African Princesses (NSFW)

What game would be complete without a damsel in distress to rescue? I’ve completed painting the African Princesses pack from Copplestone Castings, now sold by North Star Military Figures in the U.K., Brigade Games and Badger Games in the U.S.

Fighting wars over a woman isn’t exclusive to European history and literature. Just as Homer’s Achaeans went to war to return Helen to Sparta, the rise of the Azande kingdom began with the war for Bazingbi’s daughter.

Swahili Princess

The Swahili People are a Bantu people who distinguish themselves from other Bantu tribes as the “civilized ones.” The bulk of the Swahili People are found in the Swahili Coastal Area spread over Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Comoros. The Swahili language became a “lingua franca” for most of East Africa.

Turkana Princess

I never knew how diverse the people, cultures, and languages of Africa were until I worked with a lady from Nigeria. The Turkana People who I had never heard before are a pastoral nomadic people in the semi-arid northwest corner of Kenya and slightly outnumber the more widely known Maasai.

The women are noted for wearing elaborate beaded necklaces. Though modern necklaces have very vivid colors, I couldn’t find reference of vivid colors in the 19th century. If and when I do find what colors were used then, I may have to repaint the beadwork on this figure.

Maasai Princess

Though in recent years the population of the Turkana is slightly larger than that of the Maasai in the Kenyan census, the Maasai have traditionally had the larger population. Counting the Maasai is a bit of a problem as many of the Maasai refuse to take part in the census and that as a nomadic people it is often difficult to count the Maasai as they migrate between Kenya and Tanzania. The Maasai are best known for three things, their cattle herds, their lion hunts, and their stand against slavery and the slave trade.

Red is the dominant color among the Maasai and in painting the princess, the hard part was choosing colors of red that were similar, but also could be differentiated on the tabletop.

Mangbetu Princess

This princess is the only figure in the pack from central Africa. The Mangbetu occupied lands south of the Azande in the Northern and Eastern Congo Basin. Today, the Mangbetu are in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Though a fierce tribe, the Mangbetu are best known for their art and music.

Summary

With the completion of yesterday’s 8 Pygmy Archers and today’s 4 African Princesses, the total number of figures painted this year is now 269.

• 14 – 28mm Science Fiction figures
• 17 – 28mm Modern Horror figures
• 8 – 28mm Interwar Pulp figures
• 9 – 28mm Old West figures
• 34 – 28mm Colonial Era figures
• 84 – 10mm Seven Years War figures
• 49 – 28mm Medieval figures
• 24 -28mm Amazon figures
• 30 – 28mm Fantasy figures

I really enjoyed painting the African Princesses. Do you have any princesses (Disney or otherwise) in your collection? Let me know. Your comments are always welcome and always bring a smile to my face.