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decades of war and rose in prestige if not power; more celebrity than statesman.

GoGo was troubled as a young girl and plagued by the double demons of high intelligence

and low self-esteem. She believed she was ugly, and that her lesser educated, yet more attractive

rivals, always got the attention. At the age of sixteen, in a moment of depression and despair, she

took a knife and sliced her face from cheek to chin, an act that left her with a vicious, disfiguring

scar. Many of Kanja’s allies call her the Dog Queen. Yet she turned out to be strong and strategic.

Her wisdom and counsel had kept Kanja out of trouble time and time again. And she gave him a

son, the charismatic Prince Omar, handsome and smart, admired and adored by the Mandinka

people so much that they dubbed him the Golden Leopard. It was her hope for Omar’s return that

filled GoGo’s heart that night, even more than her king’s celebration.

Kanja and GoGo sat on their thrones in the massive gilded main hall and received their

honored and not so honored guests. The chairs were made of solid ivory with a gold lion and

lioness, respectively, carved into an onyx head plate. Giraffe and leopard skins were mounted on

large mahogany frames behind the thrones designed to accentuate the grandeur of the royal

personages. The king was a man of average build and classic Mandinka facial features, broad nose

and full lips. He was dressed in a heavy, all white robe with three sashes of blue, amber, and

crimson hanging loosely from his neck. His crown was a perfectly creased deep purple swath of

fabric adorned with eight plum-sized starburst mandalas made of gold, designed by Prince Omar

from his own etchings.

On nights like these, GoGo’s supposed lack of beauty was contradicted by her effortless

poise and royal carriage. African women, like women everywhere, were competitive and loved to

plume-up for splashy social affairs like the Albaka. Their dresses and headwear were colorful and

dazzling. Yet every year Queen GoGo dressed with an understated elegance and minimal jewelry,

and every year Kanja voiced his displeasure.

“See how extravagantly the female guests dress? I can hear the whispers now, ‘The women

outshine the queen.’ ”

GoGo responded casually without drawing attention. “The more perceptive of our guests