The history of Bapedi people

   20 Mopitlo 2020

Basadi le makgarebe a bapedi
Source: Thato Tinte, Zkhiphani.co.za

Bapedi, also known as Pedi, Basotho, or Northern Sotho is a tribe found in South Africa, which forms part of the Sotho group. Sotho is a name derived from ‘batho ba baso’ which means black people. The Sotho group is divided into 3 subgroups: Northern Sotho (Bapedi), Southern Sotho (Batswana), and Western Sotho (Basotho).

“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter…” - Chinua Achebe

The Northern Sotho is further subdivided into the high-veld Sotho and the Low-veld Sotho. With the high-veld Sotho being the recent immigrants mostly from the West and South Western parts, they include the following Northern Sotho dialects: Bapedi, Batau, Bakone, Baroka, BaNtwane, Ba Ga-Mphahle, Ba Ga-Tšhwene, Ba Ga-Mathabathe, Ba Ga-Dikgale, Batlokwa, Gananwa, and Moletši. And the low-veld Sotho is combined immigrants from the North with longer-standing inhabitants. They include Balobedu, Pulana, Pai, Kutswe, Bakgakga.

These group names were derived from the people’s totemic animals and sometimes are derived by alternating with the names of their chiefs.

The Pedi people arose out of an alliance of small chiefdoms that had been established sometime before the 17th century in what later became the Northern Transvaal (Northern Province) where they settled south of the Tubatse River. This was after they migrated from the Great Lakes area, in Central Africa about half a century ago.

Over the next century, successions of varied clusters of people settled in dikgoro (clans) according to various animal totems (meeno) with which they began to identify themselves. Examples of these totems include tau (lion), kolobe (pig), kwena (crocodile), and many others. To reveal their animal totem identities, they use a phrase such as “ke mmina ...”. So you would say, for example, “ke mmina tau” when referring to self or “re babina tau” when referring to a collective of people, including yourself.

Source: Historyhaven.com

The Kgalagadi was the first Sotho to settle in Southern Africa, followed by the Digoya, Rolong, Fokeng and finally the Hurutse. The Pedi eventually descended from the Hurutse, who claim descend from Malope, the son of Masilo. Malope had three sons, Mohurutse, Kwena, and Mokgatla, and each eventually established their tribes. Very little is known of the history of the Kgatla for the first two generations after their founder, Mokgatla, had succeeded from the parent group. Legabo, Pogopi, and Botlolo succeeded him. After the death of Botlolo, the tribe divided into two sections, under Mogale and Tabane. Mogale, the elder son, remained near Rustenburg and this section became known as Masetlha. Tabane left with his group and settled at a place known as Schilpadfontein. This group eventually gave rise to the Mmakau, the Motsha and the Pedi.

His son Motsha succeeded Tabane. During his reign his son, Diale had numerous wives. By his superior wife he had a son Modise, the founder of the Mmakau section. When the younger wife, Mmathobele was expecting her first child, the other wives of Diale, being jealous of her favored position, said they could hear the child crying in her womb. This was attributed to witchcraft, and the Kgatla wanted to kill the mother and her child. Diale interceded for her and the child was born normally. The child Thobele was nicknamed Lellelateng (it cries inside). Modise could not accept this event and left with his section.

"Thuto ke lesedi, Rutang Bana ditaola le se yeng natšo badimong" 

- Sepedi proverb

As the child grew older Diale saw that the tribe would never accept Mmathobele’s son and he instructed him to leave with his mother and followers. Leaving behind the main section Thobele founded his tribe, the Pedi. After crossing the Leolo Mountains, the Pedi eventually settled at Mogokgomeng, just south of the present Steelpoort station on the Tubatse (Steelpoort River) approximately in 1650. When the Pedi arrived, several tribes, like the Kwena, Roka, Koni, and Tau were already living there.

When the Pedi moved into the country their totem was a kgabo (the monkey). On crossing the Leolo Mountains they found a porcupine bristle and accepted the porcupine (noko) as their totem. For many years after the Pedi settled the group lived prosperously, growing in numbers and wealth. Kabu, (who had two sons, Thobele and Thobejane), eventually was succeeded by Thobele. Thobele misbehaved and eventually had to flee with a following and some cattle. The Ramapulana later absorbed them. Many years later the Pedi chief, Sekwati, could use this connection to seek refuge with the Ramapulana.

Thobejane then succeeded Kabu. His son Moukangwe succeeded him and ruled for a long time. He outlived his eldest son Lesailane and was eventually succeeded by his second son Mohube, who acted as regent in the old age of his father.

Leolo Mountains (Tšate heritage site)
source: Flickr.com

RISE OF THE PEDI EMPIRE

Mohube and a party of hunters trespassed on the hunting grounds of a Koni tribe. He and some of his followers were killed in the ensuing fight. Both the Komane and the Pedi referred the incident to the Mongatane (Kwena) who were recognized as the superior tribe of the region. The latter decided in favor of the Komane, and sent out a regiment against the erring Pedi. Under their new leader Mampuru, a younger brother of Mohube, the Pedi successfully repulsed the Mongatane. Mampuru then attacked and disbursed the Komane, killing their chief and many others. The Komane eventually asked for peace, sending a young girl as peace – offering. The Mongatane also sent the son of their chief as a hostage. Mampuru, however, returned the young man, together with his daughter as a wife. This was an event of great importance, which in the creation of the Pedi Empire was to become the pattern. Daughters of the Pedi chief were married to defeated or neighboring tribes, which ensured that the future chiefs of those tribes had Pedi blood in their veins.

Soldiers of the Koma (initiation) which was a metaphoric representation of preperation of war 
source: National Museum Publications

After his initial success Mampuru organized his regiments into fighting units. He first defeated chief Mmamaila, followed by the Tau at Mmopong and the Koni at Kutwane. When the old chief Monkaugwe died Mampuru buried him. According to Pedi custom it is the prerogative of the new chief to bury his predecessor. Mampuru then claimed the chieftainship, for which he had long acted as regent. After some time Morwamotse, the rightful heir, refused to accept Mampuru’s orders, and eventually, matters came to a head in a battle between their two parties. In the fight, Mampuru was wounded and captured by Morwamotse. Despite demands that he should be killed, Morwamotse respected his uncle and let him go free to move away northwards with his followers.

Morwamotse had three sons, Thulare, Mothodi, and Dikotope. Morwamotse died at a young age and was succeeded by Dikotope. Mampuru attended the burial and instated Thulare as chief. Thulare eventually attacked Dikotope, who fled to the Mongatane. The Mongatane joined Dikotope in a war against Thulare who was supported by Mampuru. Dikotope’s death reunited the tribe. Thulare returned home as the undisputed chief of his tribe and also as paramount chief of Bopedi.

Thulare is always recalled as the greatest and most loved of their chiefs. During his time many tribes were conquered, and the Pedi Empire greatly extended. Thulare died in 1824. There is some uncertainty as to Thulare’s successor. Some say he was succeeded by his son Malekutu, others say his younger brother Mothodi succeeded him as regent. Others maintain that Mothodi succeeded Malekutu for some time. 

At this stage in time Mzilikazi one of the lieutenants of the great Zulu warrior chief Shaka started raiding the area. Eventually, he defeated the Pedi, killing most of the sons of Thulare except Sekwati and Seraki, the sons of Thulare’s fifth wife Mmantlatle, and Kabu the son of his seventh wife. Mzilikazi’s warriors razed all the villages and lands and plundered all the cattle and anything else of value. Men and women were enslaved and made to carry captured loot to Mzilikazi’s stronghold. Sekwati, the senior living son of Thulare, gathered together what he could of the Pedi and fled north, where he took refuge with the Ramapulana with whom the Pedi were related through Thobele, the brother of their old chief Thobejane. Sekwati remained there for four years before returning to Bopedi.

Mzilikazi
Source: Britannica

In the troubled time many people, forced by hunger and despair, turned to cannibalism. There was no food and people had to live off roots and berries. It is said that people trained their dogs to hunt men. Under these conditions a Koni warrior, Morangrang raised himself to the position of chief and started organizing the remnants of tribes to resist cannibalism. He succeeded in restoring some order so that people could rebuild their villages and work in the fields.

When Sekwati returned he intended to re-establish the old Pedi domination. He sent Morangrang beads and a woman as appeasement. This woman eventually led Morangrang to the Kgaga of Mphahlele where the latter was waiting in ambush. After fierce fighting, Morangrang and all his warriors were killed. Sekwati then destroyed his half-brother Kabu who was an ally of Morangrang. He finally rid the country of cannibalism. He re-established the paramountcy of the Pedi and settled at Phiring, a rocky hill, which today is Magalies Location. Here he successfully repulsed a Swazi attack under Dhlamini.

The first contact between the Pedi and Boers under the leadership of Louis Trichardt was in 1837. In 1845 another group under Hendrik Potgieter entered Bopedi and settled at Ohrigstad. The initial relationship with the Boers was very friendly but did not last long. Accusations and counter-accusations of stock theft and encroachment of land soon began. In 1847 Potgieter attacked the Pedi and again in 1852, badgering Pairing and capturing a great deal of stock.

As a result Sekwati moved his village to Thaba–Mosego (Mosego Hill) under the eastern slopes of the Leolo Mountains. He fortified this village, which was called Tjate. +Due to his hatred of war, on 17 November 1857 Sekwati signed a peace treaty between the Pedi and the Boers. After many years of fighting and strife, Sekwati eventually obtained a period of peace for his people. Many tribes voluntarily moved into Bopedi and settled under his reign to share the fruits of peace and prosperity. Towards the end of his life, Sekwati commanded some 70 000 people and an army of 12 000 men of whom a third were fully armed with guns.

Source: SA Heritage Publishers

In 1860 Alexander Merensky of the Lutheran missionary of the Berlin Mission Society visited Sekwati, who allowed him to build a mission station. On 14 August 1860 Merensky and Grützner established their first mission station at Gerlachshoop near Bopedi among the Kopa tribe of chief Boleu. In 1861 two more missionaries, Nachtigal and Endemann joined them. In 1861 Merensky again visited Sekwati, and obtained permission to build a mission station a few miles from Tjate at a hill, Kgalatlolu. Merensky and Nachtigal immediately began work and on 22 September 1861 Merensky held the first service at the new station. Sekwati died on that same evening.

To understand the position caused by Sekwati’s death, the situation caused by the death of Malekutu, the successor to Thulare must be understood. Malekutu had not married a tribal wife who could produce an heir. Malekutu’s rightful tribal wife was supposed to be Kgomomakatane, from the royal house of the Mahakala. Malekutu died and was eventually succeeded by his half-brother Sekwati. On his return to Bopedi, the latter sent for Kgomomakatane and married her with all due formalities.

According to the Ba-Pedi customary law, Sekwati could not be chief in his own right and was the only regent for Malekutu until an heir could be raised for the latter. Sekwati must thus have married Kgomomakatane in the name of his brother. As Sekwati was too old to father children Kgomomakatane, as is customary, had a son, Mampuru, by a man designated by the chief. Kgomomakatane then left the tribe, but on request of Sekwati returned Mampuru to the Pedi, where Thorometsane, the first wife of Sekwati and mother to Sekhukhune, raised him. Sekwati and the whole tribe regarded Mampuru as the rightful successor to the chieftainship.

"ke paletse maburu a Tšate, sebata ke a khunama boka boditsi le phoka" 

" I survived the Boer attacks on Tšate. no one could catch my movements. I am very slippery" - unknown

 

On Sekwati’s death, Sekhukhune was living some distance away but was immediately informed by his mother. He returned and forcefully claimed the chieftainship. He immediately killed all the councilors who were in support of Mampuru. The greater power of Sekhukhune prevailed in the end and eventually, Mampuru was forced to flee on 17 June 1862. He fled to Lekgolane, a sister of Sekwati, who was the tribal wife of the Tau tribe. Mampuru took with him the royal emblems including the royal beads. Sekhukhune followed him but Lekgolane interceded for Mampuru and Sekhukhune spared his life, only ordering the beads to be cut from his neck. Mampuru was subsequently joined by his regiment and in due time was joined by many other people who fled from Sekhukhune.

King Sekhukhune and Thomas Burgers, president of the Transvaal in 1870's
source: Wikipedia, Wikimedia

Under Sekhukhune there was a time of strife and unrest. Over the years he accumulated a large hoard of guns and ammunition. His initial relations with the Boers and missionaries were friendly, and they recognized the Steelpoort River as the boundary. Inter-tribal warfare, however, did not cease. Two groups of Swazi people fled from the Swazi region and obtained permission to settle in Bopedi. A large Swazi army followed and was crushed by the Pedi.

The relations with the missionaries had in the meantime prospered to such an extent that they were allowed to build a station, Ga-Ratau, much nearer to Tjate. As a result of Sekhukhune’s friendship with the missionaries and their success in treating the ill and wounded, the mission made progress beyond expectations. Among the important converts was one of Sekhukhune’s wives and his half-brother Johannes Dinkwanyane.  The converts, however, antagonized Sekhukhune, who realized that his absolute authority was being undermined. He began to impose restrictions on Pedi Christians. The situation worsened and finally, Sekhukhune drove the Christians away.

During this time Merensky was appointed as the representative of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Z.A.R.). He had at first been well received by the chief. Soon afterward all belongings of Christians were confiscated. The missionaries were forbidden to do any further work in Bopedi. Finally on the night of 18 November 1864 the Christians, led by Merensky and Johannes Dinkwanyane, fled to the south. They bought a farm near Middelburg and started the mission station Botshabelo. Eventually, Johannes left.

Botshabelo with his followers and settled in the Lydenburg district. Sekhukhune openly recognized him as a Pedi chief, thus extending his empire beyond the Steelpoort River. Relations between the Boers and the Pedi became more and more strained.

On 16 May 1876 the Boers declared war against the Pedi. They first seized Johannes Dinkwanyane’s village. In the battle, he was slain. They then advanced on Sekhukhune’s stronghold Tjate. Though the Boers managed to take and raze part of the village they were unable to dislodge the Pedi. The Boers retreated and built Fort Weeber, west of the Leolo Mountains. It later became known as Ferreira’s Horse. A second fort was built and named Fort Burgers at the Steelpoort River. From these two forts, the Boers continuously harassed the Pedi. Sekhukhune, realizing that his position had become untenable, sent for Merensky and asked him to mediate with the Republic. Early in February 1877, the two parties met at Botshabelo to discuss peace terms. It was finally decided that the Pedi were to pay two thousand head of cattle to the Republic, that the Pedi would become subjects of the Republic, and that the land beyond the Steelpoort River would be recognized as their location. On 15 February 1877, Sekhukhune signed the treaty.

Boer attack on bapedi
Source: African Heritage Publishers

Two months later Sir Theophilus Shepstone annexed the Transvaal on behalf of the British Crown. He considered the treaty between the Boers and the Pedi as valid, notified Sekhukhune that the Pedi would be recognized as British subjects, and demanded the payment of the two thousand head of cattle. Sekhukhune refused this payment. The situation deteriorated and Captain Clarke, who was stationed in Bopedi, started a campaign against the Pedi. After a few minor scuffles, he sent for more troops. Additional troops under Colonel Rowlands were sent but had little success.

After the Zulu war General Garnet Wolseley stipulated that Sekhukhune should recognize the British Crown, pay taxes and permit the erection of several forts in Bopedi. He also had to pay the fine of two thousand five hundred head of cattle immediately. When Sekhukhune refused, Wolseley mobilized his task force of several regiments, aided by eight thousand Swazi warriors and Mampuru’s men, a total force of twelve thousand men.

Wolseley’s plan of attack was that while the main column would approach Tjate along the valley, the Swazi warriors would descend upon it from the heights, which lay behind it. Under the cover of the first bombardment, two assaults were launched. With the attack thus halted, Wolseley and his troops anxiously awaited the delayed arrival of the Swazi army. When it finally appeared it had a decisive impact. The Pedi regiments were unprepared for an attack from the rear. With the advantage of such a surprise attack, the Swazi swept down the mountainside. While they sustain heavy casualties they were driving the defenders before them. With the Pedi warriors trapped between the descending Swazi and the advancing British troops, a terrible carnage ensued. After a short while, the valley had been cleared and the town Tjate was inflamed.

Fighting Kopje (Ntswaneng) nonetheless remained unconquered. A combined attack was launched on it from four sides, and after heavy fighting, the assailants reached the summit. The caves, however, remained crowded with men, women, and children who refused to surrender. Large charges of gun cotton were placed at cave entrances to destroy the stone defenses and to terrify their occupants into submission. The explosions did not have the desired effect as few of the Pedi surrendered. It was then decided to starve the defenders out. As night fell, however, heavy rain drenched the valley and reduced visibility. Taking advantage of these conditions, the inundated Pedi emerged from the caves and forced their way past the pickets.

The day’s fighting took a heavy toll on the lives of both attackers and defenders. Although only thirteen Europeans were killed and thirty-five wounded, between 500-600 Swazi warriors perished in the attack and an equivalent number were wounded. It is difficult to establish the extent of Pedi casualties with any precision, but conservative estimates place the number of dead over a thousand. The record of the fatalities within the paramount’s family indicates the extent of the carnage.

 Three of Sekhukhune’s brothers and nine of his children, including his son and designated heir Morwamotse, died in the battle. The paramount chief that sheltered in a cave behind the town during the battle, made his escape from the valley the following day. He was, however, tracked to another cave where he had taken refuge and surrendered to Captain Ferreira on 2 December 1879. Sekhukhune was taken to Pretoria where he was imprisoned. Sekhukhune’s tribe was forced to leave Tjate and to build a new village on the plains, far removed from any hills, which could be fortified. This village was eventually named Manoge. Mampuru and Nkopedi were appointed as joint chiefs of the Pedi. The latter ruled the tribe at Manoge, while Mampuru settled at Kgono in the Middelburg district.

The Berlin Lutheran Mission had in the meantime already re-entered Bopedi at its station Lobethal. They were now allowed to build a new mission station on the site of the ruins of Tjate. They send a young missionary, J.A. Winter, to this station, from where he exercised considerable influence on later events. Winter soon became dissatisfied with the attitude of his fellow missionaries towards the Pedi, wishing to give his converts greater control in the church. He finally adopted the Pedi way of life, which forced the mission authorities to expel him. In 1889 he founded the Pedi Lutheran Church, one of the first of the separatist church movements in South Africa.

Lutheran Indian Mission band
source: Project Gutenberg

                        

After the first Anglo Boer War the Transvaal (Z.A.R.) regained its independence on 8 August 1881. One of the stipulations was that Sekhukhune is released from prison. He immediately went back to Manoge where he took over the chieftainship. Mampuru remained at Kgono, but when he refused to acknowledge the new Republican Government (Z.A.R.) he had to flee to avoid arrest. Abel Erasmus was appointed Native Commissioner for the area and had to collect taxes. Sekhukhune assisted him by lending him several men to act as police. Mampuru, dissatisfied with the tribe being divided, sought to rid himself of Sekhukhune, who had seized the chieftainship from him. On the night of 13 August 1882 he and a group of his men stole into Manoge and killed Sekhukhune. This did not have the desired effect of uniting the Pedi under Mampuru, who now had to flee for his life. He sought refuge under Nyabele, the Ndebele chief.

When the the government requested Nyabele to hand over Mampuru he refused. Boer forces attacked the Ndebele at their fortified settlement. The blockade lasted nine months till Nyabele surrendered on 11 July 1883 and handed over Mampuru. Mampuru was found guilty of murder and hanged in Pretoria on 22 November 1883.

Subsequent to their defeat at the hands of the British, the Pedi was relegated to a series of officially designated reserves. Foremost among these was the Pedi heartland, Sekhukhuneland. Together with the adjoining reserves, Sekhukhuneland was incorporated into Lebowa in the 1960s, designated as a homeland for the Northern Sotho people.

Population increase and land degradation in these reserve areas have made it increasingly difficult to live from cultivation alone. Men have been compelled to leave home and work for wages. The typical pattern has been for Pedi men to spend a short time working on nearby farms, and later to find a job on the mines or in domestic service, and then in industry. The management and execution of all other agricultural tasks have been entrusted to these men's wives.

Although men were subjected to spiraling controls in their lives as wage laborers, their Families have continued to practice cultivation and to keep cattle, not so much to subsist but more as a way of showing their long-term commitment to the rural social system to gain security in retirement. More recently, women have begun to work for wages as well. Some work only before marrying, for short periods on farms. Others, divorcing or remaining unmarried, have since the 1960s have been working in domestic service in the towns of Gauteng.

Despite their military defeat during the 19th century, the Pedi have continued to hold the chieftainship in high esteem. Especially in Sekhukhuneland, in which the former seat of the paramount Mohlaletse is situated, the Pedi have made concerted efforts to reconstruct the chieftainship. These exertions became most strenuous during the 1950s when the apartheid government was attempting to use local chiefs as go-betweens in their 'Bantu Authorities' system of rule. Pedi resistance against Bantu authorities in the 1958 Sekhukhune revolt resulted in the deportation of Morwamotse, Sekhukhune's grandson and heir. Migrants played a key role in carrying political ideas and organization strategies between town and countryside, and many ANC branches were founded during this era.

Chiefs and commoners have witnessed the dismantling of the apartheid government's Lebowa and it's subsuming within the new South Africa's Northern Province.

SUBSISTENCE AND ECONOMY

Pre-conquest economy combined cattle-keeping with hoe cultivation. Principal crops were sorghum, pumpkins, and legumes, which were grown by women on fields allocated to them when they married. Women hoed and weeded; did pottery and built and decorated huts with mud; made sleeping mats and baskets; ground grain, cooked, brewed, and collected water and wood. Men did some work in fields at peak times; hunted and herded; did woodwork, prepared hides, and were metal workers and smiths. Most major tasks were done communally by matsema (work-parties).

The chief was depended upon to perform rain-making for his subjects. The introduction of the animal-drawn plough, and of maize, later transformed the labor division significantly, especially when combined with the effects of labor migration. Men's leaving home to work for wages was initially undertaken by regimental groups of youths to satisfy the paramount's firepower requirements, but later became increasingly necessary to individual households as population increase within the reserve and land, degradation made it impossible to subsist from cultivation alone.

women working in fields
source: SA History Online

Women were left to manage and carry out all other agricultural tasks. Men, although subjected to increased controls in their lives as wage-laborers, fiercely resisted all direct attempts to interfere with the sphere of cattle-keeping and agriculture. Their resistance erupted in open rebellion – ultimately subdued – during the 1950s. In later decades, some families have continued to practice cultivation and to keep stock.

In the early In the 1960s, about 48% of the male population was absent as wage-earners at any given time. Between the 1930s and the 1960s, most Pedi men would spend a short period working on nearby white farms followed by a move to employment on the mines or domestic service and later – especially in more recent times – to factories or industry. Female wage employment began more recently and is scarcer and more erratic. Some women work for short periods on farms, others have begun, since the 1960s, to work in domestic service in the towns of the Witwatersrand. But in recent years there have been rising levels of education and expectation, combined with a sharp drop in employment rates. Many youths, better-educated than their parents and hoping for jobs as civil servants or teachers, stand little chance of getting employment of any kind

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

The Pedi once held sway over most of the area flanked by the Limpopo, Vaal, and Komati rivers, their power centralized in what is today known as Sekhukhuneland, its heartland between the Olifants and Steelpoort rivers. Although subordinate groups appeared to enjoy autonomy, social controls maintained Pedi authority. Foremost was the Pedi insistence that subordinate chiefs take their principal wives from the ruling dynasty. Over generations, this evolved into a system in which the son or heir of a subject chief was compelled to marry a cousin and to make an inflated bridewealth payment to the Maroteng for this privilege. Pedi rulers and chiefs were thus tied into a relationship of inequality. In addition to the bridewealth, lesser chiefs were expected to pay tribute to the paramount in other ways as well and to keep him informed on all important events, such as the inauguration of initiation lodges. In theory, the paramount chief's court was one of appeal for subordinate peoples but, in practice, its jurisdiction tended to be restricted to political issues, such as relations between groups, boundary disputes, and succession to chieftainship. Communication between the paramount chief and lesser chiefs took place employing an elaborate system of intermediaries (batseta).

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Like the Sotho and Tswana, the Pedi, in pre-conquest times, lived in large villages divided into kgoro groups centered on family clusters favoring the paternal line. Each consisted of a group of households, built around a central area which combined meeting place, cattle byre, graveyard, and ancestral shrine. Homes were ranked in order of seniority. Each wife had her round thatched homestead, joined to the others by a series of open-air enclosures (Lapa) encircled by mud walls. In the Centre was the ngwako wa Mollo (the hut of the fire), a large enclosure containing the hearth, for cooking on rainy days. It could be distinguished from the dwellings by the mathudi (covered veranda) surrounding it.

Bakone Malapa Open-air Museum showing a Lapa
Source: Destimap

Bakone Malapa Open-air Museum showing a Lapa
Source: Review Online

        

 A circular framework of poles, about 3 meters wall, enclosed within a wall (leboto) made of sun-dried mud bricks. The trusses of the conical roof rested on these poles. The thatched roof extended beyond the wall of the house, creating the mathudi. Two smaller enclosures (ngwakwana) were usually situated behind the main homestead. The homestead unit was enclosed by an angular 1.75-meter-high wall made either of mud (known as the moduthudu), or of reeds (known as the lefago). This wall enclosed a wedge-shaped precinct, so that the separate homesteads, which adjoined each other and which belonged to the different wives of one man, made up a circular formation. Between the homesteads and the surrounding walls could be found the courtyards (Lapa), in which Pedi people spent most of their time when they were at home. Each home had a public courtyard in front of the main hut, where guests were entertained, and a private courtyard behind the main hut, which served the members of the household.

The word kgoro, besides denoting this basic unit in the Pedi social structure, was used to describe the building-block of the judicial and political structure as well. The unity of the disparate homesteads within the extended homestead was maintained through allegiance to a council of men, which usually met in a special open-sided thatched structure under a big tree. Kgoro meant both council and meeting place.

Kgorong
Source: SA heritage publishers

GENDER DIVISION

Pedi culture traditionally distinguished sharply between the sexes at all levels. This affected every sphere of their lives, from the knots to tie their clothes - men using reef-knots and women granny-knots - to the initiation, status in the family and community, and division of labor.

Women did agricultural work and men and boys work related to cattle. Male superiority was reinforced in daily life: for example at meals men and initiated boys sat together and were served first, and women ate with the other children. Legally women were, and often still are, perpetual minors, and had to remain under a male guardian. When women married they assumed their husbands' status. Thus a woman born a commoner could become a noble on marriage and attain a superior status to her elder sister, who then had to serve her. A woman could never rise above the level of her brother. Inheritance and succession were passed down through the male line, and women lived at their husbands' homesteads. This is, sometimes, still the case today. Many families, however, prefer to allow their daughters rather than their sons to inherit their fields and residential stands, since daughters - especially those undistracted by the obligations of marriage - are thought to be able to look after their parents better than sons can.

                                                        Pedi female and male initiates

                                                        source: Southafrica.co.za

Traditional Pedi culture was more extreme than most other male-orientated societies in distinguishing between the sexes, tending to attribute amoral qualities, and asocial behavior to women. The inherent compulsion to do evil - witchcraft 'of the night' - was associated exclusively with women, and was passed from mother to daughter. Witchcraft 'of the day', however, was learned, could be acquired by any-one, male or female, and was used only occasionally to harm someone.

The stages of male growth and development in traditional society were clearly defined and required the fulfillment of a set of rites of passages. these stages can be summarized as a baby (lesea), boy (mošemane), uncircumcised youth (lešoboro), circumcised youth (modikana), member of the transitional period of initiation (sealoga), initiate (lealoga) and finally an adult man (Monna).

MARRIAGE

A sepedi marriage (lenyalo) does not only legalize a relationship between 2 people, but it also legalizes a relationship between their families. it involves the transfer of payments (Magadi) which originally were cows, from the groom's family to the bride's family. In return, the family of the bride transfers the fertility capacity of the bride to the groom's home (bogadi) and the birth of a child will, therefore, fulfill the bride's family's commitment. marriage in traditional Sepedi society was compulsory.  Marriage meant that the newlyweds weren't considered fully initiated adults (with initiation school being the first stage of initiation).

Mopedi bride (Ngwetši in her wedding dress)
Source: a trip down memory lane

                             

Land occupancy

The pre-colonial system of communal or tribal occupancy, being broadly similar to that practiced throughout the southern African region, was crystallized, but subtly altered, by the colonial administration. A man was granted land by the chief for each of his wives; unused land was reallocated by the chief, rather than being inherited within families.

"I am an African, I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women that Hintsa and Sekhukhune led, the patriots that Cetswayo and Mphephu took to battle, the soldiers that Moshoeshoe and Ngungunyane taught never to dishonor the cause of freedom" – I am an African by former SA president, Thabo Mbeki

                

Historically, we can consider the Bapedi Kingdom as one of the largest and most important kingdoms in South Africa. This is attributable to the Kingdom’s major role in leading the resistance to the British Territorial expansionism and colonial control in the 19^th century Transvaal.

Kgoši Sekhukhune wa pele (King Sekhukhune I), amongst those who ruled before Him, in the 19^th century will always be remembered as representatives for the generation which was resistant to the British rule and therefore fought tooth and nail against their invasion of the country.

References

•  Kwekudee. (2013, June 27). PEDI (BAPEDI/NORTHERN SOTHO) PEOPLE: SOUTH AFRICAN WARRIOR TRIBE. Retrieved 05 15, 2020, from Trip Down Memory Lane: https://kwekudee-tripmemorylane.blogspot.com/
• Kanyane (2005, March 7). BATAU/KANYANE. Retrieved 05 20, 2020, from http://www.angelfire.com/folk/kanyane/Batau/index.blog?entry_id=362541

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