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Bamokgalaka Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Varies (the Bakgalaka/Kalanga clans hold different totems; e.g. crocodile/ngwena for the Bakwena-of-Kalanga origin)
History & origin
Bamokgalaka is a Sotho-Tswana form referring to the Kalanga (Bakalanga, also Bakgalaka/Bokgalaka). 'Mokgalaka' is the singular ('a Kalanga person'), with Bamokgalaka/Bakgalaka the plural. The Kalanga are a Bantu people of south-western Zimbabwe, north-eastern Botswana and parts of Limpopo, descended from the Great Zimbabwe/Butua (Torwa-Rozvi) civilisation, and form Botswana's second-largest ethnic group. They are organised into many clans, each with its own totem and praise tradition. In Limpopo the term Bakgalaka/Bakhalaka is used for these communities. This is the same tradition as 'Bakgalaka' above, given here in its singular-derived plural form.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Bakwena ba Kalanga, Nkani, Bakgalaka (alternate clan name).
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.