Kwena tribe
The Bakwena or Bakoena ("those who venerate the crocodile") are a large Sotho-Tswana clan in Southern Africa of the southern Bantu group. They can be found in different parts of southern Africa such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini. "Kwena" is a Sotho/Tswana/Sepedi word meaning "crocodile", the crocodile is also their totem (seboko).[1]
Genealogy and history
Earliest ancestor of the Kwena clan, Kwena, was a grandson of Masilo I, the King of Bahurutse clan around 1360 CE. Kwena and his followers settled at Tebang, now called Heidelberg.[2] Around 1500 CE, Bakwena started spreading in the region, from the Lekwa River to Kalahari (Botswana) until settling at Ntsoanatsatsi (mythical origin land of the Sotho-Tswana people) with the Bafokeng around 1580 CE.
Basotho line
- first leader was Kgosi Napo.
- Napo begat and was succeeded by his son Motebang
- Motebang begat and was succeeded by his son Molemo
- Molemo begat and was succeeded by his son Tsoloane le Tsolo
- Tsholoane begat and was succeeded by his son Monaheng
- Monaheng begat and was succeeded by his son Motloang
- Motloang begat and was succeeded by his son Peete
- Peete begat and was succeeded by his son Mokhachane
- Mokhachane begat and was succeeded by his son Moshoeshoe
and it continues to the royal line of Lesotho.
Batswana line
Kgabo II led a small group of Bakwena and crossed the Madikwe River and founded a tribe on the lands of the Bakgatla tribe (whose totem was the blue monkey) which they drove away, modern day Botswana. As the result of a split, several tribes like the Ngwato and Ngwaketse.[3]
- Kgabo I (before 1700)[4]
- Motswasele II (c. 1807–1821)[5]
- Sechele I (c. 1829–1892)[6]
- Sebele I (1892–1911)[7]
- Sechele II (1911–1918)[8]
- Sebele II (1918–1931)[9]
- Kgari Sechele II (1931–1962)[10]
- Neale Sechele (1963–1970)[11]
- Bonewamang Padi Sechele (1970–1978; appointed as the Tribal Authority)[12][13]
- Mack Schele (1978–1986; regent)[13]
- Mothali-a-MacIntyre-a-Sechele II (1986–1996; regent)[14]
- Kgosikwena Sebele (1996–2002; regent)
- Kgari Sechele III (2002–present)
Notes
- ^ Rosenberg, Scott; Weisfelder, Richard F. (13 June 2013). Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. p. 45. ISBN 9780810879829.
- ^ Eldredge, Elizabeth A. (2015). Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa: Oral Traditions and History ... p. 245. ISBN 9781580465144.
- ^ Schapera, I. (1980). "Notes on the early history of the Kwena (Bakwena-bagaSechele)". Botswana Notes and Records. 12: 83–87. JSTOR 40980796.
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Kgabo I (pre-1700).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Motswasele II (1785?–1821).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sechele I (ca. 1810–1892).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sebele I (ca. 1838–1911).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sechele II Kealeboga Sebele (1892–1939).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sebele II, Kelebantse Sechele (1892–1939).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Kgari Sechele II (1904–1962).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Neale Sechele (1917–1985).
- ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Bonewamang Padi Sechele (1926–1978).
- ^ a b Ramsay 1996, p. 80.
- ^ Ramsay 1996, pp. 65, 80.
References
- Morton, Barry; Ramsay, Jeff (2018). Historical Dictionary of Botswana (5th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-1133-8.
- Ramsay, Jeff (1996). "The Fall and Decline of the Bakwena Monarchy". Botswana Notes and Records. 28: 65–86. ISSN 0525-5090.