SAVANNAH, Ga. () — It’s a first of its kind honor, a Savannah woman is taking on the role of queen of a tribe in Africa.

Queen Nqwamary is the title that’s been bestowed upon Janiqwa Nganga. A spiritual healer and leader were titles Nganga held before her new role.

“I am the first person that has held this type of position,” said Nganga.

The bridge between God and man is the official meaning of the title given to Janiqwa by the elders of the Bateke tribe in Congo, one of the oldest uninterrupted, intact monarchy systems.

She found out she had ancestry tracing back to the tribe from her paternal side after searching on AfricanAncestry.com.

“Coming into this position, it’s again, it’s something that I always knew as far as my destiny is aligned with my destiny,” said Nganga. “However, taking on this position, some of the responsibilities is being a person of service, being a leader of service, service to my community, upliftment of the ethnic group, of those of us on the homeland of Africa, as well as across the world, throughout the diaspora.”

Many goals and projects are coming from the newly found queen, including teaching the world about the culture of her tribe.

“So I’m a symbolic bridge to bridge those of us, of the of the diaspora with those of us in Africa, to connect, whether that be business and trade, cultural,  all these different things to bring us back in connection with one another and another role or responsibility is upliftment of heritage culture,  traditional customs, bringing those things to awareness for people around the world,” said Nganga.

She continued, “It is more than a blessing. It’s something you just can’t put into words, as things just fell in place, the way that they were supposed to. And I feel like it’s because of me connecting to my past. I know a lot of people don’t really get to dig into their ancestry or ancestral background as much, but I do encourage people to try because once you try, then things start to begin to unfold on their own.”

The next steps for Janiqwa are to continue with the ceremonial rites in 2026, and then fully step into her role as queen. If you want to follow her journey, you can find her website by clicking or tapping here.