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Kaditshwene
Kaditshwene aka Gaditshweni or Karechuenya, was a South African Iron Age settlement some northeast of the town of Zeerust, North West province. It was the cultural capital of the Bahurutshe people, one of the principal Tswana tribes and a centre of manufacturing and trading. The missionary John Campbell came across this settlement in the Tshwenyane hills of the Marico area in 1820, at which time its population of 20,000 exceeded that of Cape Town. Archaeologists estimate that it had been founded in the late 1400s on the site of iron and copper ore deposits. In 1821, during the Mfecane, the town was sacked by the Batlokwa under the warrior queen Mantatisi. The attack was followed round 1823 by another under Sebetwane and the Bafokeng tribe. The survivors fled west and sought sanctuary among the Bakwena and other Tswana tribes. Crumbling stone walls, foundations, ash middens and remains of a metal working industry are the only evidence of the settlement's previous existence. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tswana People
The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011. Batswana are the native people of south and eastern Botswana, and the Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape and Free State provinces of South Africa, where the majority of Batswana are located. History Early history of Batswana The Batswana are descended mainly from Bantu-speaking tribes along with the Khoi-San. Tswana tribe migrated southward to Africa around 600 CE, living in tribal enclaves as farmers and herders. Several Iron Age cultures flourished around the 900 CE, including the Toutswemogala Hill Iron Age settlement. The Toutswe were in the eastern region of what is now Botswana, relying on Tswana cattle breed held in kraals as their source of wealth. The arrival of the ancestors of the Tswana-speaker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurrichane Buttonquail
The common buttonquail (''Turnix sylvaticus''), also called Kurrichane buttonquail, small buttonquail, or Andalusian hemipode is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble but are unrelated to the true of quails. Description The common buttonquail resembles the common quail. It has streaked sandy brown upperparts, buff underparts with black flank markings, and a plain face. In flight, a whitish wingbar contrasts with the grey wing. Sexes are similar, but immature birds are more spotted below. This tiny buttonquail is notoriously difficult to see. It is a small, long drab running bird, which avoids flying. Distribution and habitat This species is resident from southern Spain and Africa through India and tropical Asia to Indonesia. It inhabits warm grasslands or scrub jungle and feeds on insects and seeds. This species avoids thick forest and hilly country, and lives by preference in cornfields and stretches of grassy plain though it may also be found in any ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rondavel
Rondavel is a style of African hut known in literature as ''cone on cylinder'' or ''cone on drum.'' The word comes from the Afrikaans ''rondawel''. Description The rondavel is usually round or oval in shape and is traditionally made with materials that can be locally found in raw form. Its walls are often constructed from stones. The mortar may consist of sand, soil, or combinations of these, mixed with cow dung. The floor of a traditional rondavel is finished with a dung mixture to make it hard and smooth. The main roofing elements of a rondavel are spars or poles taken from tree limbs, which have been harvested and cut to length. The roof covering is of thatch that is sewn to the poles with grass rope. The process of completing the thatch can take as little as one weekend or up to a year if made by a skilled artisan, as it must be sewn in one section at a time, starting from the bottom working towards the top. As each section is sewn, it may be weathered and aged to form a co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Campbell (missionary)
John Campbell (born March 1766 in Edinburgh, Scotland – 4 April 1840 Kingsland, London), was a Scottish missionary and traveller. Life He attended the Royal High School and was at one time apprenticed to a goldsmith. Campbell helped found the Magdalene Society, a Religious Tract Society of Scotland in 1793, and the ''Missionary Magazine'' in Edinburgh in 1796. His consuming interest in Christian philanthropy led him to preach widely in neglected villages and hamlets, promote the establishing of numerous Sunday schools and found societies like the Magdalene asylum to help prostitutes in Edinburgh and Glasgow. His opposition to the slave trade led to his involvement in the foundation of the Society for the Education of Africans. He collaborated with James Alexander Haldane in bringing some 30-40 African children to be educated in England. Following the Haldane Revival, Campbell became a Congregational Church minister. He was minister at ''Kingsland'', an independent chapel he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurrichane Thrush
The Kurrichane thrush (''Turdus libonyana'') is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. The species is found from central through to southern Africa. Its natural habitat is dry savanna and woodland, predominantly miombo woodland. Taxonomy and etymology The Kurrichane thrush was described in 1836 by the zoologist Andrew Smith, on the basis of a specimen collected in the Transvaal in South Africa. It was originally assigned to the defunct genus ''Merula''. The species is a sister species to the Comoro thrush. The specific epithet of the Kurrichane thrush, ''libonyana'', is derived from the Tswana name for the red-billed buffalo weaver, ''Lebonyana''. It was given by mistake to this species, possibly because it also has a reddish bill. Its common name is derived from a corruption of Kaditshwene (rendered as 'Kurrichane'), a former town in northern South Africa where the original specimen was collected. Distribution and habitat It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bafokeng
The Royal Bafokeng is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital is Phokeng, near Rustenburg. "Bafokeng" is used to refer to both the tribal grouping as well as the land its members inhabit. The kingdom's current ruler is ''Kgosi'' (King) Leruo Molotlegi, who has reigned since 2000. The Bafokeng first settled in the Rustenburg Valley in c.1450AD, the presence of the ceramics in the area suggests the arrival of the Bafokeng in the Rustenburg Phokeng valley at about this time. Kgosi Tshukudu became the first king of a unified Bafokeng in 1750. The nation gained greater international attention in 2010, owing to its Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where six of the FIFA 2010 World Cup games were played, and the Bafokeng Sports Campus, which hosted the England football team during the World Cup. Background The Bafokeng tribe (Bafokeng meaning 'People of the dew', or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruins In South Africa
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate destruction by humans, or uncontrollable destruction by List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. The most common root causes that yield ruins in their wake are Natural disaster, natural disasters, War, armed conflict, and population decline, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and Scavenger, scavenging. There are famous ruins all over the world, with notable sites originating from History of China, ancient China, the Indus Valley civilisation, Indus Valley and other regions of History of India, ancient India, History of Iran, ancient Iran, History of Israel, ancient Israel and Judea, History of Mesopotamia, ancient Iraq, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Roman sites th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Heritage Sites
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', cf English meridional), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). Navigation By convention, the ''bottom or down-facing side'' of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeological Sites In South Africa
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Smith (zoologist)
Sir Andrew Smith (3 December 1797 – 11 August 1872) was a British surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, ''Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa''. Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire. He qualified in medicine at the University of Edinburgh obtaining an M.D. degree in 1819, having joined the Army Medical Services in 1816. South Africa 1820–1837 In 1820 he was ordered to the Cape Colony and was sent to Grahamstown to supervise the medical care of European soldiers and soldiers of the Cape Corps. He was appointed the Albany district surgeon in 1822 and started the first free dispensary for indigent patients in South Africa. He led a scientific expedition into the interior and was able to indulge in his interests of natural history and anthropology. On several occasions, he was sent by governors on confidential missions to vis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bakwena
The Bakoena or Bakwena ("those who venerate the crocodile") are a large clan in Southern Africa. They form part of the Sotho-Tswana Bantu people and can be found in different countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. Their main languages are Sesotho and Setswana."Koena" ("Kwena") is a Sotho/Tswana word meaning "crocodile", the crocodile is also their totem (seboko). Genealogy and history Earliest ancestor o the Koena tribe,koena, was a grandson of Masilo I, the king of Bahurutse branch of the koena around AD 1360. Koena and his followers settled at Tebang, now called Heidelberg. Around AD 1500, Bakoena started spreading in the region, from the Lekwa or Vaal The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ... river to Kalahari (Botswana). Sotho line * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantatisi
Mmanthatisi (also spelled 'Mantatee’, 'Ma Nthisi, Mantatise, or Manthatisi; c. 1784 – 1847) was the leader of the Tlokwa people during her son's minority from 1813 until 1824. She came to power as the regent for her son, Sekonyela, (Lents'a) following the death of her husband Kgosi Mokotjo (the previous kgosi). Mmanthatisi was known as a strong, brave and capable leader, both in times of peace and war. She was referred to by her followers as Mosanyane (the tiny one) because of her slender body. Although her tribe was known as Balefe, during her reign, they came to be known as boo-Mmanthatisi or Manthatee Horde by the English. In the midst of the Mfecane/Difaqane wars - a period of mass migration, Mmanthatisi used her power, dedication, bravery and staunch character to keep her people together, despite the frequent raids by the Nguni group. Early life Mmanthatisi's name at birth was Monyalue. She was the daughter of Mothaha, a chief of the Basia tribe, and was born in what is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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