The Kalanga or Bakalanga are a southern

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Nationa ...

ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, northeastern

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

and

Limpopo Province Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. They are historically related to the

Nambya The Nambya people are an ethnic group of about 100,000 people, based in the north-western parts of Zimbabwe and in the north-eastern parts of Botswana . They are found around the coal mining town of Hwange, surrounding areas of the Victoria Falls a ...

, Karanga, Bapedi and

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of t ...

. Current day BaKalanga people are descendants of the Leopard Kopje’s people who greatly influenced civilization in the Southern sphere of the African continent. BaKalanga history shows and tells us that they are the builders of the Mapungubwe Empire which was Southern Africa’s first uniform Kingdom. From Mapungubwe they were also part of the Karanga Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe (Nzimabwe,or Nzi we Mabwe-TjiKalanga language). Upon the fall of the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom they went on to build the Khami ruins found in today’s Matebeleland Province in Zimbabwe and lastly proceeded on to occupy the Domboshaba (Botswana) and Njelele (Zimbabwe) shrines. Kalanga people also believe in rainmaking rites like their BaLobedu and VhaVenda counterparts as will be discussed below. The BaKalanga of Botswana are the second largest ethnic group in the country as well as the language being the second most spoken in the country, and only the most spoken in the Northern part of the country. The TjiKalanga language of Zimbabwe is the third most spoken language in the country, however being recognized as a Western Shona branch of the Shona group of languages and is also used in News Broadcasts, both Television as well as Radio Stations.

Language

The native language of the baKalanga has two varieties: 1) TjiKalanga, or simply Kalanga, in western Zimbabwe, 2) Ikalanga in northeastern Botswana. Together with the

Nambya language Nambya, or ''Nanzwa/Nanzva'', is a Bantu language spoken by the Nambya people. It is spoken in northwestern Zimbabwe, particularly in the town of Hwange, with a few speakers in northeastern Botswana. It is either classified as a dialect of Kalang ...

, these varieties form the western branch of the shona group (Guthrie S.10) that also includes Central Shona. Kalanga-speakers once numbered over 1,700,000, though they are now much reduced, often speaking

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele * Northern Ndebele language, the language ...

or Central Shona languages in Zimbabwe, Tswana in Botswana, and other local languages of the surrounding peoples of

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. The BaKalanga are one of the largest ethnolinguistic groups in

. The 1946

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

indicated that there were 32,777 (40% of the numerically largest district) BaKalanga in the Bamangwato (Central) District.

History

According to Huffman (2008), the original Bakalanga people descended from Leopard's Kopje farmers. These people occupied areas covering parts of north eastern

, western and southern

, adjacent parts of

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

by around AD 100. They traded in

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

, furs and feathers with the Indian Ocean coast for goods such as glass beads and cotton clothes. The majority of these prehistoric Bakalanga villages have been discovered in Botswana and Zimbabwe in areas close to major rivers and were usually built on terraced hilltops with stone walls built around them. The Kalanga are linked to such early African States as Mapungubgwe, Khami, and the Rozvi Empire. The early Bakalanga people living in the Shashe-Limpopo basin monopolised trade due to their access to the Indian Ocean coast. By around AD 1220 a new and more powerful kingdom developed around Mapungubgwe Hill, near Botswana’s border with South Africa. Some of the early Bakalanga people living in the lower Shashe-Limpopo valley probably moved towards or became part of this newly formed kingdom. But studies of climatic data from the area suggest that a disastrous

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

soon struck Mapungubgwe, and the Shashe-

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...

region was uninhabited between A.D 1300 and 1420, forcing the ordinary population to scatter. Mapungubgwe had become a ghost town by AD 1290. Its golden era lasted no more than 50 years culminating in the rise of

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. C ...

. Later, in the 15th century, the centre of power moved back west, from Great Zimbabwe to Khami/Nkami and in the 17th century to Danan'ombe (Dlodlo). The moves were accompanied by changes of the dominance from one clan to another. In the 17th century, the rozvi established southern BaKalanga became a powerful competitor, controlling most of the mining areas. The Rozvi even repelled Portuguese colonists from some of their inland posts. History goes to show that a huge number of BaKalanga people moved south in search of greener pastures while another section of the people stayed in the Northern areas. The group that moved South of the Limpopo River to their VhaVenda cousins are now called BaKgalaka or BaLobedu and occupy the areas in the immediate southern areas of the VhuVenda areas.BaLobedu and/or BaKgalaka up to this day still stay in areas adjacent to their cousins found in both Botswana and Zimbabwe. Such areas include the areas around Lephalale(South Africa) as well as Bobirwa and Matsiloje areas in today’s Botswana, also in Beitbridge area in Zimbabwe. In south-western Zimbabwe (now

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambe ...

) and adjacent parts of present-day Botswana, Kalanga states survived for more than another century. The fall of the Kingdom of Butua came as a result of a series of invasions, beginning with the Bangwato Kgosi Kgari's ill-fated incursion of around 1828 and culminating in the onslaught of

Mzilikazi Mzilikazi Moselekatse, Khumalo ( 1790 – 9 September 1868) was a Southern African king who founded the Mthwakazi Kingdom now known as Matebeleland, in Zimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood". He was born the son of Mashobane kaMan ...

's Ama

ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele * Northern Ndebele language, the language ...

. Finally, the Zimbabwe plateau and

Lowveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

as well as Botswana basin were subdued to British rule by

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...

Rain-making

The Kalanga people are known for their rain-making abilities through their Supreme Being Mwali/Ngwali. These abilities have always been a part of the BaKalanga people history as well as all those other related groups. The rain-making has always been the duty of the Hosanna’s or AmaWosana (the high priests in Mwali/Ngwali’s church). The traditional attire of the Kalanga/BaKalanga people clearly shows the importance of rain to BaKalanga. They put on black skirts which represent dark clouds heavy with rain, and the white shirts to represent rain droplets. This is the attire worn when they go and plead for rain at Njelele shrine in Zimbabwe, which is the headquarters for the Hosanna’s of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Bakalanga villages and towns

Serowe Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bama ...

Shashe-Mooke Shashe-Mooke is a large village located in the Central District of Botswana. It had 3,380 inhabitants at the 2011 census. See also * List of cities in Botswana The following is a list of cities and towns in Botswana with population of ...

Mopipi Mopipi is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located close to Makgadikgadi Pan. The population was 3,066 in 2001 census. This village was named after a tree called Mopipi, which is commonly found in the region. This area has witne ...

* Nata-Gweta *

Letlhakane Letlhakane is a village in the Central District of Botswana. Letlhakane is the headquarters of the Boteti sub-district. It is located south of Mmatshumo and the population of the village was 22,911 in 2011 census. Within 15–20 km of Le ...

Orapa Orapa is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. It is the site of the Orapa diamond mine, the largest diamond-producing mine in the world, and is considered to be the diamond capital of the country. Nearby is another kimberlite mi ...

Rakops Rakops, also known as Tsienyane, is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located south-west of Makgadikgadi Pan The Makgadikgadi Pan ( Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-easte ...

* Changate * Xhumo * Makalamabedi *

Tonota selebi phikwe Tonota is a village located in the Central District of Botswana. The people in Tonota are said to be Bakhurutshe who fought against some other tribes they found there and after winning the war, they owned the land and they became 'B ...

* Kandana * Gombalume * Magalanyeza * Tjangula * Gwambe * Mbila * Mabungwe * Bambadzi * Masukwane * Mulambakwena *

Tutume Tutume is a large Bakalanga village located in the Central District, Botswana, Central District of Botswana, about 50 km from the Zimbabwe border gate at Maitengwe. The nearest city is Francistown, about 100 km away. The village is a su ...

* Maitengwe * Nswazwi * Nshakashongwe * Matenge *

Makaleng Makaleng is a village in the North-East district of Botswana, roughly 60 km from Francistown. The two major ethnic groups in Makaleng are the Bakalang and the Bakhurutshe. According to Botswana's 2011 census, Makaleng had a population of ...

* Tjizwina * Hulela * Mpatane *

Mathangwane Mathangwane is a village in the Central District of Botswana administered under Tutume Sub-district Council. The village is located at the confluence of Shashe and Vukwi rivers, 25 kilometres west of the City of Francistown along the A3 hig ...

Masunga Masunga /ˈmɑːsuŋɡʌ/ is a Bakalanga settlement in the North-East District of Botswana. The village is the Headquarters of the North East District. The nearest city is Francistown which is about away. The Chief of the region is Kgosi Th ...

* Gambule * Sekakangwe * Vhukwi * Zwenshambe * Kalakamati * Sinotsi * Matobo * Semitwe * Marapong * Sebina * Butale *

Ramokgwebana Ramokgwebana is a village in the North-East District of Botswana, close to the eastern border, which is defined by the Ramokgwebana River. Plumtree, Zimbabwe is on the other side of the border crossing. The village is connected to Francistown t ...

* Mapoka * Tokwana * Masendu * Nhopemano * Mafule * Makumbi * Mbimba * Tjolotjo * Masingwaneng * Tsamaya *

Mosetse Mosetse is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located along the road from Francistown to Nata. The population was 1,661 in 2001 census. Mosetse lies along the Mosetse River, which ultimately discharges to the Sua Pan, a part of t ...

* Dagwi * Nkange * Senete *Matjinge * Gulubane * Themashanga * Ntoli * Nlapkhwane * Gampo * Khame * Kgari * Moroka * Sechele * Letsholathebe * Kalakamati * Goshwe * Madlambudzi * Ndolwane * Masendu * Bhagani * Makhekhe * Bilingoma *Malebegwa * Sihore * Malalume * Malopa * Bambadzi * Hingwe * Jutjume * Makhulela * Tjehanga * Mbalambi * Lemu * Ngwana * Butshe * Nswazwi * Gutu * Dombodema * Hikwa *

Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

*Tjompani * Sevaka * mafeha * mabhongani *

* Makorokoro * Hhobodo * Madabe * Tjingababili * Mafule

References

External links