Namakgale is a large township lying 12 km outside

Phalaborwa Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Ga-Sela ...

in Mopani District in the

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 is ...

province of

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 countri ...

. Its nearest neighbouring townships are

Lulekani Lulekani (nicknamed Lukcity) is a township 13 km outside Phalaborwa in Mopani District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Lulekani is close to Kruger National Park Border and has two main shopping centers, mainlLulekani Sp ...

, Makhushane, Maseke and Mashishimale on the R71 road to

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 u ...

(GaMaenetje). It is next to the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...

on the north eastern part of the Limpopo province previously

Northern Transvaal Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

. The township enjoys the annual Marula festival during the months of February and March, when the ripe Marula fruit harvest is at its peak, and the Marula traditional beer is brewed. This is home to the

Amarula Amarula is a cream liqueur from South Africa. It is made with sugar, cream and the fruit of the African Sclerocarya birrea, marula tree (''Sclerocarya birrea'') which is also locally called the elephant tree or the marriage tree. It has an alco ...

liqueur is harvested, and the pulp is shipped to Cape Town for further processing. The citizens of Namakgale will enjoy the Mopani worms first harvest during March and April, and the second harvest in December. the

Mopani tree ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family ( Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern ...

and the

Morula A morula (Latin, ''morus'': mulberry) is an early-stage embryo consisting of a solid ball of cells called blastomeres, contained in mammals, and other animals within the zona pellucida shell. The blastomeres are the daughter cells of the zygote ...

tree are very important to the residents of the Namakgale as they bring important community subsistence farming.

Schools and Institutions of Learning

Colleges

* Mopani TVET College (TVET:Technical and Vocational Education and Training)

High schools

* Relebogile High School * Vuxeni High School * Sebalamakgolo High School * Maphokwane High School * Lebeko High School * Lepato High School * Makikele High School * Matome Malatgi

Primary schools

* Gaza Primary School * Kgopsane Primary School * Mhala Mhala Primary School * Namakgale Primary School * Phalaborwa Primary School * Refentse Primary School * Refilwe Primary School * Rethabile Primary School * Rethusitswe Primary School * Stanbury Higher Primary School * Mashishimale Primary School * Mabine Primary School * Mathibela Primary School

Demographics

Namakgale is largely inhabited by migrant labourers and their descendants. Most of this migrant labourers originate from the Bolobedu area, Tzaneen, Ga-Sekororo and

Bushbuckridge Bushbuckridge (also known as Mapulaneng) is the main town in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga, South Africa. It grew around a trading store that opened in 1884, and is named after t ...

. Most of the people in Namakgale are employed in mining, namely

Palabora Mining Company Palabora Mining Company Limited (founded August 1956) is a publicly traded mining company headquartered in Phalaborwa, Limpopo province, South Africa. The company operates a single cluster of open-pit and underground mines producing mainly copp ...

, Sasol Agri and FOSKOR. The majority of the residence of Namakgale speak

Northern Sotho language Northern Sotho, or as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as or , its main dialect, through synecdoche. According to the South African National Census o ...

, with the Sepulana, KhePhalaborwa and KheLobedu dialects being the most predominantly spoken forms, is the first language of about 70% of the people. The N'walungu variety of

Xitsonga Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, als ...

is the second most spoken language after Northern Sotho; XiTsonga is first language of about 30% of the people. The Residents of the neighbouring villages of Ga-Makhushane, Ga-Mashishimale, Ga-Maseke and Ga-Selwane are proudly called Ba-Phalaborwa ba ga Malatji, a North Sotho tribe of Kalanga extraction. The Malatji Royal Family venerates the Totem of the Noko, a

Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

and the clan is generally called Dinoko as a symbol of respect.

Sports facilities

* Namakgale Stadium * Phosphate Club Stadium

Notable people

Pule Mabe Puleng Peter Mabe (born 19 March 1980) is a South African politician and a member of the African National Congress. Mabe is the current national spokesperson for the African National Congress, the current ruling party of South Africa. Mabe succee ...

, ANC national spokesperson * Sipho Mashele, cricketer

References

Populated places in the Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality 1959 establishments in South Africa {{Limpopo-geo-stub