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

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Scott; Weisfelder, Richard F. (13 June 2013). Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. p. 45. ISBN 9780810879829.
  2. ^ Eldredge, Elizabeth A. (2015). Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa: Oral Traditions and History ... p. 245. ISBN 9781580465144.
  3. ^ Schapera, I. (1980). "Notes on the early history of the Kwena (Bakwena-bagaSechele)". Botswana Notes and Records. 12: 83–87. JSTOR 40980796.
  4. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Kgabo I (pre-1700).
  5. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Motswasele II (1785?–1821).
  6. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sechele I (ca. 1810–1892).
  7. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sebele I (ca. 1838–1911).
  8. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sechele II Kealeboga Sebele (1892–1939).
  9. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Sebele II, Kelebantse Sechele (1892–1939).
  10. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Kgari Sechele II (1904–1962).
  11. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Neale Sechele (1917–1985).
  12. ^ Morton & Ramsay 2018, Bonewamang Padi Sechele (1926–1978).
  13. ^ a b Ramsay 1996, p. 80.
  14. ^ 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.


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