Great Wife, otherwise appearing in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

as Senior Wife, is an

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

applied to the principal female

spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. A female spouse is called a wife while a male spouse is called a husband. Married The legal status of a spouse, and the specific rights and obligations associated with that status, vary signific ...

in African

polygynous Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...

unions. It is widely used by contemporary royal and aristocratic wives in states throughout the modern continent as a synonym for

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

(e.g., Mantfombi Dlamini of eSwatini, who once served as the chief consort of a

Zulu King The King of the Zulu Nation (IsiZulu: ''Isilo Samabandla Onke'' or ''Ingonyama yamaZulu'') or simply the Zulu King, is the paramount subnational traditional leader of the amaZulu ethnolinguistic group, the Monarch of the KwaZulu-Natal province ...

, bore it as a title).

Historic background and terms

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, the

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

's principal consort was known as the

great royal wife Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife () is the title that was used to refer to the Queen consort, principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official functions. Description While most ancient Egyptians were ...

. She presided over her husband's

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

and served a variety of priestly functions in the kingdom. A great royal wife was also known as a Good Wife. Good wives were the head mistress of the home they were married into, and became head of the harem of the house. Continuously throughout history, the term harem was less defined in comparison to the definitions used in modern periods. In Islamic civilizations and Muslim countries, a 'Harem' was defined as an area or space of privacy and seclusion for the women of the household - irrespective of whether they were spouses or not. In

Kush KUSH 1600 AM is a radio station licensed to Cushing, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a Full service format, consisting of local and national talk, sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, tha ...

and other African states of the pre-colonial period, the chief royal consorts often functioned in much the same fashion.

Roles in history

The most greatly and commonly known Great Wife was

Nefertari Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women ...

, who was married to

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

, which in position and royal status made her the Great Royal Wife. As known throughout history, the queen or the mistress of the king has had the supporting role - though in history these women in power have had substantial influence over the affairs of the kingdom. The Great Wife had many roles, but a mainly known one was to look over the king's harem which was where the wives were housed but, in some kingdoms, also those in close relation to the king. Nefertari is an example of playing the role of the great royal wife; in history she was greatly influential in the contribution to Egyptian culture. She played a crucial behind the scenes role in the royal family, and that reflected onto the role that a Great Wife is now perceived to have.

Today

The practice of creating great wives, with the most senior polygynous spouses of contemporary African royals and aristocrats often being referred to as their ''Great Wives'', has continued to the present. In addition to the queen of the Zulus, contemporary holders of the title have included the numerous bearers of the Olori Agba attribute of

Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of . Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Niger ...

and the principal consort of the Ingwenyama of

eSwatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

. When regarded as more of a generic term for a principal spouse in a polygynous household, traditions pertaining to great wives vary; In Nigerian

customary law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudinary or unofficial law) exists wher ...

, a subordinate wife disrespecting her superior in his household has been used as a grounds for the husband divorcing her, while in Southern African customary law, the recognized superior is the one through whom inheritance is reckoned.

List

References

{{Reflist Royal consorts Culture of Africa Marriage in Africa

Historic background and terms

Roles in history

Today

List

See also

References