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Bapedi Clan — History & Meaning
Sotho clan · Sesotho
Totem Porcupine (English) — noko (Sepedi)
History & origin
The Bapedi (Maroteng) are a Northern Sotho people and the core of the Pedi paramountcy in Sekhukhuneland, between the Olifants (Lepelle) and Steelpoort rivers in Limpopo/Mpumalanga. They are an offshoot of the Kgatla (Sotho-Tswana), with the ruling Maroteng house tracing to leaders such as Thobela; by about 1650 they had settled south of the Steelpoort. From the later 18th century they built a powerful paramountcy under Thulare, and especially under Sekwati and Sekhukhune I in the 19th century, partly financed by labour migration to Kimberley's diamond fields and the firearms it bought. They resisted Boer (ZAR) and British forces; Sekhukhune was finally defeated in the 1879 British campaign. The porcupine is their venerated totem.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Maroteng, Bakgatla, Banareng, Batau (Northern Sotho).
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.