Reina madre
The title of Queen mother can relate to the rank of a paramount queen, a queen or a sub-queen. The Akan honorific is the same as for the men, "Nana". When using English, Ghanaians often say "queen mother". This woman is not necessarily the respective chief's mother, although she is usually related to him. Her role in the system is to have an eye on the social conditions, and a personally capable Queen mother has been known to equal or even surpass a reigning chief in terms of power and prestige. A good example of this happening is the case of Queen Yaa Asantewaa.