society of the Europeans did not conceal what were often perceived as socially regressive attitudes.ĭocumenting the accomplishments of Queen Pokou, an Ashanti ruler of the Baule people in the first half of the 18th century, presents certain problems, because her life was chronicled primarily through oral history. Africa's oral traditions had long kept alive stories of warriors like Njinga who led troops in battle, chiefs who settled local disputes, and empresses like Taytu who governed large countries. When Europeans colonized what they perceived as the "dark continent," many Africans were puzzled by a people who placed judicial, military, and government authority in the hands of only one gender. Whether they were queens like Njinga or Taytu, chiefs like Hannah Awolowo and Okwei of Osomari, or leaders of movements like Auoa Kéita, women have shaped the African continent, where female authority has been an accepted norm far longer than in Europe. Throughout African history, women have held positions of leadership. 1750), establishing a kingdom over which she was proclaimed queen died shortly thereafter. Led a group of Ashanti to the West African Ivory Coast (c. Born Pokou sometime between 17 daughter of an unrecorded father (as a member of Ashanti royalty her status was inherited through her mother) and Nyakou Kosiamoa married Tano (a warrior) children: one son. Name variations: Abla Pokou Aura Pokou Awura Pokou Queen of the Ashanti. African ruler of first rank who led the Baule people, a subgroup of the Ashanti tribe, across the Comoé River near the Ivory Coast to establish a new state which became powerful in trade during the 19th century.
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