AFRICAN QUEENS: NJINGA (DOCU-SERIES)

What is up movie viewers? Dena Moe Views and Reviews here asking, asking, what you watching? Well, today I am watching African Queens and in honor of Black History Month, I would recommend this movie. This movie stars Adesua Oni, who sometimes is credited as Adele Oni, Chipo Correa, Marilyn Ndebe, Philips Norte, Babu Ramisi, Corey Hippolite, Zethu Diloma, directed by Itoshia Hilton, narrated and exclusively produced by Jada Pinkett Smith. Now with a team of scholars and historians and anthropologists, there are professors, these are historical events or contexts that are given about Queen Izinga's life story. And here are some of the scholars, Luke Pepera, who is an anthropologist, Mary Hicks, she's an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, Professor Olivet Otele, SOAS, University of London, Rosa Cruz E. Silva, she's a historian for the National Archives of Angola. And then there's Cicely Fromont, history of art professor at Yale University, Dr. Kelly Carter Jackson, Africana Studies, Wellesley College, Dr. Edson Burton, writer and historian, and Queen Gayame Kabatusua, she's the woman king of the Bakwa Lontu people. Now this series was written once again by Perez Owino and Nene Owuji. Now let me just note, there was a current queen that was represented, and she was a contributor of information to this docu-series. And I found that fascinating, so I wanted to find out more about her. Now once again, her name is Queen Gayamba Kabatusua. Now I may be pronouncing this incorrectly, please forgive me if that is so. But she is one of the contributors to this docu-series. She is the woman king or ruler of the Bakwa Lontu people of DRC, or the Democratic Republic of Congo. And what is interesting about this contributor to Queen Nzinga's history is her own background. Queen Gayamba is the daughter of a white Belgian mother and a Congolese diplomat father. She was not born in Africa, but born in Belgium. She grew up in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo until the 80s when her parents fled from the Mobutu regime. Now Gayamba said growing up that her father didn't tell her or her siblings that they were of royal origin until they were in their 40s. Now how interesting is that? Now Gayamba initially had no idea about the history of the African continent, but learned it through reading black history books and attending seminars and lectures by renowned speakers in her 20s. And this is what they're saying she said. So how odd is it that her father would never even share his history with her? That's very odd to me. But she moved back to Belgium. She got married and had two sons. Her parents left Belgium and they went back to the Congo. 11 years after her family left, her and her personal family, we know that she made her immediate family, they decided to relocate to the United States. And in 2016 she visited her father who was in Congo and she wanted to find out more about her background or her identity. So she was welcomed into this community by the elders and the chief. And the chief who asked her if she was now ready to take responsibility for her people. And she said that she responded yes. And a few minutes after that she was wearing a crown and she claims to be an pan-Africanist. I just found that bit of information to be quite interesting. Now let's get to the movie. African Queen Zinga is to be a part of a multi-season docu-series. With each season taking a look at a different female ruler in Africa. The first four episodes are season examines Zinga. Season two is expected to feature Cleopatra. Not certain who the other two African queens will be. So stay tuned. The film contains a mixture of interviews and reenactments. This is called a docu-series and it allows a glimpse into Queen Zinga's life and history. So the documentary and movie switches back and forth throughout and betwixt the two interviews with individuals throughout the entire series. Gotta say that the movie was suggested to me by my daughter. And I read that Jada Pinkett Smith was quoted as saying she really wanted to represent black women. That we don't often get to see or hear stories about black queens. And that was really important for herself as well as for her daughter. And just for her community to be able to know those stories. Because there are tons of them. But I too enjoy learning about these phenomenal women. Now as I was watching the movie I was confused just a bit at first because of how the name was being pronounced. I'm used to hearing it pronounced in Zinga. And in this movie they were saying Ginga. So it kind of threw me off at first. But later I understood that she was known by many names that were pronounced differently based on the pronouncer. And perhaps the articulatory phonetics of the speaker. And or even the culture. She is known as Nzinga. Zinga. Njinga. Ginga. Dona Ana da Sousa. Njinga Mbandi. Either way is acceptable I would say. But Nzinga's father Ngola Kalambo Kiakasende was the king of Ndanga. Which is one half of Angola's divided nation. Nzinga was born into the royal family of Ndango in central west Africa around 1583. And she was the daughter of Ngola our king Kalambo of Ndango. And his wife Kingela Ka Nakambe. Oddly enough her mother was never shown in this movie a lot. She was not really even well represented. And this is perhaps because she is said to be one of many slave wives of Nzinga's father. And that it was customary for the king to have many concubines. I found that to be quite interesting. I know some of you guys think that's how you should operate today. And that's quite a thought-provoking subject for a whole nother day. But anyway Nzinga Mbandi of the Ambudu kingdoms of Ndango and Matamba is located in what is northern Angola today. She was known as one of the most famous African women to resist European colonization in southwest Africa. Nzinga was clearly favored by her father King Kalambo. However because she was a woman, a girl, she would not have even been considered as one of the king's potential heirs to the throne. In fact he had a lot of different sons by several of his slave wives. And she also had two sisters. Nevertheless one of her brothers Mbandi viewed her her son and Nzinga's baby boy his her offspring as a threat to him claiming the throne. But I will get into that shortly. The movie opens and she is being trained under the watchful eyes of her father. At that time the Portuguese had already been in in Ghana for 50 years and their objective is to force Christianity on the people on the black continent and steal their black bodies to go build up their land. We know that history. They wanted them to work their fields, build their land up. In a nutshell they they want slaves and they want lots of slaves. They want black human beings to perform free labor and build their society to rear their children. They want to subjugate, rape, and torture them to no end. And it is exactly what they've done. We know this. But most of all to do for them what they could not do for themselves. And is exactly why again reparations are owed and due for the wicked, savagery, torture, and complete inhumane treatment of these black Africans they stole from their native land by the thousands. And that is true up to this very day. Especially here in America. That subject is not taboo for me. There is absolutely no way of getting around it. Reparations and restitutions are still owed here in America and in other places. Now the Portuguese, Great Britain, and the Catholic Church among others still owe the descendants of these black slaves till this very day. Then and only then can we ever even consider any type of sincere collaboration or uniting America. Nzinga was given military training. She was taught how to use the battle axe which is the traditional weapon of the Ndangan warrior. And her father King Colombo even allowed Nzinga to attend legal councils alongside him including rituals and meetings with councils of war. This was very unusual for a female. At that time even though she was a princess it was still very much a male dominated society. And in this docu-series Nzinga is a young princess and she is the mother of a male child. But where's the father? Who is the father? I found that very interesting. It was revealed in this movie that she conceived a child with one of her concubines. Imagine that. This woman as a young princess was allowed to have a harem of men that she could use sexually just like the men did and some still do today. Hmm. But anyway she said he was the father. That left a question in my mind and I still want to know how does she know who the father is if she was sleeping with a lot of concubines. Like I said another story for another day. But the Portuguese, the missionaries, had identified Angola as a prime target for the black human slave trade. Even Nzinga's father King Colombo at first worked with the Portuguese to arrange slave trade on the condition that they spare his own people. There was a group that rebelled against the king and they did not want him to be the king. They wanted to rule themselves. There's always a rebellion. So the king had people that had managed to infiltrate his warriors. So when King Colombo went on a mission to speak with some of the people and show them that he is still king and in charge there was one of those people that were considered to be one of his warriors that were there to protect him that managed to trick him and separate him from the rest of his warriors and he killed him. So he was one of his own people that he thought he could trust and that's usually how it goes. It usually comes from the inside. But his son Mbande wanted to be king. He was ready. He was thrilled about the opportunity to be king and even though he was not next in line to be king because he had an older brother who was to inherit the throne. I think his name was Kaniyawaje. He was next in line for the throne. However, Mbande took care of that. He had them dispatched. He had them slaughtered. He even killed Nzinga's very young infant, his own nephew. This was to secure his place on the throne. He didn't want anybody trying to intercept his attempt to be king. Mbande was making sure that he would take his father's place and not have any competition. Anyone, any of his blood brothers or nephews compete with him for it and at that time women were not even an option for leadership. So upon knowledge of his father the king's death, he had all of his brothers as well as his newborn nephew, child of Nzinga, murdered. And Nzinga was devastated by the loss. After several years of fierce fighting with the Portuguese, her brother Mbande, who made himself king of Ndongo, had the nerve to call for his sister Nzinga, the woman whose child he had murdered, to go and negotiate a peace contract with the Portuguese. Talk about nerve and audacity. But Nzinga did go and she negotiated with the murderous Portuguese, but not before confronting her brother about killing her young child. Now in spite of his atrocious method and response, she went to the Portuguese and she attempted to negotiate and compromise with them. She turned out to be quite the negotiator. The problem is, and always have been, is getting these people to keep their words and all of the concessions that are made. Like still having to give these colonizers black people to be used as their slaves. We just can't look over the fact that many negotiations, including most tribes, capturing and giving, sacrificing their own people to save their tribe, their kingdom. It didn't work then and it doesn't work today. Tribalism, the divide and conquer method is the reason that Africa is in the position that it is in today. Even here in America, this method continues to be used by those in power. Now the governor refused to even offer Nzinga a chair. So Nzinga, who had upwards of 50 male servants in her service at any given time, instructed one of her servants to get down on the ground and create a perch upon which she could sit. Once seated on her servant's back, Nzinga proceeded to launch into her negotiations. She was successful in her negotiations and as a concession to these wicked Portuguese colonizers, she converted to Christianity and adopted the name Dona Ana de Souza and was baptized in honor of the governor's wife, who became her godmother. This was all done in an attempt to strengthen the treaty with the Portuguese. Nzinga used this as a way of leverage in her negotiations. However, the Portuguese did not honor the terms of the treaty completely, which is said to be what prompted her brother to commit suicide. It was overwhelming for him. He was only drunk with power. But in 1624, Nzinga actually became queen, though not without a fight. She had plenty of rivals who were against the idea of a female monarch, and not to mention the circumstances of her brother's questionable suicide by poisoning and the murder of his young son, Casa, that was to inherit the throne. This part of the movie, where she kissed her little nephew, then walked away and immediately had someone to cut his throat, that was just brutal to me. Nevertheless, Nzinga assumed power, but the Portuguese opposed her succession to the throne because they knew she wanted independence for Ndango. Even so, she was able to form an alliance with former rival states and also the Dutch. But anyway, it initiated a 30-year war against the Portuguese. In 1657, Nzinga negotiated a truce with the Portuguese and won back part of her kingdom and assumed the role of queen of Ndango and Matamba. Nzinga transitioned in 1663, leaving behind a remarkable legacy, an example of female authority and of being an exceptional negotiator, politician, and military general. She had her hands full trying to save her people from the colonizers. She had the Portuguese, the Dutch, there were so many Caucasian groups that were trying to get into the slave trade that benefited from the same slave trade. And there were so many that assisted and got together and participated in the colonizing of Africa and Africans, much like we see with some of the Asian and Indians that appear to be doing the same thing in Africa today. The movie kind of differs from some of what I have read about Nzinga's history. So, some literature stated that the Portuguese saw no reason to continue to honor their agreement with their kingdom upon the king, Nzinga's father's death, and they proceeded to throw Mbande in prison and took control of his kingdom, which resulted in Nzinga's fighting to take it back from the colonizers. Using her outstanding negotiating skills, she was willing to fight to win her kingdom back by any means necessary. In spite of being forced to flee on several occasions, she did not sit idly back and let the Portuguese remain. Nzinga established a new state when she fled at one point, and that was known as Matamba, further west and out of the reaches of the Portuguese empire. Nzinga even attempted to cut off slave trade routes. Understanding that Matamba's location made it all so well suited for trade, she developed the kingdom's commerce. These Portuguese were some wicked beings with their mentality of being superior to the black people on the continent. They only saw them as savages to do with as they will. Having no respect for the Africans' culture or their beliefs, these Caucasians' goals were to force their religion of Christianity upon the African continent, and they even regarded African spirituality as a pagan religion. So, in essence, they justified their murder, their enslavement, the colonization of black people on their own continent with Christianity, seeing themselves as superior to these black beings, and justifying their barbaric behavior with the Bible and the Catholic church backing them. Isn't that interesting? That has always been amazing to me. These same good Christians that were murdering human beings, stealing them, raping and colonizing black human beings were doing so all under the guise of their religion or their good book. That they would be so bold to send priests and missionaries to Africa in an effort to get slaves and to even negotiate with the chiefs and the rulers of the kingdoms in Africa. They would send priests. They would use them to conquer Africa, and the Catholic church was okay with it and the authority behind much of it. So, let's see. Murder, enslavement, rape, kidnap, and pillaging of a group of people in their own land. We really should have a serious conversation and acquire lawyers as well as accountants to tally up what the Catholic church owes in reparations and restitution to the black man and black woman and their descendants. Accept it or leave it alone, but I gave this movie three stars out of five because I think the main actress was wonderful as Nzinga. She was believable. I think I am pronouncing your name right. If I am not, please forgive me. Adisua Ony. She brought this character to life for me. Her accent, her demeanor, the royal garments, the hair accessories, and her beautiful skin tone. It all made it feel believable to me. I think she just did a wonderful job of embodying Queen Nzinga. I gotta say, I was shocked by some of the ruthlessness that was said to be done or ordered by Queen Nzinga. I understand her attempt to try and save her kingdom, relatives, and her people. She even sacrificed some of her beliefs, some of her customs. They even asked her to offer tributes, which was other slaves, in an effort to save her kingdom. I tell you, it is the hardest reality knowing that this mindset still exists for some today. Dealing with the aftereffects of slavery on the black mind and having those who their ancestors contributed to this deny that this has harmed us and that we are still still living with the effects of being stolen and treated harshly that others cannot understand it and would tell a people who you destroyed to just get over it. So, seeing this really helps to make the case for reparations and restitutions to the descendants of slaves. Just as it took centuries to destroy black people, it will take centuries to rebuild the black mind, the black family, and the black country that was completely devastated by the wickedness of these colonizers. You can't simply destroy a people and insist that because it began hundreds of years ago, we should just forget about it. Nope. Slavery decimated an entire continent and I am not apologizing or hesitating to speak on the issue of reparations owed and due to my people, the black descendants of slaves, specifically here in America because I am here in America, but that does not include that are released them from paying what is owed to black people that were affected elsewhere. Now, reparations should include cash and resources restitution exclusively to black people with no other group attaching themselves to our struggle, especially here in America. And we cannot leave out the catholic church role in black slavery and the transatlantic slave trade along with the Portuguese, the Dutch, Great Britain, America. Oh my goodness, I could go on and on. All who aided, benefited, and were involved in African subjugation and annihilation should be held accountable. Slavery not only decimated Africa, but it left its toll on the black man in the black woman's mind. And now there has to be compensation restitution included in these reparations. No matter how we choose to deny it, anti-black racism still exists today and we are owed reparations. And why should black people be the ones born right from extinction? Slavery decimated a continent and a people's mind, body, and soul. So we remember our ancestor Queen Nzinga this Black History Month and every day. A queen that fearlessly defended her people against European power. Of course it wouldn't be until 1975 that the entirety of Angola achieved its independence. I still want to give her an ashe, ashe, ashe. Much of Queen Nzinga's history is pondered, affirmed, or even disputed. But kudos to Mrs. Jada Pinkett Smith for bringing this larger-than-life ancestor to the screen and to the forefront. Now African Queens is rated TV 14. And if you would like to check out African Queens, you most certainly can because it is currently streaming on Netflix. Be sure to subscribe and leave me a comment on your thoughts on this movie. This has been Dena Mo Views and Reviews. Like, share, and subscribe. And join me for my next review and our recommendation. And I want you to remember, it's my view, now, what you watching?