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Bapedi ba Maroteng Clan — History & Meaning
Pedi clan · Sepedi
Totem Porcupine (English) / Noko (also rendered noku) in Sepedi
History & origin
The Maroteng are the senior royal house of the Bapedi (Pedi / Marota) and the source of the Bapedi kingship. They are an offshoot of the Sotho-Tswana, descending from the Bakgatla (a Tswana-speaking group). According to documented tradition, the founding leader Thobele (Tabane) crossed the Leolo (Lulu) Mountains and the group adopted the porcupine (noko) as its totem. Around 1650 they settled south of the Steelpoort (Tubatse) River in what is today Sekhukhuneland, Limpopo Province. From the Maroteng house arose the Pedi paramountcy, which under Kgoshi Thulare (c. 1780-1820) expanded into a large polity, and later under Kgoshi Sekwati and his son Sekhukhune I (paramount 1861-1882) resisted Boer and British expansion before defeat in the 1879 war. The Maroteng remain the line from which the Bapedi king (kgoshikgolo) is drawn.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Sekhukhune, Thulare, Sekwati, Mampuru, Marota.
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.