Ririkumutima
Mwamikazi Nidi Ririkumutima Bizama hitanzimiza Mwezi (died 28 July 1917) was Queen Regent of Burundi from 1908 to her death.
Early life and family
Ririkumutima was the third daughter of Chief Sekawonyi of the Watussi Munyakarama clan by his wife Inankinso.[1] One of thirteen wives of Mwezi Gisabo (ca. 1850 – 1908), king of Burundi, Ririkumutima gave birth to three daughters and six sons.
Political career
Ririkumutima was anxious to secure that the royal succession would pass to one of her sons. Aware that another wife, Ntibahinya, was gaining favour and that the throne seemed likely to pass to Ntibahinya's son, Mbukije, Ririkumutima arranged for Ntibahinya's assassination. She then proclaimed throughout the kingdom that she was Mbukije's mother and therefore the rightful queen mother.[2] While it was widely known that Ririkumutima was not Mbukije's biological mother, the fiction was accepted and she served as regent both during Mbukije's reign as Mutaga IV Mbikije and the following reign of Mwambutsa IV.
The first Europeans to encounter her described her as being:
carried by bearers on her litter from one royal residence to another and [someone who] personally dealt with the kingdom's affairs. In her visits to the European authorities, this slow-speaking woman, incapable of a movement, showed herself to be as intelligent, as energetic and more stubborn than all the princes in her entourage.— R. Bourgeois, Banyarwanda et Barundi, (1954), p. 54
The role of queen mother (mugabekazi) was a highly revered one in Burundian society; this, coupled with Ririkumutima's political acumen made her a formidable presence.[3] Her other sons became important chiefs in the local aristocracy.
Death
Ririkumutima died at Gitega on 28 July 1917.
References
- ↑ "Burundi Royal Genealogy". Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ↑ Women, peace and conflicts in traditional African society. p. 89.
- ↑ Émile Mworoha (1991). Histoire sociale de l'Afrique de l'Est (XIXe-XXe siècle). p. 43.