Mma-Besi (1846-1889) was the mohumagadi (queen or queen mother) of the BaNgwato of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana, and the first wife of king Khama III.[1][2] She was baptized Elizabeta in 1862, taking the name in honor of Elizabeth Moffat, daughter of Robert Moffat.[3][2] She was married that same year in what was the first Christian marriage held in Shoshong.[2] Her first daughter was called Besi, and so she became Mma-Besi due to a tradition of taking the name of one's firstborn.[2] Her one son who lived, Sekgoma II, became king when Khama III died but died himself soon after.[2] She herself died at age 44, likely of malaria due to Khama III moving the capital to the Tswapong Hills, an unhealthy place.[4]

References

  1. ^ Kathleen Sheldon (4 March 2016). Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-4422-6293-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong; Mr. Steven J. Niven (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. pp. 232–. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
  3. ^ Fred Morton; Jeff Ramsay; Part Themba Mgadla (23 April 2008). Historical Dictionary of Botswana. Scarecrow Press. pp. 379–. ISBN 978-0-8108-6404-7.
  4. ^ Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong; Mr. Steven J. Niven (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. pp. 233–. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
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