Mapoka is a small village in the
North-East District of
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 Kalahar ...
. Its neighboring villages are
Nlapkhwane,
Moroka, and
Masukwane. The 2001 population and housing census put its population at 1,540.
History and culture
Mapoka has a wealth of unexplored
rock paintings
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...
similar to the ones found in the
Tsodilo Hills
The Tsodilo Hills are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), consisting of rock art, rock shelters, depressions, and caves in southern Africa. It gained its WHS listing in 2001 because of its unique religious and spiritual significance to local peo ...
.These paintings are found in caves in the Dalale hills that stretch from Nlaphwane to Plumtree 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 Mozam ...
.
A
rain making dance event is held in Mapoka every year at a special place called Gumbu. The dancers, called "wosana", dress in black clothes, don black and white beads, and they dance to Mwali (God) pleading for rain.
Like all the villages in North East when it comes to the festive season, the village comes to life. All working professionals who are based in the cities use the holidays to visit their parents and families.
Football is a major spectacle in the village, generating money for the whole village - however, this is typically an end of the year activity where a few local teams are engaged in soccer tournaments.
Civil society - Schools and infrastructure
There is a local police station, a clinic with maternity ward, a post office and several small scale retail/general dealer stores.
There is one primary school and one secondary school in the village. Mapoka Primary School is famous nationally for being one of the oldest in the country and for having educated some of the country's most prominent figures.
Past graduates of the school include Botswana's former chief justice
Julian Nganunu, government ministers
Charles Tibone and
, the late
Knight Maripe
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
who co-founded the opposition
Botswana People's Party
The Botswana People's Party (BPP), originally the Bechuanaland People's Party, is a political party in Botswana formed in December 1960 during the colonial era. As a result of disappointment with the Legislative Council, under the leadership of ...
,
Milenje City Kealotswe,
Josia Moswela and a score of
University of Botswana
The University of Botswana, popularly known as UB, was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. T ...
academics including Professor
Richard Tabulawa,
and Dr
Badala Tachilisa Balulebr>
In 2006, the school celebrated 106 years of existence in a ceremony officiated by the country's president
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Botswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004; after ten y ...
.
Mapoka village is also home to Batanani Junior Secondary School. This school has boarding facilities and takes students from several nearby villages.
References
Villages in Botswana
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