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Basotho ba Borwa Clan — History & Meaning
Sotho clan · Sesotho
Totem No single totem - this is a collective/national grouping, not a totemic clan. 'Borwa' means 'the south'.
History & origin
Basotho ba Borwa ('Southern Sotho' / 'the Sotho of the south') is not a single totemic clan but the broad ethnolinguistic grouping of the Southern Sotho people, distinguished from the Northern Sotho (Bapedi/Basotho ba Leboa) and the Western Sotho (Batswana). The Southern Sotho coalesced into a nation under Moshoeshoe I from the late 1810s-1820s during the Difaqane, when he gathered refugee clans onto the mountain stronghold of Thaba Bosiu. They speak Sesotho (Southern Sotho) and today form the majority population of the Kingdom of Lesotho and a large community in South Africa's Free State and surrounding provinces. As an umbrella term it encompasses many distinct totemic clans (Bakoena, Bafokeng, Bataung, Batlokoa, Basia, Baphuthi and others) rather than carrying one totem of its own.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Basotho, Mosotho.
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.