{"id":78337,"date":"2023-04-11T14:50:27","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T12:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/?post_type=event&p=78337"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:13:12","slug":"ladies-of-the-throne","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/en\/programm\/termin\/literature\/ladies-of-the-throne-78337\/","title":{"rendered":"Ladies of the Throne"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cMost of the time, it is the power of men that we remember.\u201d With these words, which open L\u00e9onora Miano\u2019s text for Objects Talk Back<\/em>, an astonishing new narrative unfurls around Mandu Yenu, a throne from the ancient Kingdom of Bamum (present day Cameroon).<\/p>\n

The Germans long claimed the object was a \u2018gift\u2019 from King Njoya to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Miano reads \u201cbetween the lines of beads and cowrie shells\u201d to show the complex intricacies of colonial and gender relations. Dismissing all pretense of egalitarianism between colonizer and colonized, she hones in on the very nature of power \u2013 how and by whom it is defined-wielded-subverted. King<\/p>\n

Njoya said he \u201cfelt like a woman in his relationship with the Germans\u201d. Miano takes this as a prompt to examine contrasting cultural notions of femininity, and thus reveals how central women are to the story of the throne: the very name of the object suggests \u2013 it is the power of women we should remember.<\/p>\n

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Mandu Yenu can be visited in the room “Colonial Cameroon” (216) on the 2nd floor until 18:30. Admission is free.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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