Life doesn’t come with a manual it comes with a mother-
Dear Mothers…there is no more difficult or greater role on Earth…You are the closest thing we have to angels and the praise can never be enough for those of us lucky enough to still have…For those who have lost…may the love and comfort of memories and lessons taught carry you through this day and every 💙👏🏽
The Gèlèdé Masquerade, Benin. In praise of “awon iya wa”, our mothers ― a Yoruba tribute to the spiritual powers of women.
The Matriach of the Baoulé People
In honour of this, we’ll like to highlight a mother in African history who sacrificed for her people.
Awura Pokou/Queen Pokou, a matriarch of the Baoulé people. In the 1700s, she led her people to migrate to Ivory Coast from today’s Ghana fearing persecution by the Ashanti people. Along the journey, they approached a river with a current too strong to cross. According to legend, to save her people, Pokou had to sacrifice what was most dear to her to please the gods: her infant son. A path then appeared in the river, which they crossed. After crossing, she screamed “Ba Ouli!”, meaning “the child is dead”. This would become the name of the ethnic group and kingdom she founded. Today the Baoule are the largest ethnic group in Ivory Coast.
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