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Bafokeng-ba-Phokeng Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Crocodile (kwena in Setswana)
History & origin
The Bafokeng ('people of the dew') are a Setswana-speaking community whose capital is Phokeng near Rustenburg, North West Province - the name from 'phoka' (dew). They are among the oldest documented Tswana/Sotho-Tswana lineages, with continuity traced back many centuries. Their totem is the crocodile (kwena). Under Kgosi Mokgatle (reigned 1834-1891) the community pooled resources to buy back farmland they had long occupied. The discovery of the platinum-rich Merensky Reef under their land (from 1925) made the Royal Bafokeng Nation one of the wealthiest traditional communities in Africa through mining royalties; the current monarch is Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Molotlegi, Mokgatle, Sekete, Bafokeng surnames.
We publish the full diboko (clan praises) only once we can verify them against documented tradition — for this clan they are still being confirmed. If you can share an authoritative version, corrections are warmly welcomed.