Who is Ma'Shingayi from Nervous Conditions and what is their importance?

Ma'Shingayi is Tambu's mother. She is weak in some ways but strong in others. She tells Tambu that a woman's place is to carry her burdens, and those burdens include the fact that she is a woman, therefore subservient to men. She does stand up for Tambu when the girl wants to raise maize to pay for her school fees. Though her mother says that she believes Tambu's enterprise will fail, she says that the girl should have the opportunity.