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Bakgatla Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Monkey/vervet (Setswana: kgabo)
History & origin
A Tswana group whose name derives from kgabo (monkey), their totem. The principal branch is the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela (a second branch is the Bakgatla-ba-ga-Mmanaana). They are split across the Botswana-South Africa border: Mochudi in the Kgatleng District of Botswana, and Moruleng/Pilanesberg in South Africa's North West Province. In the 1860s Kgosi Kgamanyane was flogged by a Boer official for refusing forced labour and moved many of his people to Mochudi, leaving a branch in the Pilanesberg. Land secured for them in 1869 later proved to sit on extremely rich platinum reef, making the community economically significant.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Pilane, Kgamanyane, Linchwe, Kgafela.
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.