Maselekwane Modjadji I (died 1854) was the first Rain Queen of the South African Balobedu nation.
She lived in complete seclusion, deep in the forest where she practiced secretive rituals to make rain.
[2] Maselekwane was a direct descendant of the royal house of Monomatopa which reigned over the Karanga people of the current day Zimbabwe in the 1400-1500s.
In the latter part of the 1500s, the royal family experienced a crisis when the king's son and daughter had an incestuous affair and conceived an illegitimate child.
By doing so they ensured him that the new heir to his throne will be a queen with power over rainfall and thus a dynasty of women, a queenship was founded.