Latest / Mansa Musa: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived — Fexingo History / The Women Who Held Power in Mansa Musa's Mali
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, when we talk about the Mali Empire, it's almost always about Mansa Musa—his gold, his Hajj, his libraries. But there's a whole other side to that world that we haven't really touched on. Luna: Let me guess—women? Lucas: Exactly. And not just as footnotes. I mean, the sources we have—Ibn Battuta, Al-Umari, even the Sunjata epic—they give us glimpses of women who held real power. Property, political influence, even military roles in some cases. Luna: I know Ibn Battuta was surprised by how free the women were in Mali. He wrote about that, right? Lucas: Yeah, he was genuinely taken aback. He came from a world where women were much more secluded, and in Mali he saw women walking around with their faces uncovered, mingling freely with men, even having male friends who weren't their husbands. He found it scandalous, but he reported it. Luna: So what did that mean for their actual status? Like, could they own property? Inherit? Lucas: Yes, absolutely. Under the Kouroukan Fouga—that's the constitution Sundiata Keita established around 1235—women had specific rights. They could own land and goods, they could inherit from their parents and husbands, and they had control over their own earnings from trade. That was pretty progressive for the 13th century. Luna: And this is the same society that produced Mansa Musa. Lucas: The same society. And the Kouroukan Fouga wasn't just some abstract code—it was enforced. For instance, it outlawed mistreatment of women and set penalties for domestic violence. Now, we don't have police reports from the 1300s, but the fact that it was written into law tells us a lot about the values the state was trying to uphold. Luna: What about at the very top? Were there queen mothers or regents? Lucas: Definitely. The queen mother, or mansaya, was a major political figure. The most famous example is Sogolon Kedjou, Sundiata's mother—she's a central character in the epic. But even after Sundiata, queen mothers often wielded significant influence, especially during succession disputes. Al-Umari mentions that Mansa Musa's own mother, whose name we don't know for sure, had a role in court. Luna: Did women ever rule directly, like as mansas themselves? Lucas: Not that we have evidence for in the Keita dynasty. The Kouroukan Fouga specified that the mansa must be a man, from the Keita clan. But women could be farba—governors of provinces—though most farba we know of were men. Still, there are hints of female authority: Ibn Battuta describes a female judge in the town of Iwalatan, which is modern-day Walata in Mauritania. She was part of the local elite, and he was shocked that a woman would have that kind of power. Luna: Wait, a female judge? In the 14th century? That's incredible. Lucas: It is. And she wasn't an anomaly. In Mande culture, women often had their own parallel hierarchies. For example, there were female griots—griottes—who were keepers of oral tradition, especially for women's history and songs. They were respected and could be quite influential. Luna: What about everyday women? Farmers, traders? Lucas: Women were central to the economy. In agriculture, they did a lot of the planting, weeding, and processing of crops like millet and sorghum. But they were also heavily involved in trade. The dyula trading networks had women merchants, especially in local markets. Some women even managed long-distance trade caravans, though that was rarer and usually under a male relative's name. Luna: So they had financial independence, at least to a degree. Lucas: Yes. And that's reflected in marriage practices. Ibn Battuta notes that in Mali, women could initiate divorce and keep their property after marriage. That's a far cry from many other societies of the time. Of course, it wasn't a feminist utopia—polygamy was common, and women's primary role was still seen as wife and mother. But within that framework, they had real agency. Luna: It's interesting how much we focus on Mansa Musa's gold and forget about the social structures that made it all possible. Lucas: Exactly. And speaking of making things possible, a lot of what we're able to dig into here—the research, the time to pull these stories together—it's because of listeners who support the show. If you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, and if you've gotten something out of these conversations about West Africa, a couple of dollars a month genuinely makes a difference. It's what keeps this ad-free and allows us to keep exploring topics like this. That's at buymeacoffee.com/fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really does help. And we don't have any sponsors, so it's just listeners like you who make it possible to keep going. Lucas: So, back to the women of Mali—one more figure I want to mention: there's a story, possibly legendary, about a woman named Kanku who was Mansa Musa's mother. The name 'Kanku Musa' might actually mean 'Musa, son of Kanku.' That would make his mother's name part of his official title. Luna: So even in his name, his mother is present. Lucas: Right. And that's fitting, because in Mande culture, lineage is traced through both parents. The griots would recite long genealogies that included mothers' names. So women were remembered, even if they didn't rule. Luna: Were there any women who led military campaigns? Like the Amazon legends? Lucas: Nothing quite like that in Mali, but in the broader region, there are stories. The most famous is probably the queen of the Songhai, Assou, who fought against the Moroccan invasion in the 16th century. But for the Keita period, women's military role was more supportive—they might accompany armies to cook, nurse, and sometimes act as spies. But there's no evidence of female soldiers in the field. Luna: Still, the fact that women could be judges, traders, landowners—that's not a footnote. That's a big part of the story. Lucas: It absolutely is. And it's a reminder that history is never as simple as one man with a gold nugget. The Mali Empire was a complex society with its own internal dynamics—including a place for women that, in some ways, was more advanced than what you'd find in Europe at the same time. Luna: Makes you wonder what else we're missing when we focus only on the famous names. Lucas: That's the whole reason we do this show. There's always another layer.