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Bahurutshe-ba-Manyana Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Tshwene (baboon) — the totem of the Motebejana section, to which the Manyana/Mmankgodi people belong. (The senior Bahurutshe ba ga Motebele section instead use phofu, the eland.)
History & origin
The Bahurutshe are widely regarded in Tswana oral tradition as the senior/founding Hurutshe stock of the Sotho-Tswana, from whom several other clans branched. Tradition names the founding ancestor as Kgosi Phofu, whose honoured name became attached to the eland (phofu) totem retained by the Bahurutshe ba ga Motebele. A split occurred around the 17th century between Chief Motebele and his younger brother Motebejana: a captured young baboon, kept on Motebele's order, escaped to the mountain; Motebele's fury and intended punishment of his brother angered Motebejana's supporters, leading to a civil war won by Motebejana. From then the Bahurutshe boo-Motebejana adopted tshwene (baboon) as their totem while boo-Motebele kept phofu (eland). The people of Manyana (and the related village of Mmankgodi) are this baboon-totem Hurutshe section. Manyana lies in south-eastern Botswana (Southern District), and the broader Hurutshe heartland historically centred on the Marico (Madikwe) region of the western Transvaal/North West before dispersals during the Difaqane.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Hurutshe, Motebele, Motebejana, Moilwa, Manyana, Mmankgodi.
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.