Home › Clan names › Tswana › Batshweneng
Batshweneng Clan — History & Meaning
Tswana clan · Setswana
Totem Baboon (tshwene; also spelled tšhwene/tšoene)
History & origin
The Batshweneng (Batšhweneng/Batšoeneng) are a Sotho-Tswana lineage who venerate the baboon. The name derives directly from tshwene (baboon), the clan totem; members are 'people of the baboon'. They are closely affiliated with the senior Bahurutshe group, who in some traditions are themselves called Batshweneng because the baboon is also a Bahurutshe totem. The clan is found across Botswana, the North West/Limpopo regions of South Africa and among Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern Sotho) speakers. As with all Sotho-Tswana totemic groups, the totem animal was traditionally venerated and avoided, and never eaten by clan members.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Tshwene, Mathibe.
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.