| In Praise of Black Women: Ancient African Queens |
 by Simone Schwarz-Bart, with André Schwarz-Bart |
Vol. 1. Trans. Rose-Myriam Réjouis and Val Vinokurov. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, Modus Vivendi Publications, 2001. Pp. vi + 433. Foreword by Howard Dodson, illustrations, photos, bibliography. $60.00 cloth.
In Praise of Black Women: Ancient African Queens is the initial volume in an ambitious project that intends to include several others on African women in various times and spaces. The goal of the series is clearly stated: it aims to offer "a magnificent tribute to women in Africa and the African diaspora from the ancient past to the present."
To this end, the authors of Ancient African Queens draw upon a variety of sources, presenting a mélange of historical facts acquired from legendary, biblical, and oral literature, as well as from the pages of travelers' literature written by Europeans and Americans. This volume, a large "coffee table" book, also incorporates both photographs and colorful illustrations from a range of historical sources. The use of such a diverse set of source materials is necessary considering the broad chronological and cultural scope of this book.. The women discussed in this volume range from the Black Eve---the three-million-year-old hominid "Lucy"---to Egyptian Queens, the Queen of Sheba, and other fascinating although less familiar queens and prophetesses of Western Bantu Africa (for example, Ana de Souza Nzinga and Beatrice Kimpa Vita, described as the Kongolese Joan of Arc).
Diverse sources result in variety of content and approach among different chapters, but the book's format permits a sense of consistency. The main body of each chapter provides a biography of the individual while placing her (to the extent that this is possible) within an historical and cultural frame. Copious illustrations assist in bringing immediacy to the historical subjects, while the segment at the end of each biography---entitled "Words of an Ordinary Woman"---is intended to give a first person account of the individual or her culture.
While the authors offer glimpses into the cultures of the women they study, they do not demonstrate a consistent scholarly awareness of them. For instance, the biography of Beatrice Kimpa Vita highlights the Kingdom of Kongo. However, in this portrayal King Nzinga Mpemba (who took the Christian name Alphonso the First in honor of the Portuguese king) and the royal court react to the arrival of Diego Cão in a childlike manner. The narrative paints the native populace of the Kongo, and its political and religious leadership, as primarily naive and gullible. And in creating a fictionalized account of the career of Kimpa Vita, a complex and interesting individual, the book oversimplifies events and reduces a significant historical figure (for both Christian and African history) to a character that appears unaware of the political implications of her actions. Nevertheless, the authors do demonstrate an awareness of the legendary status still accorded her among the Bakongo today, and the use of segments of the prayer "Salve Antoniana" (which reflected her primary doctrinal views) does convey some sense of the sophistication and originality of Kimpa Vita's spiritual and political message.
Though the book does not attempt a critical analysis of the role of women in African cultures, it is a source of much useful material. In addition to providing concise details about a number of historical figures often overlooked, the book offers a look into a number of African cultures spanning the length of African history. Moreover, the bibliography should prove a helpful resource for further investigation.
Eoghan C. Ballard
University of Pennsylvania