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Bakwena ba Mopeli Clan — History & Meaning
Sotho clan · Sesotho
Totem Crocodile - kwena/koena (Sesotho).
History & origin
The Bakwena ba Mopeli are a Bakoena (crocodile-totem) lineage descended from Moshoeshoe I's father's house, named after Paulus Mopeli Mokhachane (c.1810-1897), a half-brother of King Moshoeshoe I. After land disputes along the Warden Line, Mopeli left Lesotho and in 1866 settled at Witsieshoek (later QwaQwa) near Witsie's Cave in the eastern Free State, obtaining land from the Orange Free State Volksraad under President J.H. Brand on ground vacated by the Makholokoe chief Oetse (Witsie). His followers became the dominant group of the QwaQwa area, which became the Bantustan capital Phuthaditjhaba. The Bakwena ba Mopeli paramountcy was later formally recognised, with leadership descending in the Mopeli line. As Bakoena they share the crocodile totem and the Kwena founder-ancestor with the wider Sotho-Tswana Bakwena.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Mopeli, Mokhachane, Bakoena, Bakwena.
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.