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Mphahlele Clan — History & Meaning
Pedi clan · Sepedi
Totem Associated with the Bakgaga, whose totemic identity is the kgaga (a wildcat/serval-type animal; some Kgaga lines are also linked with kwena, the crocodile). The kgaga is the marker of the Bakgaga grouping to which Mphahlele belongs.
History & origin
Mphahlele denotes the Bakgaga ba ga Mphahlele, a Northern Sotho (Pedi) chieftaincy in Limpopo. Tradition records that the Mphahlele originate from Bokgaga in the Tzaneen area and broke away from the Bakgaga ba Maake (under Chief Maake), migrating westward toward the central Limpopo plateau. They are counted among the Bakgaga and are listed among the constituent groups (alongside the Marota of Sekhukhune, Bakone, Bantwane/Bantoane, Mapulana and others) associated with the broader Bopedi (Pedi) sphere. The Bakgaga ba ga Mphahlele settled in the area around present-day Lebowakgomo, with the chief's seat at Seleteng village (about 10 km south-east of the township); the land on which Lebowakgomo - capital of the former Lebowa homeland from the early 1970s - was built was provided from the territory of Kgoshi Mmutle Mphahlele of the Bakgaga ba ga Mphahlele. The chieftaincy has been the subject of modern succession disputes that have reached the courts.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Bakgaga, Maake, Mmutle, Mothapo, Makgoba.
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.