Wonder Woman of the Week: Yennenga
- Dec 15, 2021
- 2 min read
Our Wonder Woman this week is a warrior princess of Medieval Africa that probably won't get her own Disney film, but that doesn't mean her story isn't worth telling. It's hard to know the exact story of the legendary Yennenga, but most stories claim she lived sometime during the 12th Century in West Africa. Legends claim Yennenga was the daughter of King Nedega who raised his daughter as a boy. Yennenga spent her childhood learning how to fight like a warrior including lessons in javelin throwing, archery, and spear fighting. She even became one of the top equestrians in the kingdom. The princess' training did not do untested either. Yennenga was already a war veteran by the time she turned fourteen- having fought in battle against the neighboring Malinkes.
When Yennenga blossomed into adulthood, her father could no longer hide his daughter's femininity- much as he tried (and he tried). King Nedega wanted his daughter to stay unmarried and to forever be his warrior princess, but Yennenga had other plans. The young woman wanted to marry and start her own family. To do this, the princess had the help of a fellow equestrian disguise her one final time as a man to help her escape her father's imprisonment. During the escape however, Malinke warriors ambushed Yennenga and her ally- killing the latter. Yennenga routed her assailants and continued her journey to freedom by herself until she found a lonely elephant hunter whom she would eventually marry.
The two had a son together named Ouedraugo who acted as a conduit for reconciliation between his mother and his grandfather. With pride for his grandson, King Nedega apologized for how he treated his daughter and the family lived- as the story goes- happily ever after. When Ouedraugo eventually rose to the throne, he founded the Kingdom of Mossi in modern-day Burkina Faso where his name remains as one of the most popular names for boys to this day- and where Princess Yennenga is considered to be the mother of the country.
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