Akwa Boni (died c. 1790), was a sovereign Queen of the

Baoulé people The Baule or Baoulé ( Baule: ''Baule'' a.u.le french: baoulé awle are an Akan people and one of the largest ethnicities in Côte d'Ivoire who historically migrated from what is today Ghana. The Baoulé are traditionally farmers who live in ...

. The niece of Queen Pokou, she inherited the throne in around 1760 and ruled until her death in about 1790. She expanded the territory of the Baoulé, crossing the

Bandama River The Bandama River is the longest river in Ivory Coast with a length of some 800 kilometers. The south-flowing river is fed by the Marahoué, Solomougou, Kan and Nzi rivers and empties into the Tagba Lagoon and the Gulf of Guinea. The Bandama flo ...

and into the central

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. In order to cross the river, one story has it that she needed to sacrifice her son to the river god; in doing so she gave her people their name, ''bauli'', meaning 'the son is dead'. (Other versions of the story associate the incident with her aunt Queen Pokou.)

References

History of Ivory Coast 18th-century women rulers 1708 births 1790 deaths Year of death uncertain Queens regnant in Africa {{Africa-royal-stub