Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela promotional information

Postal address: PO Box 200, Saulspoort, 0318 Physical address: E998, Main Hospital Road Makreseteng Section Saulspoort 0318 Contact person: Penyenye, Tshepang Tel: 0735158398

Although we the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela are a forward thinking community, we celebrate our heritage and are committed to the development of our cultural heritage precinct. In the near future one will be able to visit the newly renovated Dutch Reformed Church with it’s own exhibition and the Mphebatho Museum is looking forward to its upgrade. Also worth a visit is the Moruleng graveyard which has several headstones including those of Gonin relatives. We also have sites of rainmaking and ancient stonewalling and of course a significant site in terms of our history is the area where Kgamanyane was flogged. Moruleng also enjoys its own stadium. Some say Moruleng got its name from the Marula tree. Have a look at Morula wa Phuthego, on the bottom right, a celebrated site of many lekgotla’s.

The axact origins of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela are uncertain.Oral tradition teach that the ancestor of all Batswana was Molope.He had a son,Mokgatlo,who is believed to be the ancestor of all Bakgatla. In about 1650 after the death of Kgosi Mogale,the Bakgatla tribe was divided between supportes of his daughter Mosetlha from his great house,and his son Kgafela from his second house.T?hese was a disagreement over who would be the new leader.One fuction defied the usual tradition of male leaders and aknowledged the female,Mosetlha,as their kgosi.Those who supported Kgafela then broke away.They are the direct ancestors of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela. Today there are five main branches of the Bakgatla,aal residents in the central and western areas of the former transvaal and the southeastern parts of Botswana. Bakgatla ba Mmanaana (Moshupa and Thamaga,Botswana) Bakgatla ba Mmakau (Brits) Bakgatla ba Mosetlha (Hammanskraal) Bakgatla ba Motsha (Hammanskraal) Bakgatla ba Kgafela (Mochudi,Botswana and Moruleng,South Africa) It is only from 1800s that people started referri to themselves as Motswana(singular) or Batswana (plural).There are two uses of the word Batswana.One refers to all people who enbrace Tswana culture,heritage and language(setswana).The other use of Batswana refers to all citizens of the Republic of Botswana,regardless of thier ethnicity.

Kgabo(Monkey) The monkey is a totem for the Bakgatla nation.We identify ourselves with the kgabo(monkey).Bakgatla comes from the word kgabo Hut(Calabash) The hut represent SEDIBELO,the mixture of traditional medicine used in the past by regiments when they fought other tribes.The regimentsalso used Sedibelo to protect themselves and the tribe when they were attacked by their enemies.That is why Bakgatla still take pride in Sedibelo.When we greet each other we say KGABO,the reply being SEDIBELO. Fire It is used to warm up the mixture of Sedibelo so that it becomes ready to being used.The fire playd the most significant part in the production of Sedibelo.That is why in the Bakgatla poem there is a phrase which says-Sedibelo mollo(fire)se a fsa se a tshologa-meaning when the fire is next to Sedibelo it becomes distilled and ovverflow from the calabash

Our Heritage and our Vision We are the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela, a community divided by history and an international border, but connected through blood and cultural tradition. Our elders say that we moved into the Pilanesberg area around 1700. We lived through wars and dispossession. We witnessed the exodus of our people to Botswana. But thanks to the courage and vision of our leaders, we held on to our precious land. Today, with the discovery of platinum, our future holds wonderful possibilities. A vital part of our vision is using heritage to inspire critical thinking and creative participation in conversations on culture, knowledge, identity, development, community, and the future. Our heritage strategy includes - Restoring community-owned museums in Moruleng - Constructing cultural precincts - Preserving our heritage sites - Collecting oral histories - Recording indigenous knowledge - Creating a cultural history archive - Developing a community heritage website - Creating jobs and building capacity

Mphebatho museum the museum not only preserves the cultural and traditions of the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela for the community and visitors to the area,it also has become a place of learning ehwre the community can engage in a number of arts and culture programmes. The Hub of BBK History,Culture and Heritage In 1998 Kgosikgolo Lentswe(the second) and the former Primier of the North West province,Popo Molefe opened the Mphebatho museum,one of the rural cultural museum in the North west Province.Housed in the old school building on the slopes of the Mmammitlwa Mountain,the building was constructed in 1937 by a Bakgatla Ba Kgafela initiate regiment.

Mining Union section is unincorporated joint venture with Anglo Platinum Limited(Anglo Plats),the world largest platinum producer.Thee mine is one of the largest and more profitable operation under the Anglo Platinum stable and is duly operated by the Anglo Plats subsidiary,Rustenburg Platinum Mines(RPM).The operation is owned by Anglo Plats and the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela tribes.Anglo Platinum has an 85% equity stake while Bakgatla has a 15% stake in the operation.Using a Net Asset Value(NAV) valuation for Union,the Bakgatla's attribution stake in Union is R435 million payable within three yaers. Consolidated NEWCO:The BBKTA is currently involved in extending the reach of Platmin through the consolidotion of three neighbouring mines,namely Pilanesburg Platinum,Sedsibelo West and the Magazynskraal Platinum Project.The consolidatoin was made possible through joint investmeny by Plamin,the BBKTA,Pallinghusrt,and the Industrial Development Corporation(IDC).The venture id expected to provide long- term community benefits including the creation of 9000 permanent jobs,in additional to the 1500 people already emoployed at the site

The Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela is a forward thinking Batswana community split across the border between Botswana and South Africa. We are based in Mochudi in the Kgatleng District of southern Botswana and in Moruleng in the Pilanesberg area of South Africa’s North West Province. While we are integrally connected, you will discover that we have developed under very different political and economic circumstances over the last 140 years. As one people, we are committed to ensuring that our shared cultural heritage, traditions and value systems are upheld for the benefit of current and future generations. The House of Pilane with Kgosi Nyalala Pilane as its head, is the ruling family and custodian of Bogosi, culture and the tradition of the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela.

Bakgatla ba Kgafela is one community split across the border between South Africa and Botswana.It is a community divided by history and by an international border,but connected in evevy other way A group of Bakgatla ba Kgafela,consisting mainly of the senior families of the clans leadership(Bogosu and Dikgoro),left their home in Saulspoort(Moruleng) in 1870,aftter ongoing disputes with the Transvaal Boers,Kgosi Kgamanyane led them to Mochudi,in what is Botswana. After helpingthe British defeat the Boers in the South African war(1899-1902),Kgosi Lentswe sent his brother Ramono and some members of royal family(his half brothers)back to South Africa to represent him at the request of those remaining in Moruleng. Since then the Moruleng and the Mochudi communities have been closely connected under the same traditional leader cultural practices.Split by an international border,however,they have been developing under very different political and economical circumstances. The paramount chief of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela,Kgosikgolo Kgafela,is based at Mochudi. Kgosi Pilane leads the Bakgatla ba Kgafela people of Moruleng as a representative of Kgosikgolo Kgafela in Mochudi. The Bakgatla ba Kgafela community in South Africa now consists of about 350 000 people in 32 villages in North West Province.Their land is richly endowed with platinum deposits,opening up unusual economic oppotunities for a rural community.