Mma-Besi | |
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mohumagadi (queen or queen mother) of the BaNgwato of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, | |
Born | Mma-Besi c. 1846 |
Mma-Besi or Mabisa (1846 – 1889) was a mohumagadi (queen or queen mother) of the BaNgwato of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana, and the first wife of king Khama III. [1] [2] She was also known as Elisabeta Gobitsamang Khama.
She was baptized as Elisabeta in 1862, taking the name in honour of Elizabeth Moffat, daughter of Robert Moffat. [2] [3] She was married that same year in what was the first Christian marriage held in Shoshong. [2] Her first child, a daughter, was called Besi, and so she became Mma-Besi due to the tradition of taking the name "mother of" one's firstborn. [2] Her one son who lived, Sekgoma, became king when Khama III died in 1923 but died himself soon after. [2] She herself died at the age of 44, probably of malaria due to Khama III moving the capital to the Tswapong Hills.
Mma-Besi | |
---|---|
mohumagadi (queen or queen mother) of the BaNgwato of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, | |
Born | Mma-Besi c. 1846 |
Mma-Besi or Mabisa (1846 – 1889) was a mohumagadi (queen or queen mother) of the BaNgwato of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana, and the first wife of king Khama III. [1] [2] She was also known as Elisabeta Gobitsamang Khama.
She was baptized as Elisabeta in 1862, taking the name in honour of Elizabeth Moffat, daughter of Robert Moffat. [2] [3] She was married that same year in what was the first Christian marriage held in Shoshong. [2] Her first child, a daughter, was called Besi, and so she became Mma-Besi due to the tradition of taking the name "mother of" one's firstborn. [2] Her one son who lived, Sekgoma, became king when Khama III died in 1923 but died himself soon after. [2] She herself died at the age of 44, probably of malaria due to Khama III moving the capital to the Tswapong Hills.