BY AMBASSADOR PHATSE JUSTICE PIITSO

10 OCTOBER 2024

Centuries after the arrival of the first expedition of the European voyage of discovery into the tranquil shores of the Americas, the belligerent scholars have not yet come to acknowledge, invincible trails of the torchbearers of the world revolutionary movement, whom history revered bequeathed example, the greatest episodes of the triumph of human struggles.

The apostles of enlightenment had the responsibility, to liberate humanity from the dungeons of darkness, like flames of one candle, lightening thousands others.

The annals of history refer us to the magnificent anecdotes of the Amazons, the unquenchable warrior women of the Antilles and Dahomey, who stood the test of time, conquering adversity, through extraordinary feats of ingenuity, courage and bravery.

The beautiful warrior women of the Americas and the African continent, whose charming lustre illuminated the pathways, occupying the forefront trenches of our struggles, for freedom of humanity.

Renowned Ancient Greek philosopher Aristocles Plato, in one of his famous written dialogues, says a hero is born amongst a hundred, a wise man is found amongst a thousand but an accomplished one might not be found even amongst a hundred thousand men.

The lionhearted guardians of the Amazons of the Americas and the African continent, were not just pantheons of accomplishment, but titanic icons of our struggles for liberation.

The Amazons of the Antilles were women of the Taino tribe, scattered over the mountainous rainforests of Latin America and the Caribbean peninsula, whilst the Amazons of Dahomey, were the women of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in the tropical forests and the dusty mountainous desert of the west African region, the present day republic of Benin.

The two oasis of humanity, thou far apart from each other, partitioned by perennial ocean waves of the Atlantic, are renowned for the traditions of rare formidable battalions of warrior women, fighting ferociously against imperialism and colonial occupation.

Upon his arrival in the archipelago of the new world of the Americas, the voyager Christopher Columbus, wrote a letter to the Queen of the Kingdom of Spain, Isabella I of Castile, forewarning her of the existence of indigenous people in the hemisphere, who could be of use as good slaves, to extract gold and silver for the colonial empire.

He further informed her of the existence of contingents of warrior women of tremendous courage and bravery, carrying arrows and darts, waging tumultuous resistance against any form of incursion.

Over the historical period, the European colonial powers, subjected the indigenous people of the Americas, to horrendous conditions of untold forms of atrocities and genocide, leading to the total extermination and extinction of the population.

The most painful tale of an enduring chapter of a journey of thousands miles, suffered by the world people in the colonies and semi colonies. Bartolome De Las Casas, one of the missionaries who was part of the entourage of Christopher Columbus, entrusted by the kingdom of Spain to lure the local people into Christianity, wrote a plethora of articles about the monstrous acts Columbus and his men, inflicted on the local people.

He wrote about how they would breed fierce hunting dogs that would devour an Indian like a hog, at first sight in less than a moment. That the flesh of the Taino were fed to them as if to teach them to love their meat.

Elaborating the brutalities committed to the indigenous people in the following painstaking words” Forcing the Taino to perform tasks utterly beyond their strength bending them to the earth with crushing burdens, harnessing them to loads which they could not drag, and with fiendish sport and mockery, chopping off their hands and feet, mutilating their bodies in ways which will not bear description”.

The American archaeologist, Antonio Kuilan, in his article, ‘Remembering the Huetey and Tainos’, gives an atrocious tale of human destruction by the colonial settlers.

“Some of the villagers in the deep belly of the Islands, would welcome Columbus and his crew, not aware of their horrors and brutalities.

“After feeding them with delicious cuisine of the Antilles and splendid evening of traditional dances and poetry, the intruders would turn against the local people, disembowelling and slaughtering them until their blood flowed like seething river.

“They would bash the Taino babies against rocks and throw them into the rivers. They would even hang Tainos in groups of 13 and burn them alive in memory of Jesus and the 12 Apostles”.

In her memoir, The Amazon of Mantinino, Personal Legacy of Female Empowerment in the Greater Antilles, Professor Rosalina Diaz, says the following about the courage and resilience of the Amazons of the Antilles, the love for the freedom of the motherland and determination to resist the European Conquistadors:

“Wherefore many went to the woods and hang themselves, after having killed their children, saying it was far better to die than to live so miserably, serving such and so many ferocious tyrants and wicked thieves.

“The women with juice of a certain herb, dissipated their pregnancy, in order not to produce children. Some threw themselves from high cliffs down precipices, others jumped into the sea, others again into the rivers and others starving themselves to death.

“Sometimes they killed themselves with the flint knives, others pierced their bosoms or their sides with pointed stakes”.

In the Western African region of the present day republic of Benin, the colonial conquers encountered formidable warrior women battalion of the Amazons of Dahomey, waging fiercest battles against colonial settlers, stealing their land, livestock and hunting people as slaves.

The kingdom of Dahomey, is amongst the first nations in the history of the world, to have a dedicated army of warrior women, with such a tremendous gesture of resistance and defiance, to protect their land and the treasures against the invading neighbouring kingdoms and colonial powers.

Each epoch produces its own heroes and heroines, but the annals of history have distinguished the Amazons of Dahomey, to have contributed immensely to the fortunes of the struggles for the liberation of the African continent.

They have imbued humanity with magnanimous feats of heroism, navigating trials and tribulations, understanding the necessity that freedom is a product of courage and determination.

The warrior women of the Amazons of the Americas and the African continent, inflicted devastating blows to the colonial conquers, employing even more superior and sophisticated tactics and strategies of war, outsmarting men in the use of artillery and weaponry in combat.

The depth of the relentless courage and dedication to the cause of the struggles, distinguished them as the most unparalleled freedom fighters. They held the bull by the horns, the hunter becoming the hunted and the hunted becoming the hunter.

 Posterity will count them amongst the luminaries of the struggles for the freedom of mankind.

The Amazons of the Antilles and Dahomey have contributed immensely to the milestones of human civilisation, of human endeavours to create a better future of humanity.

The flames of their courageous testimonies will not be silenced by the empty chapters of history books. They have defined the aspirations of the future humanity, of the ideal world of peace and tranquillity.

The warrior women of the Amazons of the Americas and the African continent, belong to the rare instances of history, of the defining moments of human civilisation.

They have changed the world by their example and we shall change the world by their example. Their testimonies are the example of courage and selflessness to serve humanity.

• Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso is a member of the African National Congress, writing this article in his personal capacity.