Ti Memenne of La Gonâve

Queen Ti Memenne of La Gonâve (also written as Timemenne; 19th-century – fl. 1929) was the tribal ruler of La Gonâve, a Haitian island located west of Hispaniola in the Gulf of Gonâve, between sometime before 1926 and until at least 1929. While her reign was not officially recognized by the republican government of Haiti during American occupation, she maintained political, economic, spiritual, and social leadership of the island.

Arrested by the Garde d'Haïti for being a practitioner of Vodou, she was shown compassion by Faustin E. Wirkus, an American military officer who assisted in her release. She later proclaimed Wirkus to be the reincarnation of former Haitian Emperor Faustin Soulouque and crowned him as a co-ruler over La Gonâve.

Biography Ti Memenne was a leading figure over a group of matriarchal societies, dominating social and economic affairs on La Gonâve. Her reign over La Gonâve was not officially recognized by the republican government, which had abolished the monarchy and nobility in Haiti.

As a young woman, Ti Memenne was captured by American military officials during the United States occupation of Haiti and charged with "trivial voodoo offenses." Wirkus sent her to Port-au-Prince with a recommendation for lenient treatment. For the next year Ti Memenne built a friendship with Wirkus, who advised her on governmental and civil matters. She reportedly believed Wirkus to be Faustin I's reincarnation.