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Mokoena Clan — History & Meaning
Ndebele clan · isiNdebele
History & origin
Mokoena is the Sesotho form of the name for a member of the Bakoena (Setswana: Bakwena), one of the senior Sotho-Tswana clans, whose totem (seboko) is the koena/kwena, the crocodile. Tradition derives the clan from an ancestor named Kwena within the broader Sotho-Tswana genealogy descending from the Hurutshe; over the precolonial centuries Bakoena groups spread across the highveld and are today found in Lesotho, the Free State and Gauteng (South Africa), Botswana and Eswatini. The Bakoena form one of the principal clan blocs of the Basotho nation consolidated under Moshoeshoe I in the 19th century. Because Sotho-Tswana genealogies survive mainly as oral tradition, precise dates and individual ancestors should be treated as traditional rather than firmly dated.
Notable figures & facts
I avoid attributing a specific individual as 'the' clan figure, since notable bearers of the surname are not documented as representing the clan's lineage specifically.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Mokwena, Bakwena, Kwena.
We publish the full izithakazelo (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.