House of Rolong: BaRolong Dynasty

 


The House of Rolong

Both BaFokeng and BaRolong are the most ancient among the Sotho-Tswana. Both groups share a long history with the Amazizi/Mbo (now House of Dlamini & Hlubi) and the Barwa clans (Khoisan, Kgalakgadi, Kgothu and Khwe). Stories differ beginning in the Great Lakes region or Egypt but between the tenth and the twelfth century they moved from central Africa to the south crossing the Zambesi river.

The House of Phokeng: BaFokeng Dynasty.

First Kgosi (King) Morolong meaning Metal forging, hammering or blacksmithing, who lived around 1270-1280.




Ke Morolong tota mmina tshipi, tholo e nto ya moroke.
Batho ba ga Morara wa Noto e ncho
Batho ba bobowa jwa Nakedi
Ga Sehuba a Nakedi
Kgabisa tsebe ya kgomo ka maktsetseleko
Re e Kgabisa ka Letshwao la lekekete.


The son of Morolong, Noto (meaning the hammer of forging) were able to make iron instruments. The BaRolong traded long before Europeans visited Botswana, trading between clans was frequent. Other Clans celebrated BaRolong for creating agricultural instruments and weapons.

Morolong ngwana wa mosadi ya reng a fuwe a re ha ya fuwa.

Between the thirteenth and fourteenth century there was a large separation of the House of Morolong from the children of Malope-Musi: Mohurutse, Kwena, Ngwaketse, Ngwato and Mokgatla. Some stories say Kwena's sons are Ngwakeste and Ngwato.

BaHurutse: followers of Mohurutse/Mohurutsi/Mofurutse who was a woman from the first or senior wife of Malope. Bahurutse are still conceded the primary branch of the Sotho-Tswana. Some say Mohurutse and her advisors married into Khoisan-Khwe clans to increase their numbers.

BaKwena: followers of Kwena (crocodile totem/clans), born from the second wife of Malope. Kwena and his followers refused to follow Mohurutse because she was a woman.

BaNgwaketse: followers of Ngwaketse/Ngwaketsi.

BaNgwato: followers of Ngwato.

BaKgatla: followers of Mokgatla. 

Bakubung le Dihoya (Dihoja):

Those of Chief Mabula aka Sehoya/Sehoja - Dihoya/Dihoja. Most likely absorbed Khoisan-Khwe clans into the Sotho-Tswana clans especially in the case of Dihoya/Dihoja because of the prefix di (used to describe things not people).  Most lightly that Di in Dihoya denotes a regiment of Mabule-Sehoya like Moshoeshoe under the name Letlama, Moshoeshoe's own personal regiment was called Matlama or Ditlama tsa Morena Moshoeshoe. 

Dihoya share similar clans praises with Bakubung, most lightly that Dihoya is a regiment of Mabula as Bakubung are known as great hunters and warriors. Dihoya became an identifier to a particular group of hunters.

House of Tsukudu- Bakubung Dynasty

Ke Motaung wa Sefatsa sa Tshukudu, 
 Motho e reng ha a tla shwa a pongwe hlooho, 
 A sale a kunyakunya ka mahetlana.

Motso wa mohoja le mokubung 
wa Mmamohlamatsana ha Mahwete Komane
Motho wa Leswetsa la Maitjadi
Motho wa Mokopu o Motolodi
Mohloka kodi motseba tsa ba bang
Kubukubu ntsha marota re bone
Kubu ha o e ame mo phatleng
Kubu e dula metsing
Kubu ha e bonwe.

Few remained as BaRolong mixing with the Khoisan-Khwe clans. Sotho-Tswana history has a discriminating nature against Khoisan-Khwe peoples, Sotho-Tswana men who married Khoisan-Khwe women, the children were illtreated or skipped in the line of succession.


According to oral history, King Madiboa was deposed and his younger brother Tshesebe was installed, the Bakaa & Batloung people branched off from Barolong and went to live under the BaNgwato during the late fifteenth century.



The Barolong lived in the western Witwatersrand in about early sixteenth century, probably in close contact with the Bakgalagadi (Khoisan-Khwe) of the desert area. The Barolong were forced south-west ward from Mosega area across Molopo by the Bahurutse. The Barolong then moved to the area around Mafikeng until their movement caused conflict between themselves and Bakwena allied with the Bahurutse who wanted land for hunting, herding livestock and iron ore in order to trade with the Kora. Leading the Bahurutse ruling over the Barolong.


BaRolong: Clans

Bakaa:

Tshipi wa Noto le Tholo.

In fourteenth century another separation happened creating Bakaa from "Ba ka ya"- (Those that left). Known as advisors to the Kgosi /Hosi (King): Bakaa ke ba Rolong ba mmina Tshipi ba roka Tau ba bina sebata.


Batloung:

Boo-Setlhare from Barolong went to war against BaNgwato. These Barolong lost and fled with their Chief Lekgetho to the Bapedi, Southern Ndebele & Bakgolokwe. Under Lekgetho started using the elephant (tlou) as a totem. 

Motloung wa ha Malonka,
Wa tlou tse fulang hae,
Tse se nang le molisana/modisana.

(Batloung that fled to live with the Ndebele)
Ndlovu - Mtungwa, Gengesi, Malunga, Mancoba
Ndlovu zidlekhaya, ngokuswela umalusi.

Motloung wa ha Sekhoane 
Wa ha Mantisane ea Marabe
Mabele o batla santaoana
Mpatlela ha bahale ba hae
Mpatlela ho bo Sehlele le Mahlakajoe
Bahale ba tsoetsoeng le marumo,
Ba ntseng ba lohlahanya thebe le majoe

Batlhaping:

In the seventeenth century during the reign of King Tau (who created the BaTaung Dynasty). The Barolong clans stretched from Phitsane (Molopo Reserve), Molemane (Ottoshoop Marico district), Klerksdorp and Morokweng(Vryburg district). Barolong subjects include Kora, Bakgalagadi and the Bahurutse (primary ruling clan). Tau was a ruthless military leader enslaving his own people likes of the Kora and the San. Those Barolong that he alienated, due to a lack of food were forced to eat fish from the Vaal river, the emergence of Batlhaping. Kgosi/King Tau was in conflict with the Kora and Batlhaping. After Tau killed a Kora chief, the Kora chief's brother, Matsaledi (Tarbosch) ambushed and killed Tau in now Taung.

Ke bana ba ga maidi a kgtsele
Matlhapa ka masi ya re go iphorola
Ba iphorola ka tlhoa
Bana ba ga maidi le mothibi
Beng ba noka etsetlha.

Ratlou:

Ratlou was one of Tau's sons, Tau's brother ruled as regent for Ratlou who was still a minor. When Ratlou turned 21, he was installed as King at Mosita in Taung but his reign was short lived, he died in the same year. The sudden death of the King led to the disintegration of the Kingdom into even smaller clans or chiefdoms. The great wives of Tau & Ratlou fought each other for their own & their sons succession which divided Barolong into four groups: 


For more information please read: The history of the Barolong in Mafikeng by Malose Daniel Ramoroka.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tau ya Moletsane

Image
 previously: History of Bataung Bataung are from the House of Rolong Makgothi Moletsane Abraham - Tau wa Mophethe Makgothi/Makhothi, son of Mophethe (clan BaMophethe le Thulo) was born about 1788 who became a famous chief (should be called King of Bataung). Makgothi's mother, Modiha'me/Moliha'me who had children before Makgothi but dead in infancy, they believed cause of death was spirits. In order to escape the evil spirits Modiha'me sent the infant Makgothi to an outlying cattle-post to be reared by the Bushmen herders of his father. The Bushmen were happy that chief Mophethe trusted them with his heir, they took great care of the boy. They showed him much affection and made him a girdle of shells of ostriches eggs called moletsa. The name Moletsane was a nickname for Makgothi wa Mophethe. Makgothi, now Moletsane was circumcised on the plain of Motloangtloang in 1803 during a famine. Chief Mokgele of the second family (clan BaMokgele-Rampai le Sobi) used to send men ...
Read more

A Brief Look at Stokvel, Taxi Association & Black Tax.

Image
Stokvels, Burial Societies and Black Tax in the South African context all have one purpose upliftment. Self-help organizations that are community driven and designed for a deprived class of citizens previously excluded from economically participation. They developed and adapted the informal financial structures to overcome the inaccessibility of formal structures of apartheid.  The origin of stokvel comes from the English settlers performing cattle auctions called stock fairs in the Eastern Cape during the early 1900s. The mutual financial assistance pooling clubs also known as stokvels, stokies, estokini, gegoois, gooi-goois, doodsgenootskap, burial society, mahodisana, mogodiso or kuholisana. Clan Commonwealth Financial structures like black Tax and stokvels have been in existence for thousands of years under different names in different languages like in Botswana: Poor members of the community were assisted by more affluent members through systems such as Mafisa (a financial sch...
Read more

Empire of the South: Ucalanga

Image
"Ucalanga"   “Obusa Bakalanga naBakwa, wakabusa xango sawoku: Wakabe ebvila kuDzimbabwe kanoti kumunya [“at the salt”= Makgadikgadi]; kunta yobuVenda eme ngeHuri [Limpopo]; kunta yoBurwa eme ngePalapye; kunta yoBunanzwa eme ngeZambezi. Kabusa yose odan’wa Chibundule.” "Ucalanga, it is very vast and includes many large cities, not to mention numerous villages; the city of Sofala itself is part of it, as is the entire coast. And the king who currently reigns over Ucalanga, Sire, is the son of Mocomba, who was also king of this realm. He is called Quesarymgo Menamotapa." - by  António da Conceição. The emergence of modern Bakalanga as a distinctive community can be traced to the abandonment of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century. Due to politics some population of Great Zimbabwe moved north to found the Mwenemutapa state. At about the same time some Ikalanga traditions trace the formation of the Butwa state under Bakalanga Kingdom to the south-west migration of people f...
Read more