Nyarroh
| Nyarroh | |
|---|---|
| Chief of Barri (in present-day Sierra Leone) | |
| Reign | c. 1880s-1914 |
| Predecessor | Kahjay, her husband |
| Successor | her daughter |
| Died | 1914 |
Nyarroh (alternatively referred to as Nyaloh, Nyarroh of Bandasuma or Queen Nyarroh) was a female Mende chief in Bandasuma, in present-day Sierra Leone. Little is recorded about Nyarroh prior to the 1880s; however, British reports in the 1880s consider her one of the main chiefs in the area with control over important roads from the coast to inland areas. Nyarroh's position at a critical juncture led her to host many negotiations between British officers and the Mende chiefs in the interior of the country. Like many of the other Mende chiefs, she took an active role in warfare and in 1887 she was taken captive and held for many months. She signed a friendship agreement with the British in 1890 and became part of their administration of the colony until her death in 1914.
Nyarroh was the chief of the town of Bandasuma (modern Bandajuma) and gained other land to become the chief of the entire Barrie region on the Moa River in the present-day country of Sierra Leone. Not much is recorded about Nyarroh's life prior to 1885 when she became a key mediator in British efforts in the interior of Sierra Leone.
Oral histories say that Nyarroh became the chief of Bandasuma after the death of her husband Kahjay who was the chief of the village. She expanded her control over a greater land area and became the chief of the entire Barrie region. Most of the addition was the result of a gift from Boakie Gomna the Tunkia chief who had become her Nyarroh's lover after the death of her husband. A separate oral tradition contends that she at one point controlled land on the East side of the Moa River (the land around modern wildlife sanctuary of Tiwai Island), but that that land was gifted to another chief who became her lover as well.
The Barrie region controlled by Nyarroh was bordered by the Tunkia chiefdom to the north and the Moa river to the West. The area gained significance with British efforts to bring the interior Mende country into its colonial government because it was at a key crossroads leading from the coastal towns to the important Mende chiefs in the far interior.
Although in official British reports she was referred to as Queen Nyarroh, this is likely due to indiscriminate usage of the title by British officers when dealing with indigenous authorities, and she was a chief under the power of Mendengla, one of the four primary Mende kings. Her authority is contested by different historians with Arthur Abraham claiming that Nyarroh saw increased power largely to serve British colonial efforts and she had limited power prior to British colonial involvement. In contrast, Lynda R. Day argues that Nyarroh was able to play a unique role as a mediator between British and indigenous interests because women had a traditional role as mediators in Mende society.
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