Princess Yennenga

Short Story

Robert Kiswendsida Kaboré

Mrs SEDKAOUI

Master II English/FSHST

Princess Yennenga1

In western Africa, lived king Nedega, queen Napoko and their daughter, Napoaka2 Yennenga. Nedega, the king of Dagomba, who ruled in Gambaga in Northern Ghana, considered himself doubly blessed; not only was his daughter indescribably beautiful, she was also his greatest warrior, said to be as fierce as a Guiguempolle3. Princess Yennenga could beat any of the king soldiers whenever they competed. She was so skilled at fighting and strategizing that her father the king made her the chief of his royal guards and appointed her to lead battles against their 

enemies. She was also strong physically and mentally that she intimidated many soldiers. At just 14, she fought against the neighbouring kingdom, the Malinkes4. She was the finest and beloved woman in the entire kingdom, the kingdom of Dagomba. Princess Yennenga as precious as she was to her people, none could match the love the father had for her. All the Dagomba adored her not only for her beauty but also for her charity towards the needed in the 

kingdom; hence, she incarnated ni-saalem5

in the Dagomba world. She was humble enough to allow the poorest people in the kingdom to come to her whenever they felt the need. The king Nedega praised her talent for wielding the sword and her gift to ride and taming the most powerful stallions. The king was so proud of her. Her strength and courage even put great warriors in shame. Her father loved her dearly until he had a hard time considering giving her a way to marriage. He once proclaimed “My beloved daughter, you are so sweet to wish to 

vanish in a marriage, you have a kingdom and an army, what else do you need?” In fact, the father was a bit selfish because Yennenga led his soldiers to victory, bringing home fabulous treasures and other spoils of war to enrich the kingdom. Surely, the king of Dagomba loved his daughter very much, and he loved how powerful she made him and their country. However, when suitors came to court Yennenga, the king demanded to speak to them first. After inspecting and questioning each young man, the king sent every one of them away, saying that

they were not worthy of his daughter. The king would say that one man was too dumb, another too fat. Then he would say that another man was too smart, and yet another man too thin. The king found fault with every suitor because he was not willing to lose Yennenga and all the wealth and power she brought him.

Yennenga was growing desperately unhappy; though she was proud to be the greatest warrior of her people, what she wanted most in life was to marry and have a family of her own. She quickly realized that her father was not about to give her up, not about to let her choose her own path, live her own life. However, she thought she knew how to convince him to let her go. At first, Yennenga asked her father to give her a way to marriage but her father refused for he 

considered her so precious to him and to the Dagomba people and he could not imagine to let her marry and go probably in another horizon bringing with her all her skills and favours. “My

1Yennenga was a semi-legendary Princess of Dagomba, northern Ghana. Accounts of her are sketchy as her story has been passed down through oral tradition (some interpretations may differ from the story below), but there is consensus that she 

was a feared warrior and horse rider, and is a cultural icon in Burkina Faso. My story of Yennenga is related to stories that my 

parents used to tell me when I was a kid. My mom is a storyteller for my community, the Mossi community in Burkina Faso 

and my dad a Mossi chief in our small village in Burkina Faso, Zorgho. I am grateful to my parents for letting me know that 

slavery was not the only story of Black people.

2Princess

3Lioness

4People in nowadays Mali

5 Humanity

sweet strong and beautiful Yennenga, how can I rule the Dagomba greatest warrior to 

marriage?” said the Father. Her father’s proclamation deeply saddened her. Days became months and months became years. Her dreams fell in despair as she begged and pleaded with her father. She found that she could not really complain directly to her father even though she knew that he loved her dearly.

One day, she got an idea; Yennenga cleared a field all by herself and planted a beautiful field of wheat. She tended to the plants daily, soon growing the most incredible field of wheat anyone had ever seen in Dagomba tenga6. At harvest time, she brought her father and his ministers out to see what she had done. The crop became lash and beautiful. The king was beside himself 

with delight. “Do you see?” he crowed. “Not only is my daughter Yennenga beautiful and 

strong and brave, is she so gifted that she grew all this wheat by herself. Look how healthy these plants are! Yennenga is my greatest treasure.” Yennenga smiled but did not speak. She led her father and his ministers back to their palace, but after that day, she never returned to the 

field of wheat. In time, the unrelenting sun withered the plants, and all of Yennenga’s hard work went to waste. One day the king noticed how the wheat crop had failed, and he was deeply troubled that Yennenga, so hardworking and dedicated, would let the wheat die. He called the princess to him and asked her why she had abandoned her field. The father confused and perplex because of her act, said to Yennenga: “My love, what is the meaning of this?” Therefore, 

Princess Yennenga answered: “You see how these plants have withered away?” Yennenga asked. “How their potential has gone to waste? Father, this is what you are doing to me by not allowing me the joy of love and motherhood; you are letting me wither away.” Yennenga’s words shocked the king Nedega. Yennenga thought that her demonstration and her words had 

swayed her father’s mind, but instead the king was furious that she had embarrassed him in front of his ministers. He roared that Yennenga would never marry and ordered her locked in her room. Fortunately, princess Yennenga had friends among the King’s guards, as she was good to all people and cherished by all the Dagomba.

Having feared that her father would try to imprison her, Yennenga had a backup plan ready. Her second in command among the royal guard snuck up to her room, bringing her men’s clothing. Yennenga disguised herself as one of her soldiers, and together she and her lieutenant fled Dagomba kingdom on horseback in the dead of night. Just as they crossed the border of her kingdom, enemy Malinke warriors who had been patrolling the area ambushed Yennenga and her friend. Not wanting to see the princess down when she was so close to freedom, her friend turned around and attacked the warriors. One by one, he fought the Malinkes but he was quickly overwhelmed and killed, but Yennenga escaped into the forest beyond. His heroic 

efforts distracted them away as the Princess fled. Princess Yennenga pressed forward in the forest north out of the land of the Dagomba, her home deciding to be brave as she used to be and carry on northward. Yennenga rode north for many weeks. At one point, the Princess had to cross a river; she travelled across a strong carnage and successfully got to the other side

covering hundreds of miles. She went exhausted by her efforts and she felt asleep in the back of her stallion; but when out of exhaustion, her stallion stopped by a lonely hut at the edge of a forest. Yennenga asked the owner if she could rest there. The man, Riale, had been living alone 

 

6 Country

for some time, and was happy to let Yennenga—still disguised as a man—stay for as long as she needed. Yennenga was grateful, and when her strength returned, she joined Riale, an elephant hunter, and helped to tend to his land a house. Riale first thought she was one of the Malinke generals or warriors as she was dressed as a man or a king. After a while, they reached to know each other. The hunter cared for the princess.

At first, Yennenga had planned to move on, but she saw that Riale was a good and kind man.

After several days, Yennenga felt that she could trust Riale, and she revealed herself as Princess Yennenga of Dagomba kingdom. Riale was stunned but not disappointed by the fact that Yennenga had not been truthful with him. In fact, Riale admitted that he had a secret as well; he was the prince of Mande7. His father, the king had been assassinated by his uncle, and Riale, 

unable to kill his own uncle in retaliation, chose to flee and live in exile instead. Yennenga and Riale soon fell in love and married. They had a son that they named Ouedraogo8after the horse that had carried Yennenga to Riale’s home. They lived together in peace, but when Ouedraogo 

turned seventeen, Yennenga felt that it was only proper for him to meet her father, the king of Dagomba. Yennenga worried that her father hated her for running away. Nevertheless, when she and her family arrived at the palace, her father was overjoyed to see her. He took Ouedraogo 

under his wing, teaching him one thousand things he needed to be a good king, and three things that everyone must learn. First, to see the beauty in the world and call it ugly; second, to get up in the morning and do what you cannot do; and lastly, to give free rein to your dreams, because those who do not pursue their dreams will be devastated by them.Ouedraogo took all these lessons to heart. He founded the first Mossi Empire9

in what is now Burkina Faso. Yennenga became thus the mother queen of a whole community, the Mossi people.

 

7 Ethnic group in Mali

8Stallion

9 Made of five kingdoms: Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, Ouahigouya, Fada N’Gourma and Boussouma