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Zingha: Image
Zingha Mbandi Ngola, Anna (also, Nzinga Mbandi Ngola or Ginga Mbandi Ngola).
Born 1581 or 1582; died Dec. 17, 1663.
Became ruler of the state of Ndongo (Angola) in 1624 or 1623 and of Matamba in the late 1620’s.
Zingha was an African warrior queen who kept the Europeans from enslaving her people until her death.
"She was a fierce anticolonial warrior, a militant fighter, a woman holding power in a male-dominated society, and she laid the basis for successful Angolan resistance to Portuguese colonialism all the way into the twentieth century," ~ Aurora Levins Morales
"Queen Nzinga’s record as a military leader, diplomat, spiritual leader and mother belie any simplistic conception of gender identities in African societies. She has a special position in Angolan history and is seen as an important root of African nationalism both because of her resistance to colonial rule and because of her success in breaking the regional power of the old ethnic provinces." More Information here.
For More information on Zingha please visit the below websites:
https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Zingha+Mbandi+Ngola%2C+Anna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Njinga:_Queen_of_Angola
http://www.africanfeministforum.com/queen-nzinga-angola/
https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/queen-nzinga-1583-1663/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/portuguese-slave-traders-were-no-match-for-angolan-queen-nzinga-mbandi
Read about her in The Book of Black Heroes: Women in the Struggle, and, here.
Illustration by Jalen Brink. (See below)
Zingha: Text
In 2020, 14-year old artist Jalen Brink created the Queen Nzingha illustration that we use on our t-shirts.
Jalen started drawing anime-style illustrations when she was 7. She has performed with the Peterborough Theater Guild, and as a Wood Nymph in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jalen also performed for 4th Line Theater as Young Fantasia in Who Killed Snow White, and Granddaughter Leianne in, The Other: A Strange Christmas Tale.
Jalen is to play the role of the orphan in the Peterborough Theater Guild's production of the musical, Annie in 2021.
She also has been a member of the Peterborough Children's Chorus, as well as the Ridpath Singer .
Jalen has had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at a Peterborough Petes hockey game, as well as at the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Induction Gala.
Zingha: Image
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