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Banareng Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Buffalo (nare)
History & origin
The Banareng ('people of the buffalo', from nare) are a Sotho-Tswana lineage whose totem is the buffalo (some sections also cite kgomo/bovine). They are best documented in the north-east of South Africa, especially around Sekhukhuneland and the Lowveld near Tzaneen (Limpopo), where they form several sections: the Letswalo/Mmamathola (settled at Metz near Tzaneen), the Mahlo or Banareng ba ha Sekororo, and the Banareng ba Mmutlana on the farm Putney in the Lulu mountains of Sekhukhuneland. Tradition holds that Mahlo (elder) and Letswalo (younger) were brothers. The Banareng ba Letswalo came to speak Khelobedu through long contact with the neighbouring Balobedu at Agatha, while the Sekororo section retained Sepulana/Roka speech. The clan is part of the wider Sotho-Tswana world spanning Botswana and South Africa.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Mmamathola, Letswalo, Mahlo, Sekororo.
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.