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Bakoteli Clan — History & Meaning
Sotho clan · Sesotho
Totem Crocodile - kwena/koena (the Bamokoteli are a Bakoena sub-clan).
History & origin
Bakoteli (Bamokoteli) are the immediate clan of King Moshoeshoe I and a junior branch of the Bakoena (crocodile totem). They numbered at most a few thousand and were an offshoot of the larger Bakoena, to whom they paid tribute. Moshoeshoe (born Lepoqo, c.1786 at Menkhoaneng in the north of present-day Lesotho) was the eldest son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli. While still under his father, Moshoeshoe enlarged the Bamokoteli by bringing the senior Sekake group and several Bafokeng lines (the Makara and Ratsiu) under his father's authority. From this small Bakoena sub-clan Moshoeshoe went on, from c.1820-1824, to found the Basotho kingdom at Butha-Buthe and then Thaba Bosiu.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Bamokoteli, Bakoena, Mokhachane, Moshoeshoe, Sekake.
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.