Home › Clan names › Tswana › Bataung-ba-Moletsane
Bataung-ba-Moletsane Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Tau (lion) — Sesotho/Setswana for 'lion'; 'Bataung' means 'people of the lions / lion's den'.
History & origin
The Bataung ('people of the lion') are a Sotho-Tswana clan whose lion totem reflects an early settlement area said to have abounded with lions. The section known as Bataung ba Moletsane takes its name from Chief Moletsane (also called Ramokhele/Montueli), a prominent 19th-century leader during the Difaqane/Mfecane. Moletsane ruled from the hill at Mekwatleng (Mekoatleng), where ancestors had earlier ruled, and strengthened his position through a strategic marriage linking him to the Bakwena of Monyane. During the upheavals of the 1820s–1850s his Bataung became allies and later subjects within Moshoeshoe I's emerging Basotho kingdom; Bataung warriors under Moletsane were noted as a leading fighting force, with Moshoeshoe often awaiting Moletsane's men before major engagements. The Bataung thus feature in both the Tswana clan tradition of the highveld and the formation of the Basotho nation in present-day Lesotho and the Free State.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Tau, Moletsane, Ramokhele, Taung, Mokhele.
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.