The Ba-ka-Nswazwi people are originally Bapedi of Mujaji (

Rain Queen Queen Modjadji, or the Rain Queen, is the hereditary queen of Balobedu, a people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The Rain Queen is believed to have special powers, including the ability to control the clouds and rainfall. Modjadji Ro ...

). The Bapedi of Mujaji are Kalangas originally from Munomutapa and were ruled by Mugudo. They are found in

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 ...

Nswazwi Nswazwi is a small village in the Central District of Botswana. Located close to the border with Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and ...

Marapong Marapong is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located west of Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 censu ...

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 Tha ...

and Nkange in

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 ...

History

The Baka-Nswazwi have been assimilated back over the years into their

Kalanga Kalanga may refer to: * BaKalanga people * Kalanga language Kalanga, or ''TjiKalanga'' (in Zimbabwe), is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It has an extensive phoneme inventory, which includes palatalise ...

( Bakalanga) culture. In the 18th century they migrated into present-day Botswana from the Polokwane (Pietersburg) area of the present-day

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. They settled in the Bukalanga area, which was ruled by the Mambo of the Kalanga. The Mambo was later subdued by the forces of Mzilikazi of the

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 o ...

, who after his death in 1868 was succeeded by his son

Lobengula Lobengula Khumalo (c. 1845 – presumed January 1894) was the second and last official king of the Northern Ndebele people (historically called Matabele in English). Both names in the Ndebele language mean "the men of the long shields", a refere ...

. Lobengula was not favourably disposed to the establishment of the

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a British protectorate, protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (later the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in So ...

in 1885. He expressed resentment that Khama III should fix the northern border of the protectorate without consulting him.·Lobengula did not believe that the 22° demarcation line had been drawn in London but believed it had been put forward by Khama. Furthermore, he was angry that he had not been consulted before a protectorate was imposed over Bechuanaland. Later they were led by

John Nswazwi John Madawo Nswazwi (1868-1960) was a chief of the BaKalanga Baka-Nswazwi. He was born in Nswazwi in then Bechuanaland in 1875. He ruled from 1910 to 1960 having succeeded his father, Kuswani Nswazwi ( Nswazwi VII). He was exiled to Mafikeng ...

, who was born in

in then Bechuanaland in 1875. John Nswazwi was exiled to

Mafikeng Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

in 1947 by the colonial government as a result of a conflict with the

Bangwato The Bamangwato (more correctly BagammaNgwato, and also referred to as the BaNgwato or Ngwato) is one of the eight "principal" Tswana chieftaincies of Botswana. They ruled over a majority Bakalanga population (the largest ethnic group in Central Dist ...

regent

Tshekedi Khama Tshekedi Khama (17 September 1905 – 10 June 1959) was the regent-king of the Bamangwato tribe in 1926 after the death of Sekgoma II. Background Tshekedi Khama was born in Serowe, the son of Khama III, known as Khama the Great, by his fourth wi ...

. The Baka-Nswazwi considered themselves independent of Bangwato and that they had only been brought under Bangwato lordship during the creation of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The Baka-Nswazwi questioned whether they fell within the Protectorate, and indeed under Bangwato in the Bamangwato Territory. This was the gist of their confrontation with Tshekedi Khama, and all other matters that came up were skirmishes around this root cause. Tshekedi Khama was the uncle of

Seretse Khama Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980) was a Motswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980. Born into an influential royal fam ...

, the first president of

. Chief Nswazwi died on May 14, 1960. He was buried in Jetjeni and his remains were later transferred to Nswazwi village in 2002.

References

External links

Queensu.ca

Ethnologue.org

Gov.bw

Openlibrary.org

Mmegi.bw

Sil.org
Ethnic groups in Botswana {{ethno-stub