Ti Memenne of La Gonâve explained

Ti Memenne
Succession:Queen of La Gonâve
Reign:c. 1920s
Reg-Type:Co-monarch
Birth Place:La Gonâve, Haiti
Death Place:La Gonâve, Haiti
Religion:Haitian Vodou

Queen Ti Memenne of La Gonâve (also written as Timemenne; 19th-century  - fl. 1929) was the tribal ruler of La Gonâve, a Haitian island located west of Hispaniola in the Gulf of Gonâve, in the 1920s. While her reign was not officially recognized by the republican government of Haiti during American occupation, she maintained political, economic, spiritual, and social leadership of the island. Arrested by the Garde d'Haïti for being a practitioner of Vodou, she was shown compassion by Faustin E. Wirkus, an American military officer who assisted in her release. She later proclaimed Wirkus to be the reincarnation of former Haitian Emperor Faustin Soulouque and crowned him as a co-ruler over La Gonâve.

Biography

Ti Memenne was a leading figure over a group of matriarchal societies, dominating social and economic affairs on La Gonâve.[1] Her reign over La Gonâve was not officially recognized by the republican government, which had abolished the monarchy and nobility in Haiti.[1] Despite this, she was viewed by the other native people of the island as their political and spiritual leader.[1] [2]

As a young woman, Ti Memenne was captured by American military officials during the United States occupation of Haiti and charged with "trivial voodoo offenses."[2] She received aid from Faustin E. Wirkus, an American sergeant serving in the Garde d'Haiti who had been stationed on La Gonâve.[3] Wirkus sent her to Port-au-Prince with a recommendation for lenient treatment.[4] For the next year Ti Memenne built a friendship with Wirkus, who advised her on governmental and civil matters.[1] Due to his help, and because he shared a name with the former Haitian emperor Faustin I, she and her people proclaimed Wirkus to be Faustin II in a Vodou ritual, allowing him to co-rule over La Gonâve with her for three years (1926–1929).[5] [6] [7] She reportedly believed Wirkus to be Faustin I's reincarnation.[4]

In popular culture

Ti Memenne is remembered in William Seabrook's 1929 novel The Magic Island and Wirkus' memoir The White King of La Gonave: The True Story of the Sergeant of Marines Who Was Crowned King on a Voodoo Island.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cambridge Sentinel 26 February 1944 — Cambridge Public Library's Historic Cambridge Newspaper Collection. cambridge.dlconsulting.com. 12 December 2020. 5 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211005072440/https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/cgi-bin/cambridge?a=d&d=Sentinel19440226-01.2.30&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------. live.
  2. Web site: Sierżant Faustin Wirkus, cesarz La Gonave. Wirtualna Polska Media. S.A. April 23, 2014. opinie.wp.pl. December 12, 2020. January 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210117190322/https://opinie.wp.pl/sierzant-faustin-wirkus-cesarz-la-gonave-6126018333833345a. live.
  3. Web site: City officials face criminal charges. Arthur. WILLIAMS. Prince George Citizen. 2020-12-12. 2019-03-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20190320070431/https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/opinion/columnists/city-officials-face-criminal-charges-1.2225869. live.
  4. Web site: That time a Marine was crowned king of a voodoo island in Haiti. February 5, 2020. December 12, 2020. November 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130083721/https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/faustin-wirkus-ii-voodoo-king/. live.
  5. Book: Wirkus. Faustin E.. Dudley, Taney. Introduction by William E. Seabrook. The White King of La Gonâve: The True Story of the Sergeant of Marines Who Was Crowned King on a Voodoo Island. 1931. Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. (paperback: Ishi Press, 2015). New York. 978-4871872393. 333.
  6. Web site: Department of the Navy -Naval Historical Society. https://web.archive.org/web/20100708123437/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/haiti_bib.htm. dead. July 8, 2010.
  7. Web site: The Winnipeg Tribune from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on April 25, 1931 · Page 45. Newspapers.com. December 12, 2020. October 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211005072907/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/39305419/. live.
  8. Web site: The White King of La Gonave. www.goodreads.com.