TZANEEN, South Africa — President Cyril Ramaphosa described Hosi N’wamitwa II’s life as a triumph of courage over entrenched patriarchy. Speaking at her Special Provincial Official Funeral at the Valoyi Cultural Village, he called her a leader, pioneer and great daughter of the soil.

The VaTsonga nation has lost a mother, Ramaphosa said. He noted that those who have felt a mother’s loss know it cuts deepest. On behalf of the government and South Africans, he extended condolences to the N’wamitwa Royal House and Valoyi community. Tributes flooded in after her death on Feb. 9.

N’wamitwa II made history in 2008 as the first woman to ascend the VaTsonga throne. A Constitutional Court ruling that year allowed the Valoyi Traditional Authority to adapt its succession rules for female leadership. Ramaphosa praised her challenge to male primogeniture as an act of great courage, resilience and character.

“She stood up to claim the rights guaranteed by our Constitution,” he said. Her victory proved customary law and constitutional rights complement each other.

Born June 27, 1940, to Hosi Fofoza N’wamitwa and Nkosikazi Favasi N’wa-Manave, she grew up when girls faced barriers to education and leadership. Her father bucked norms, sending her to Nwamitwa Primary and Shilubana Junior Secondary under Swiss missionaries. She earned teaching qualifications, a Bachelor of Arts and an honours degree in anthropology.

Her education career lasted decades. She worked as a teacher, Home Economics Inspector, Education School Inspector and Circuit Manager. In the former Gazankulu homeland, she became the first woman named Education Circuit Inspector.

N’wamitwa II joined South Africa’s democracy struggle. She took part in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa negotiations before the 1994 elections. The African National Congress sent her to Parliament for four terms, from 1994 to 2009.

Ramaphosa recently named her to the Eminent Persons Group for the National Dialogue. “She was a traditionalist and champion of gender equality,” he said. She upheld cultural practices but spoke out when they violated rights.

During her reign, she championed rural women. She pushed for equal treatment in traditional courts and condemned gender-based violence. She forged partnerships for vulnerable families, securing food aid from Tiger Brands for hundreds of households over nearly a decade. She also drew British singer Elton John to help build a youth centre in Nwamitwa.

Ramaphosa linked her work to the 1956 women’s march on the Union Buildings. Tradition must never justify women’s oppression, he declared. To honor her, he urged state organs, traditional leaders and communities to reject culture as an excuse for excluding or subjugating women.

She leaves children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her legacy rests on pioneering leadership, bold advocacy and service under the Tsonga principle ‘vukosi i vutirheri’ — royalty is service.

“Let us pick up the spear that has fallen,” Ramaphosa said. “In the march to full gender equality, leave no one behind, even in remote rural areas.”