Sunday, March 9, 2008

Reader's Poll: help me pick some Women Warriors!

I've managed to narrow down my list of Women Warriors from eighty names to a mere twenty-three. I have definitely decided on four women, but need to select at least two more, possibly four. I've created a poll on the side, so help me vote!

Here are the four selected candidates:

Madeleine de Vercheres
, Canada, 1678 - 1747, Her ingenuity is credited with single-handedly thwarting a raid on Fort Vercheres.
Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt, 15th Cent BC, One of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty.
Lakshmibai, India, 1828-1858 AD, Queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi in North India, was one of the leading figures of the Indian rebellion of 1857, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India.
Trung Sisters, Vietnam, 12-43 AD, Two 1st century women leaders who successfully repelled Chinese invasions for three years.

My second-tier selects are:

Zinga Mbandi, Africa, 15th Cent, fought Portugese, put women in positions of power
Charlotte Corday, France, 18th Cent, killed Marat during the French Revolution
Caterina Sforza, Italy, 1463-1509, cruel, fought many battles, spiritual mother of the queen chess pawn
Nanny of the Maroons, Jamaica, 18th Cent, well-known leader of the Jamaican Maroons in the eighteenth century
Deborah Sampson Gannet, North America, 1760 -1827, first known American woman to impersonate a man in order to join the Army, the first to fight in combat, and the first to receive a military pension.
Catalina de Erauso, Spain, 1592-1650,
semilegendary personality of Spain and Spanish America, dressed as a man, loved dueling
Brita Olsdotter, Sweden, 18th Cent, an old Swedish woman meets Russian army and makes them turn around and leave after telling them that reinforcements was arriving to assist Linköping
Queen Bat Zabbai (Zenobia), Syria, 240-274 AD, Queen of the Palmyrene Empire who conquered Egypt

Here are the third-tier selects. Some of these women may only be folk heroines based on real women who are unknown, and thus will not work for this project. Their historical statuses are as yet undetermined.

Vlasta & Sarka, Checholslovakia, 600 's, myth? created woman's army & castle
Empress Wu Chao, China 684-705 AD, originally a concubine, first and only woman ever to occupy office of Emperor in Chinese history
Princess Pingyang China, 600's, helped father establish Tang Dynasty by forming and leading a woman army
Matilda of Tuscany, Italy, 1046 – 1115 AD, saw battle? one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments.
Tomoe Gozen, Japan, 1157-1247 AD, real person? female Samurai
Kenau Hasselaar & Amaron, Netherlands, 16th Cent, allegedly led 300 women in defence of the city.
Glory of the Morning, North America, 18th Cent, first woman ever described in the written history of Wisconsin.
Hellcat Maggie, North America, 1800s, questionable to being real person,
female bouncer at a New York City Water St. bar called The Hole in the Wall in the early 19th century, who figures prominently in New York City folklore.
Nanye-hi (Nancy Ward), North America, 18th Cent, Cherokee "beloved woman" She believed in peaceful coexistence with white people.
Manuela Beltrán, South America, 18th Cent, Colombian woman who organized a peasant revolt against excess taxation in 1780
Manuela Sáenz, South America, 1783-1830, "perhaps the most important woman in Latin American history" and says that she "had more political influence than even Eva Perón."

4 comments:

Fresca said...

Hi, E.Katie!
I found your site through Mike McGraw. I LOVE this project!!! And instead of making it easier for you by limiting your choices, I want to add one. I used to work in geography book for teens, and one of the things I learned was the hidden history of women rulers in Islam. I haven't read your site until today, so it's possible of course that you already listed her in previoius posts, and ruled her out; but I admit that I am extra interested in Muslim women warriors (there are also some kick-ass North African Berber warrior women, as you no doubt know) because of all the ignorance and prejudice we Americans have about Islam and women. I found the following warrior queen in a book by Moroccan scholar and feminist Fatima Mernissi: The Forgotten Queens of Islam. I wrote up this mini-bio in my book about Yemen:
"Queen Arwa (d. 1138) Malika means “queen” in Arabic, and Queen Arwa is also known as Malika Arwa. She is almost the only woman to become head of state in the Arab world after the coming of Islam. Arwa held power for almost half a century, from 1067 to her death in 1138. Another woman who had the honor of being the head of an Islamic state was Arwa’s mother-in-law, Queen Asma. Arwa married Asma’s son al-Mukarram. He shared power with his wife, as his father had done. After his death, Arwa ruled as a popular and capable queen. She moved her capital from Sanaa to the more secure mountain fortress of Jabala. From there, her forces were victorious in battles against enemies in the region. She ordered new roads, religious centers, monuments, and buildings to be built. Her legacy includes a famous mosque in Sanaa, which people still visit."
GOOD LUCK with your porject--you can't go wrong, whomever you choose.

Fresca said...

Hi! Me again--
I'm so excited about your project, I was thinking about it last night and
I wanted to further vote for an African woman warrior (North Africa is about as different from Sub-Saharan as Western Eruope from Asia), so I would vote for Z.; but I have possibly an even better candidate: Nehanda of southern Africa (Zimbabwe today). Maybe you already considered her, (I did do a search of your blog for her and Arwa and they weren't there) but in case you haven't: She was a hero of her people well before European invasions, and then she resurrected as a revolutionary leader when that threat arose in the 19th cent.--as a spirit acting through a living woman who was a medium, whom the British executed-- and she remains a popular hero (on T-shirts and the like) in Zimbabwe today. From my Zimbabwe project:
NEHANDA (ca. 1000 A.D.) Nehanda is one of the "mhondoro," or great ancestor spirits, of the Shona people. Oral history records that Nehanda was a member of the first Shona family to arrive on the Zimbabwe plateau. She died before they crossed the Zambezi River, but her spirit entered a medium who parted the waters so the immigrants could cross safely. According to legend, in 1896, during the First Chimurenga, Nehanda’s spirit took possession of a medium and encouraged her people to resist the white settlers. The medium—named Charwe but referred to by her spirit name Nehanda--was hung by the British in 1897. Nehanda remains Zimbabwe’s greatest heroine.
SPIRIT LEADERS
In traditional Shona society (one of the main ethnic groups in Zimbabwe), it is believed that the spirits of ancestors are powerful forces. People who channel messages from the spirits are called spirit mediums. According to legend, a female spirit named Nehanda came to a spirit medium during the First Chimurenga and through her encouraged people to revolt against European invaders. Messages from a male spirit named Kagubi also assisted in the rebellion. The spirit mediums of Nehanda and Kagubi were captured by the British and sentenced to death by hanging in 1897. Nehanda went to her death saying, “My bones will rise again.”

E. Katie Holm said...

Fresca,

Thanks for those wonderful suggestions! I am sure I read about Arwa in one of my Women Encyclopedias, but there are so many names I often get overwhelmed! And it really makes you wonder why, if there are so many names like I am finding, do these amazing women get written out of history (herstory)?

Indeed, I did not publish my whole list of names. And that list is not definitive, either. I plan to add to it as the project progresses. My idea and ideal for this project will to one day have a book with at least 25-30 women pictured. So keep those names coming.

And thank you for mentioning me on your blog!

Fresca said...

Yes, you could certainly just keep going on & on! What treasures...