‘Mmamosadinyana’: Batswana’s term of endearment for the Queen

Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday September 13, 2022 06:00

 

‘Mmamosadinyana’: Batswana’s term of endearment for the Queen

Back when she was still Princess Elizabeth, she was called ‘Lilibet’ by those near and dear to her as the little future Queen couldn't properly pronounce her name.

Her late husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was known to call her 'Cabbage'. Her great-grandchildren call her 'Gan-Gan’. It was rare to name a person of such stature, but the name Mmamosadinyana carries such intimate meaning and significance for Batswana.

Since the 18th century, the name Mmamosadinyana has always been synonymous with Batswana and has grown to become cherished. Passed on from one generation to another the name did not precisely originate with Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8 at Balmoral Castle on her Scottish estate aged 96.

Queen Elizabeth II may be the longest-reigning monarch in British history and went on to own Mmamosadinyana, but was not Batswana's first Mmamosadinyana. She inherited the name from her great-grandmother Queen Victoria (1819–1901). It is worth noting that Mmamosadinyana is not an official name at all, but it is synonymous with the queens, the British Queen to be specific. Speaking of British queens, the name Mmamosadinyana according to historians was coined by Sebele I of Bakwena in 1895 on a visit to England where he met Queen Victoria.

Sebele alongside Khama III of Bangwato and Bathoen I of Bangwaketse travelled to Great Britain to ask Joseph Chamberlain (Secretary of State for the Colonies) and Queen Victoria to separate the Bechuanaland Protectorate from Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company and Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe). Permission was granted and Batswana remained under direct British rule until Independence on September 30, 1966. It was after this visit to England that Kgosi Sebele in particular was open to the press, giving a rather jocular account of the royal encounter to the London Times, which was subsequently republished in periodicals throughout the Empire. “Her Majesty is charming. She has a kind face and a sweet voice. But I had no idea that she was so short and stout.

I have long desired to see the Chief of so many millions, as my father did before me, but I have seen her now, and shall go back home contented...(sic),” read the excerpt.

It was her small stature captured in the name Mmamosadinyana, which literal translation is 'little woman' with the honorific to put some respect. Describing the environment, Sebele said the corridors of the magnificent palace where Queen Victoria lived were all lined with stalwart soldiers, as big as he was, in glittering uniforms. “None ever moved.

They all stood erect and motionless like the marble statues in the streets of London. While I passed through their line, I boldly tested one of these giants. I thrust my finger almost into his eye to make certain he was a living being, and not a statue placed to add grandeur to the palace. To my great surprise he never flinched, but merely rewarded me with a smile.

When I was in one of Her Majesty’s splendid apartments, I was greatly astonished to see an ordinary, tiny house fly! It was a puzzle to me to know how it got there, for I could hardly believe that even Death could enter such a place,” Sebele vividly described the sight at Windsor Castle. While Sebele expected Queen Victoria to be a giant, he was shocked to see a person of her height. The literal meaning of Mmamosadinyana, however, doesn’t cast a shadow over the name but it remained an affectionate nickname Batswana bestowed upon both queens. It is not only a surprisingly intimate name to use but also one that holds more of sentimental meaning in recognition of royalty and more in the case of Queen Elizabeth considering that Bechuanaland remained a Protectorate directly under her until Independence.

All of Botswana’s five presidents ruled during Queen Elizabeth’s time at the helm of the British monarchy. Queen Elizabeth visited Bechuanaland in 1947 while still a Protectorate and she, still a princess, and again in 1979, as Queen on a state visit to the now independent Republic of Botswana. She was hosted by the country’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama. In Setswana putting the title ‘Mma’ before a woman's name is a sign of respect and so is such for Mmamosadinyana. Because Batswana loved the name and its significance, the name Mmamosadinyana was passed from Victoria to Elizabeth II even though the two were generations apart.

Queen Victoria died 25 years before Queen Elizabeth was born. The reason it took many years for the name Mmamosadinyana to be bestowed on another queen was that the British kings ruled between Victoria and Elizabeth’s eras. Queen Elizabeth was the sixth female to ascend to the British throne in February 1952, after the death of her father, King George VI.

Even Elizabeth did not expect to be Queen herself because she was not exactly first in the line of succession. She became the heir apparent to the throne when her uncle, King Edward VIII cleared the way in 1936 when he abdicated his throne so he could marry American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Today, Mmamosadinyana’s firstborn, King Charles III has ascended the throne and looking at the line of succession it may be centuries until the British have another female monarch. That means it may take generations until Batswana bestow another queen the name Mmamosadinyana because it is hereditary after all. The only close living person who could take the name Mmamosadinyana is King Charles’ granddaughter, Princess Charlotte. Princess Charlotte is Prince William’s daughter and the latter is the heir apparent to the British throne.

After the death of her great-grandmother Elizabeth II, seven-year-old Charlotte became the most senior female royal in terms of succession. Third in line to the throne, Princess Charlotte was born into a fairer era as in 2011, the British monarchy abolished a rule that gave preference to male heirs over their sisters in the line of succession.

At the time of her death, Mmamosadinyana had been on the throne since the age of 25. Her demise marks the end of one of the most successful reigns in any contemporary monarchy. It also marks the end of Batswana's term of endearment which could be a while before another is bestowed the name Mmamosadinyana. But for 73-year-old King Charles III, there could be a name Batswana may coin similarly, but ‘Rramonnanyana’ seems farfetched.