Queen of Sheba Makeda
Why she has inspired Himba.
In the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, the First Book of Kings, chapter 10, verses 1 - 10 reads: “The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame and came to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large retinue, camels laden with spices, gold in great quantity, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she told him everything she had in her mind, and Solomon answered all her questions; not one of them was too abstruse for the king to answer.
When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, the food on his table, the courtiers sitting around him, and his attendants standing behind in their livery, his cupbearers, and the whole-offerings which he used to offer in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit left in her. Then she said to the king, 'The report which I heard in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, but I did not believe it until I came and saw for myself.'
Indeed, I was not told half of it; your wisdom and your prosperity go far beyond the report which I had of them. Happy are your wives, happy these courtiers of yours who wait every day and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God who has delighted in you has set you on the throne of Israel; because he loves Israel for ever, he has made you their king to maintain law and justice. 'Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones. Never again came such a quantity of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.”
Makeda, Queen of Sheba, is the most elegant woman in the world. Her elegance was enhanced by her use of luxury fragrances created by her perfumers out of natural ingredients that grow in the Nile Valley.
During the reign of the Queen of Sheba, Ethiopia was a global economic power. Its main exports consisted of perfume, spices, and gold. Makeda was a very elegant, young, clever, and beautiful woman when she visited King Solomon. She took a year to prepare for the visit to King Solomon. Her perfumers created many elegant scents for her use and to gift to Solomon. Her elegance overwhelmed the King of Kings. Despite having 300 wives, Solomon could not get his hands off Makeda. She bore him a son.
The spices the Queen of Sheba used were and are still grown in the Nile Valley. The spices were also used by the Ancient Egyptians and Somali in their perfumes. Many are rare and unique to the region.
I was born in the Nile Valley and grew up in Ethiopia. The Queen of Sheba and the ancient Egyptians are my ancestors. I have been inspired by their perfume legacy to create HIMBA.