Botswana Notes and Records Volume 18

Bakgalagadi-Bakwena relationship: A case

of slavery, c.1840-c.1920

by GAONTATLHE MAUTLE-

Introduction
This paper seeks to clarify the type of relationship and a legal non-subject, a man thing". 3 Sekwena
that existed between Bakgalagadi and Bakwena in law, for example did not protect a Mokgalagadi but
the nineteenth century. A closer examination of it punished him ifhe committed a crime thus it crea-
this relationship reveals that it was more of bolata ,. ted a contradictory being. A slave is not a person
(slavery) than botlhanka (servitude). A relevant for he would then cease to be a slave but at the same
question at this point is whether bolata is akin to time he is not an inhuman thing. Criminal laws of
slavery or to the asiatic type of relationship. slave owning societies, for example, hold the slave
A brief summary of the main attributes of the two responsible for his actions. If he murders his master
modes of production, the asiatic mode and slavery, or commits some criminal offence he is subjected to
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

will make the classification of the Bakgalagadi- the law like a 'real' person. Thus this law ironically
Bakwena relationship in the nineteenth century recognises a slave as a person, a human being not a
Kweneng obvious. The asiatic mode of production, thing.
is characterised by three main features: absence of "Slavery always exists within a wider political
private ownership of land (land is owned by the and social system, it is never an exclusive form of
state therefore the extraction of the surplus-product domination or state in and of itself, a regime com-
is by the state) the absence of an exploiting class in- posed of masters and slaves as rulers and ruled."4
dependent of the state, and the dominance of The slave owner enjoys the ability to exploit his
agriculture as a form of production. l The slaves from law and custom and derives the ability
producers are, of course, subjects of the state and to control them from the existence of the repressive
are politically bound to render a proportion of their apparatus of the wider socio-political system of
surplus-product to the state. It must be stressed which he is a subject. The slave is not a subject in
that here the producer decides on the amount that the wider society, but, as stated above, a property of
goes to the state and on that which he keeps. They a subject of that society. Hobbes saw the slave as
are however free men who may have their own pro- the "vanquished who gives his obedience to a victor
perty and are not economically obliged to produce in exchange for his life". S This view seems plausible
for the state. to a certain extent since normally the victor can do
Sia very on the other hand has two classical ver- anything with the vanquished.
sions. The chattel slavery and the roman law sla- Slavery is a mode of production in which slave
very. The difference between the two is too minor, owners do not produce at all since all production is
at least for the purpose of this paper, to warrant any done by slaves. And slaves are entirely dependent
attention. Slavery is a form of bondage in which on their owners for subsistence. They are not
human beings are owned. The slave owner has all allowed to own the means of production or any
the property rights over his slave. It is "a form of property at all, and everything they produce
legally sanctioned unfreedom".2 It is legal to sell, belongs to their owners. As this paper unfolds, it
punish or abuse the slave as the owner deems fit. A will become clear that slavery, which is essentially
slave is "a contradictory being, a human subject extremely exploitative and dehumanising is the best
way one can describe the relationship between Bak-
wena and Bakgalagadi in the nineteenth century.
-Department of Primary Education, University of Botswana.
It is necessary to reveal the historical connections
This paper was first presented to the Department of History,
University of Botswana in 1981 as part of a degree requirement. between the Bakwena or Batswana in general and

19
 the Bakgalagadi before one discusses the dispari- Bathaga and Bapebana, both sub-groups of Bango-
ties one finds in the Bakwena-Bakgalagadi relation- loga, were Bangwato. 12 Claims such as this, could
ship. We know very little about the origins of the be deliberate attempts to hide the truth.
Bakgalagadi. The few studies that have been con- It is also a well established fact that Bakgalagadi
ducted about Bakgalagadi are either linguistic, came into Botswana much earlier than Tswana-
ethnographic or anthropological in nature. 6 Gary speaking peoples. Some authorities think that
Yukio Okihiro's research stands out uniquely as the groups of Bakgalagadi inhabited Botswana
only historical study on the Bakgalagadi. He has between 1100 AD and 1500 AD while groups of
attempted to explicitly establish the origins of the Batswana started migrating into the country after
Bakgalagadi and their ethnic relationship with the 1500 AD.13 From this evidence one can confidently
Tswana-speaking peoples, but his conclusion here conclude that the ancestors of Bakgalagadi broke
is misleading. Furthermore, he does not adequately away from the ancestor Sotho-speaking group long
tackle the question of the impact of the Bakwena- before the emergence of Sets wan a as a language and
Bakgalagadi relationship on the socio-economic the crystalation of ethnicities. Hence their lang-
life of Bakgalagadi. uage has since evolved into a different language.
According to Okihiro Bakgalagadi are splinter The political organisation of the Bakgalagadi
groups from Barolong. They separated from .state seems to have been weaker than that of the
Barolong some time between the fifteenth and Batswana state. They lived in small groups such as
sixteenth centuries. Bakgalagadi split from Babolaongwe, Bashaga, Bakgwatlheng and
Barolong, Okihiro claims, in two major groups. Bangologa. The latter group which has had little
Around 1450 AD a group of Bakgwatlheng broke contact with Bakwena and other Batswana has
away from Barolong. This group moved into what fragmented into Baehadu, Bathaga and Bapebana
is now Botswana and settled in the neighbourhood although these groups till regard themselves as
of Molepolole around 1500 AU. Some hundred Bangologa, This apparent lack of unity is obvious
years or so after the first split, Okihiro further in the lack of a collective name by which the va-
. claims, the ancestors of Babolaongwe/Bangologa rious groups of Bakgalagadi identify themselves as
also broke away from Barolong and followed the a group. In this paper they are, for convenience,
Molopo river westwards. 7 I collectively referred to as Bakgalagadi, a name
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

Linguistic evidence suggests that Bakgalagadi given to them by the Setswana-speakers. 14

are not Tswana-speaking although, like Setswana,
their language belongs to the Sotho group of lang- Early Contact Between Bakwena and Bakgalagadi
uages. Southern African linguists such as D.T. and Incorporation of the Latter into the
Cole, C.M. Doke and D.T. Van der Merwe have Kwena Society
classified Sekgalagadi as a separate member of the Bakwena's SUbjugation of Bakgalagadi started
Sotho language family.s Malcolm Guthrie is the when Bakgalagadi and Bakwena groups first met
only linguist who has classified Sekgalagadi as a sometime around 1640 AD. However it appears
dialect of Setswana. 9 In 1944, van der Merwe that before 1800 Bakwena simply conquered
collected linguistic data among groups of Bakgala- Bnkgalagadi, probably to gain control of some of
gadi and from his analysis concluded that Sekgala- their land, after which Bakgalagadi were probably
gadi was not a dialect of Setswana. Since then O.E. made subjects and compelled to pay tribute.
Westphal has done further linguistic research During this period even inter-marriages appear to
among groups of Bakgalagadi and he confirmed have taken place between the two groupS.15 Oral
that Sekgalagadi is a separate member of the Sotho narratives however indicate that wars always
linguistic family.1O Further, Patrick Dickens has preceded this subjugation and reduction of Bak-
also observed t,hat the vowel system in Sekgalagadi galagadi into the status of tribute paying vassals. A
is quite distinct from that in Setswana. II Thus there Ngwaketse king, Mongala, for example, was killed
is plenty of linguistic evidence that disproves in a war with Bakgwatlheng. 16 Many of my infor-
Guthrie's classification. mants at Molepolole and Letlhakeng confirmed
This new linguistic evidence negates Okihiro's that when Bakgalagadi and Bakwena first met they
thesis that Bakgalagadi are an offshoot of usually fought and in almost all cases the Bakwena
Barolong. The oral data he collected from Bakgala- emerged victorious. 17 This could be due to the fact
gadi may have led him to that conclusion. But he that Bakgalagadi did not have a well co-ordinated
failed to realise that as people who had been military organisation due to the weak political
reduced to a servile status and exposed to inhuman organisation of their societies. Another factor, and
treatment, his informants could easily have tried to perhaps more important, that could have contri-
conceal this by claiming common origin with a buted to their subjugation is that generally Bakga-
,Tswana group. lagadi lived in small groups and therefore whenever
During the early 1900s, for example, Motshoge, a they had a military confrontation with Bakwena
Mongologa headman at Tshane, claimed that they were numerically at a disadvantage. The

20
 Botswana Notes and Records Volume 18

census figures of as late as 1941 show that Bakga- By coincidence, it was at this time that some
lagadi in Kweneng were numerically too few to Bakgalagadi who initially had fled to Letlhakeng to
raise an army which could resist the Bakwena forces get away from Moruakgomo's rule sent a gift of
even if, which they did not do, they had pulled their ivory to him which was intended to appease him.
resources together. However, instead of appeasing, the gift from the
According to a census return in 1941, return of Bakgalagadi opened Moruakgomo's eyes to the
languages spoken in Kweneng, there were about 33 source of goods which he needed for trade. The gift
000 Setswana speakers including some Bakgala- must have also signified acceptance of defeat.
gadi, and about 4000 Sekgalagadi speakers. IS This Moruakgomo forced 'his' Bakgalagadi go into the
demonstrates that those who identified themselves desert and find him ivory and other trade items. It
as Bakgalagadi constituted only about 12 per cent would seem during this period Bakgalagadi, though
of Setswana-speaking peoples the majority of probably regarded as lower in social status than all
whom were obviously Bakwena. The 12 per cent Bakwena, were still treated as tributary subjects
must have been Bakgalagadi who formerly, or still, who were legally only required to render a propor-
belonged to the tenant-farmer category. However, tion of their surplus produce to Bakwena in the
this proportion does not include all Bakgalagadi form of tribute.
who were under Kwena sovereignty before 1899. The groups of Bakgalagadi who were ordered by
For example, it is likely that the census may have Moruakgomo to go into the desert took that as a
excluded B~kgalagadi at Kang from the Kweneng chance to re-establish themselves independently.
statistics since the demarcation of the Bakwena Some Bakgwatlheng, for example, went into the
Reserve in 1899 excluded Kang from the Reserve Ngwaketse country. Meanwhile the Makololo, led
(see map). The aforesaid census figures, however by Sebetwane, arrived at Dithejwane around 1824
illustrate that Bakgalagadi were a minority which and drove Moruakgomo and his followers into the
was bound to lose a military confrontation with the desert where they wandered in small groups before
numerically superior Bakwena. Okihiro records they reunited under Bubi, Moruakgomo's success-
that when Bakwena under Motswasele I came to or, around 1826. 21
Dithejwane around 1640 AD, Bakgwatlheng were During this period of Bakwena's wandering in
able to resist Bakwena forces. But Motswasele's the desert, most of Bakgalagadi groups were
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

. son, Seitlhamo, later fought against Bakgwatlheng, probably wandereing in the desert independently of
defeated and settled with them at Dithejwane. the Bakwena. The tributary status of Bakgalagadi
Okihiro thinks that during this period a large was revived and transformed into bolata (slavery)
percentage of Bakgwatlheng was absorbed into the during the reign of Sechele IY Around 1831,
Bakwena society through inter-marriages. 19 The Sechele I became the king of a faction of Bakwena
turn of the nineteenth century saw a new phase, in that had been under Segokotlo and MoIese. His
Kweneng history, which had a tremendous impact immediate objective was to reunite the Bakwena.
on the Bakwena-Bakgalagadi relationship. He, therefore, constantly attacked Bubi's faction.
During the first three decades of the nineteenth Demands of the strife between the two factions,
century mercantile capitalism which was based in added to the requirements of the mercantile
the Cape encroached into Kweneng introducing capitalism, soon turned their attention to the value
new COnsumer goods to be exchanged with the of the desert products because "the outcome of
primary products of Kweneng. The products that this strife (sic) depended not only on pitched battle
. the mercantile capitalists required were obtainable but it also rested on the ability of the two factions to
from the desert. The Bakwena kings, Sechele (c. attract adherents to swell their population. It was
1831-1897) in particular, intensified the process of this competition for survival that led Bubi and
subjugation which reduced Bakgalagadi to slaves Kgakge ... to turn to the desert, its people and
who could be compelled by Bakwena to produce products. '>23
trade items and everything else for them. The Consequently the Boora-Tshosa remembered
foundation of this unfortunate relationship was those they considered their subjects whom Morua-
laid by Moruakgomo as leader of one faction of kgomo has sent to find him ivory and other trade
Bakwena (Boora-Tshosa) after Motswasele II had items from the desert and started sending agents to
been assassinated around 1822. Moruakgomo and collect these items from their subjects. They
his followers moved from Sokwane to Molepolole intended to prevent Sechele I from obtaining the
and from there attacked and defeated groups of same products from Bakgalagadi but since
Bakgalagadi who had remained at Dithejwane Bakgalagadi were not settled at one place this was
When Motswasele II moved with his people to not possible. Sechele I on the other hand was
Sokwane. 20 Moruakgomo needed some trade items favoured by his settlement at Tshonwane where
such as fur-skins, ivory and ostrich feathers. He several refugee groups of the Mfecane onslaughts
then decided to exploit the labour of Bakgalagadi had sought refuge with him thus increasing the
who he has just defeated. numbers of his followers. Traders also reached his

21
 town first and exchanged their goods there, rarely they interacted with their owners. There were those
passing the Boora-Tshosa at Dithejwane. With this who lived in villages outside the Kwena capital,
favourable trade Sechele I "gained a who will here be referred to as tenant-farmer sla ves,
preponderance in guns and population .. 24 with and there were the Makgalagadi a lolwapa
which he soon defeated the Boora-Tshosa. (domestic slaves) who lived with their owners. The
Although he had achieved his immediate former category living in villages outside the capital
objective of reuniting Bakwena, Sechele I still were relatively 'independent' and free' from day to
needed to engage in mercantile capitalist trans- day harassment by Bakwena owners. Makgalagadi
actions. Furthermore, he was still threatened by the a lolwapa on the other hand were constantly at the
Boer attacks. He was also determined to preserve mercy of their owners. There were claims that some
the Bakwena state and, therefore, he still needed of the latter had remained at Dithejwane when the
guns. Thus he decided to penetrate the desert to rest of Bakgalagadi fled from Moruakgomo. 28 It is
ensure political control and SUbjugation ofBakga- possible that they had been distributed among the
lagadi as the only way of engeuring a constant royals by Moruakgomo to serve as domestic slaves.
supply of desert products which were to be But the majority had been taken away from their
exchange for guns and other European goods with parents (the tenant-farmer slaves) while they were
the white itinerant traders. still young. Most of my informants claim that one
Sechele I took precautions to control Bakgalaga- requested one's tenant-farmer slave, if one were an
di settlements within his reach in order to ensure overseer, to give him a child. That way Bakwena
their allegiance. He appointed some Bakwena, overseers accumulated Makgalagadi a lolwapa.
mostly royals, to oversee different areas occupied Ward members of an overseer, especially his close
by Bakgalagadi (see the attached map); for exam- relatives, got Makgalagadi a lolwapa from him.
ple, Mhiko was put in charge ofLephephe while the Oral evidence also indicates that sometimes
king's brother., Kgosidintsi, was put in charge of children were forcibly taken from their parents to
Bakgalagadi groups at LetIhakeng. 25 This was also be made Makgalagadi a lolwapa,29 a practice which
to ensure that Bakgalagadi produced the desert was also common among other Batswana groups.
goods and handed over all the surplus produce to In 1887 A.J. Woo key, for example, observed that
their owners. Other Molepolole ward heads were Barolong took children from Bakgalagadi by force.
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

also appointed as overseers of Bakgalagadi. These He reported that a few days before he reached
included heads of the Kgosing ward, NtIoedibe Lehututu,
ward, Tshosa, Mokgalo and DifetIhamolelo ... a party of Barolong (sic) who are living
wards. 26 Overseers eventually became owners of at Kanye with Gaseitsewe, took a girl of
Bakgalagadi who virtually became slaves under some ten or twelve years old by force from
Sechele's rule. her mother there, and against her
Some Bakgalagadi groups tried to a void ensla ve- mother's cries and tears carried her to
ment by Bakwena. Between c.1830 and c.1850 Kanye. Boys and girls were carried off in
Bashaga and Babolaongwe, for instance, avoided this way constantly, so I was told and
this oppresion and exploitation by moving into the compelled to work under often times
more inaccessible parts of the desert. the most cruel treatment. 3D
Bashaga, wandered as far as Mabuasehube (see It also seems that occasionally Bakwena bought
the attached map). Around 1852 they were people, especially Basarwa to use them as Makga-
however, forced by the harsh desert conditions to lagadi a lolwapa. Evidence relating to this has been
come back to areas within reach of Bakwena. recorded by Wookey,
During this second encounter with Bakwena some ... a Morolong living at Lehututu had
of the Bakgalagadi royals tried to resist enslave- given a Bushman to a Mokwena from
ment. One famous example of such resistance was Sechele's last year. He sent a message
that of a Mbolaongwe royal called Bokheme. After by my men that payment in cow was to be
being summoned by Sechele, Bokheme insisted that sent at once as he had not yet received
his status did not allow him to go to Sechele. He anything for him.ll
suggested that ifSechele wanted to talk to him then Thus Bakwena, like other Batswana of the same
it was Sechele who had to go to him. Sechele who period, regarded other human beings, Bakgalagadi
saw nothing in this but insubordination and in the Kweneng case, as chattels with no feelings.
defiance sent an army (regiment) to kill Bokheme, Indeed they, like typical slave societies, used
after which he subjugated his Babolaongwe Basarwa, and probably Bakgalagadi, as commodi-
followers. 27 ties of economic transaction as the foregoing
During c.1831 to c.1900. a period which was cha- quotation illustrates. The quotation preceding the
racterised by the degeneration of Bakgalagadi foregoing also demonstrates that the cries of a
treatment in Kweneng, the Bakgalagadi can be Mokgalagadi woman whose child was being
divided into two categories depending on how often forcibly taken away, was as far as a Motswana was

22
 Botswana Notes and Records Volume 18

concerned, not different from the cries of a goat have consisted only of the first two classes, that of
being slaughtered. the royals, consisting of the king and his close
Some Bakwena claim that Makgalagadi a lolwapa relatives, and that of commoners consisting of
were also obtainable through 'voluntary' attach- 'other members, of the society. Production of
ment of Bakgalagadi destitutes to well-to-do material needs was mainly the responsility of the
Bakwena. But when one considers the way members of the commoner class. Members of the
Bakwena treated Bakgalagadi, 'voluntary' attach- royal class were to a larger extent non-producers,
ment becomes unthinkable. If a Mokgalagadi and their material needs were satisfied through the
attached himself 'voluntarily' he would have done expropriation of a proportion of the surplus
so only as an alternative to starving to death. produce which the members of the commoner class
The status of Mokgalagadi lI'a lolll'apa. and also had to surrender to them,
that of tenant-farmer slave, soon became heredi- The proportion of the surplus-produce was
tary. Wives of Makgalagadi a lolll'apa automa- extracted from the producers in different ways. As
tically became Makgalagadi a lohrapa of their pointed out earlier, the king was entitled to tribute.
husband's owners. Children of Makgalagadi a Headmen also got tribute from their subjects and
lolll'apa inherited their parents' position of being the process continued down the social hierarchy.
the property of their parents' owner. And when a There was a Mafisa (leased cattle) system in which
man passed away his Makgalagadi a lolll'apa many commoners herded cattle for the king,
became part of the estate that his children inherited. 'headmen and other prominent members of the
If a slave owner's daughter got married he could society. Members of the commoner class could also
give her some of his slaves to go and work for her in be called upon to perform certain manual duties for
the same way as he could give her some livestock. the king and other royals. It is thus quite clear that
And usually during wars between the Tswana members of the lower stratum of the Kwena socIety,
groups Bakgalagadi were made part of the booty. like those of other feudal societies, were traditio-
This further demonstrates how Bakgalagadi passed nally subjected to exploitation. A policy that is
from one owner to another without caring about inherently exploitative of its own members or
their feelings. Hence a Mokgalagadi's fate together alien ethnicities that have been defeated as chattels
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

with that of his children became the prerogative of whose purpose in life is to satisfy the economic
their owner. needs of that polity. This became the fate of Bakga-
lagadi in K weneng with effect from the beginning of
Structure of the 19th Century Kwena SOCiety Sechele's rule in c.IS31.

An examination of the structure of the nineteenth

century Kwena society in which slavery operated
Position of Bakgalagadi within the Kwena Society
will bring forth the plight of the dehumanised
Bakgalagadi. Like other Tswana societies, the
nineteenth century Kwena society was structurally Bakgalagadi in Nineteenth Century Kweneng
feudalist. The main factors of production in the give a typical example of Hobbes' slave, that is, the
Kwena society were labour and land. But unlike in "vanquished who gives his obedience to the victor
Twelveth Century Europe where land was used in in exchange of his life."34 As mentioned above the
arable farming, in Tswana societies it was largely inherently exploitative Kwena society viewed a
used as an asset in animal husbandary. Members of Mokgalagadi as a chattel whose purpose for
the ruling class, especially the king, were entitled to existence was to satisfy its economic needs. It
tribute either in the form of labour or in produce, exploited the fruits of the labour of Bakgalagadi to
from the members of the lower strata ofthesociety. the utmost possible degree. Bakgalagadi spent all
Tribute included the brisket of every big game their time producing the material requirements of
killed, one tusk of every elephant and the skin of their owners. The surplus-produce of their labour
every leopared or lion killed. The Tswana societies was expropriated by their owners. They tended
of this period were, therefd\-e, by the nature of their their owners' livestock or hunted animals that pro-
economies inherently exploitative ..... .it is through duced items which were required for trade or, in the
the structure of feudal economy that exploitation case of Makgalagadi a lolwapa. worked in the fields
takes place."32 or carried out other domestic duties for their
An examination of the economic relationship of owners. Authors such asJ, Mackenzie and T. Tlou,
the different social classes in the K wena society will and even very recent authors such as R. Hitchcock
still further clarify the plight of Bakgalagadi. the and A. Campbell, think that as long as the slaves,
Kwena society of the mid-nineteenth century con- who they refer to as vassals and clients respectively,
sisted of four classes, namely, the royals, the got something however small in relation to labour
commoners, the immigrants andmalata. 33 Initially, expended, they were not being exploited. But we
therefore, the Kwena society of the pre-ISOOs must know that,

23
 Exploitation is exploitation, whether this arrival of Batawana in the area. 41 In the Ngwato
is done in a scheme of so called reciproca- area too the slaves could manage life better without
ted services of a lopsided king, so long as their owners. Mackenzie's observation of the 1860s
the services are unequal in terms of the depicts this situation vividly;
socially necessary labour expended in the It has been found impossible by
process they constitute unequal exchange, Bangwato to stop this contraband trade.
that is exploitation. 3s They began with severity and put some
The main argument by those who think that of their vassals to death for daring to sell
rna/ala were not exploited is that some rnalata what belonged to their masters. But they
'voluntarily' attached themselves to some well-to- found that severity did not answer their
do-person. Leo Huberman corrects this view by purpose so the masters are now ... compe-
clarifying that slaves/serfs often had security, so titors with European traders and hunters
free people who had been pauperised to such a for the purchase of ivory and feathers
degree that they were neither assured of food or from their own vassals. 42
shelter would offer themselves to some lord as Thus the allegation that bolata was mutually bene-
serfs/slaves hoping to get the minimum means of ficial to the pa rties involved can only be the result of
survival. In Huberman's assessment, a free man ignorance or superficial analysis on the part of
"offered himself a rope around his neck and a authors.
penny on his head."36 The lord, or owner in the case Bakgalagadi, slaves of Bakwena in the Nine-
of slavery, then gained control of the main element teenth Century, can be divided into two categories,
of social being which is labour. Whoever the paupe- as indicated earlier. The categories being that of
rised 'voluntary' attached himself to would tenant-farmer/slaves and that of Makgalagadi a
invariably control the amount of labour expended· lolwapa. The difference in the degree of exploita-
by the self-attached. He would decide how much of tion resulted from the residence of the lelata (slave)
that labour to extract at any given time. And would and therefore access to him by the owner rather
also decide what to give back in exchange for the than the nature of the mode of production. Makga-
labour expended, what Mackenzie and others call lagadi a lolwapa under strict and close supervision
of their owners apparently worked round the clock
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

benefit for the labourer. In a feudal or asiatic mode

of production the producer would be allowed to while the other category without 'slave drivers'
retain a proportion of what he had produced. could steal some time and 'rest'. Besides, the latter
Slavery in Kweneng, and in Botswana in general, groups could evade complete exploitation by hiding
is a clear case of not only a lopsided deal but of a a bit of what they had produced from their owners
slave mode of appropriation of the surplus product. while the former had no such chance at all. The
A Mokwena expropriated all the surplus-produce majority of Bakgalagadi, including those of their
and fed a Mokgalagadi basically not because he own ruling class, belonged to the category of
wanted a Mokgalagadi to survive but because he tenant-farmer/slaves, rather than like the Bayei in
wanted that Mokgalagadi to produce the labour the Tawana state of the same period. 41
that he needed. 37 To Hindess and Hirst feeding a Evidence from K weneng contradicts the thesis
slave. or one who 'voluntarily' attaches himself, is that "The household 'slaves' living with their
the same as spending some money on the renewal of masters ... were less separated as a stratum than the
fixed capital or spending on the recurrent costs of tenant-farmer 'sla ves' who were settled in villages
capital goods. So, allowing Bakgalagadi to use the apart and had only an impersonal and distant
milk of the cattle which they herded was a form of relationship with their owners."44 In Kweneng all
capital investment as in machines or animals.J~ Bakgalagadi were essentially producers who had to
Bakgalagadi would have been better off socially, surrender all their surplus produce to their owner.
economically and otherwise if their society had not Secondly, Bakwena saw Bakgalagadi as one ethnic
been 'disrupted by Bakwena. As we have seen group so to them whether the sla ve had a day to day
Bakwena and other Batswana were very dependent or irregular contact with his owner did not make a
on the labour of Bakgalagadi than the latter were difference. Thus Bakwena treated all Bakgalagadi
dependent on the former. Okihiro has, for the same way. For example, from about the 1830s
example, noted that although before contact with to about 1900, inter-marriage with all Bakgalagadi
Bakwena, Babolaongwe and Bashaga were mainly was taboo. Whether Mokgalagadi interacted daily
dependent on hunting and gathering, they also kept with his owner or had impersonal distant
small stock and cultivated gardens. And that relationship with his owner he slept at the back of
Bakgwatlheng were primarily arable farmers. 39 his owner's house, and he ate only after his master
Many of my interviewees emphasised that had eaten.
Bakgalagadi were great herders of small stock The way Bakwena treated Bakgalagadi,
especially goats.40 In Ngamiland Bakgalagadi particularly before the 1900s, provides a good
reared goats and cultivated sorghum before the example of a case where a human being was

24
 Botswana Notes and Records Volume 18

rendered "a contradictory being, a human subject anything belonging to their servants and to require
and a legal non-subject."45 Bakwena exploited their servants to provide whatever service they
Bakgalagadi socially and economically to satisfy required. "50 that a minor offence such as showing
their own needs. While, for instance, a Mokgala- some reluctance to surrender all the surplus
gadi young man would be flogged for showing the produce could be avenged with a deadly javelin
slightest interest in a Mokwena girl, a Mokwena demonstrates clearly that Bakwena did not regard
young man who impregnated a Mokgalagadi girl Bakgalagadi as human beings.
would only be scolded for contaminating the The production relations between Bakwena and
Bakwena morale ('tribe'), otherwise it was said"O Bflkgalagadi, especially Mak!{a/agadi a /o/wapa, is
ne aja mmul/a wa ntia ya ga rraagwe" (he was eating typical of production relations in a slave mode of
the hare killed by his father's dogfi There was no production where there are producers and non-
redress or apology to the girl's parents. While the producers. Asia ve owner is not involved in
Kwena society was rather indifferent to sexual producing his material needs at all. Production is
relationship between Bakwena men and Bakgala- done solely by the sJa ve. Makgalagadi a /o/wapa in
gadi women as the above 'proverb' illustrates, con- the Kwena slave society, for example, did all the
tracted marital relationships between the two domestic work for their owners at the lands and the
groups were strictly prohibited. So a Mokgalagadi homes. If a Mokga/agadi lI'a lolll'apa happened to
was a human being if that was to the advantage of a go to the mines, like a "son" he was supposed to
Mokwena; otherwise at best the Mokgalagadi was bring back what he had accum ula ted to his "father"
an animal. who would take what he pleased and give him the
Bakgalagadi were not regarded by the wider rest.' I This category of Bakgalagadi was comple-
Kwena society as entitled to any social develop- tely at the mercy of the ma/ala owners. They
ments. When, for instance, it became common were ofte!} addressed by their owners as' ngwanaka'
practice to send children to school in the 1850s,47 (mv child) yet they were never treated like one's
Bakwena never sent children of their Makgalagadi a children.
lolwapa to school since these had to take their posi- The tenant-farmer slaves were economically
tion as domestic slaves from an early age. The exploited in two ways. Firstly, through the
tenant-farmer/slaves were of course, living far extraction of their labour, and secondly, by con-
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

away so they could not send their children to fiscating their property, particularly prior to the
schools which were always located in Kwena 1880s. The tenant-farmer slaves did not only
capitals. prod uce trade items but they were also often used as
Prohibition of Bakgalagadi from ownership of porters to transport these items to the capital town
property or keeping any proportion of their sur- of the Bakwena. 52 They also herded cattle for
plus produce typifies Bakwena-Bakgalagadi econo- Bakwena. Indeed tenant-farmer slaves could use
mic relationship as a slave mode of production. In the milk. but they could only eat the meat of the
order to ensure maximum economic exploitation of animals that had died and that of wild animals they
Bakgalagadi. Sechele I had legislated against had to hunt for skins. Tenant-farmer slaves were
ownership of property by Bakgalagadi, and this law often expected to make bi{tong for their owners,
was enforced until the late 1880s. in 1887, A.J. especially if they had been given guns. Thusmalala
Wookey observed that Bakgalagadi, particularly produced al1 the material needs of their owners.
Makgalagadi a loll1'apa, "have no property of their The tenant-farmer sla ves eventually discovered a
own which is not at the absolute disposal of their way of manipulating the system so that they could
masters."4H This law applied equally to all share the fruits of their labour with their owners.
Bakgalagadi, tenant-farmer/slaves as well as However, this must have been done mainly by those
Makga/agadi a loll1'apa as Robert Moffat observed: Bakgalagadi who lived in very remote parts of
They are never allowed to keep cattle and Western Kweneng who probably were not so
are exposed to the caprice, cupidity and frequently visited by their owners. They usually hid
tyranny of their town lords, ... and when some trade items from their owners. It would seem
they have a more than usual supply, they they sta rted this practice sometime in the I 860s.
will bury it in the earth, from their Okihiro noted that through this practice some
superiors who are in the habit of taking Babolaongwe traders in particular, managed to
what they please. Resistance on their part open up long distance trade with the people of the
would be instantly avenged with the Boteti area. They exchanged their furs and ostrich
deadly javelin. feathers for items such as iron hoes and tobacco.
Referring particularly to Bakgalagadi in According to Okihiro these Bakgaladi traders
KWeneng, Okihiro noted that "until about 1885 cheated their fellow Bakgalagadi in K weneng.
When Sebele I formerly released all batlhanka. the Okihiro says they exchanged each of their
Bakgwatlheng, Babolaongwe and Bashaga had no .'skins for a block of crushed tobacco (about
property rights: Bakwena were free to confiscate 2200 cc) in Boteti and back at home they normall}

25
 purchased those skins for about 8 cc worth of Bakwena, and were joined later by other groups.
tobacco. \1 This Boteti trade had two major conse- Thus the independence, political and economic, of
quences for Bakgalagadi. Firstly it enabled them to Bakgalagadi in Kweneng had been completely
appropriate some of the valuable trade items and, eroded.
secondly, the iron hoes brought in from the north
enabled Bakgalagadi, especially Babolaongwe and Efforts to end Bolata in Kweneng
Bashaga who had prior to c.1860 depended mainly
on hunting, to re-channel some of their efforts into Smce the early days of the Protectorate the colonial
cultivation of crops such as beans and melons government had shown interest in taking action
which grew well in their region. When 'legitimate" against slavery in Bechuanaland, but it was only
trade started between Bakgalagadi and Bakwena in during the early 1900s that concrete steps were
the early 1890s, after Bakgalagadi had been taken by the Colonial administration 'in that
officially allowed to own property, g;ain became direction. However, signs of improvement had
the mainstay of the diet of Bakgalagadi. started showing in the late 1880s. Around 1887
Bakgalagadi as chattels in the K wena society Sebele I decreed that Bakgalagadi could own
were denied franchise and Sekwena law created property. In 1892 he further forbade overseers
contradictory human beings in them. They could from collecting tribute and made tribute the king's
not have recourse to the law or the K wena ~tate even monopoly. Later Bakgalagadi were only required
if they had just survived the deadly javelin yet they to pay hut tax instead of tribute. 57 The legislative
were legally respon~iblc for their action~. In the decrees did not change things overnight. Kgari,
1860s, for instance, a Mokgalagadi who had Sebele's brother, for example, complained to the
allegedly stolen, wa~ inhumanly tortured by Sechele colonial administration about being deprived of
I, and only killed when Rodger Price asked Sechele tribute. In 1920 the High Commissioner, visiting
to kill the man instead of letting him lie there the Protectorate, announced that the Government
groaning. \~ would not allow anyone to demand services from
Sechele's laws did not only deny Bakgalagadi another. And by the Native Administrative
franchise in matters affecting them, but also Proclamation of 1934 the Colonial government
'national' interests. The same laws also initiated the made 'compulsory payment of tribute illegal. 58
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

erosion of Bakgalagadi rulers' political powers. Kgari challenged the Colonial administration by
Having appointed overseers, Sechele gave them the announcing in 1934 that "he was entitled to all
a uthority to listen to cases that had been tried by the leopard and lion skins and that anyone found
local Bakgalagadi rulers and alter the sentence as selling them would be punished. 59 By 1935 Kgari
the authority of a Mokgalagadi ruler over his still insisted that lion and leopard skins be given to
people, In practice melted away with the him but he did not succeed because these skins were
appointment of a Mokwena overseer. This process smuggled out of the district, and without the
was completed when Bakwena were finally sent to backing of the Colonial administration his
Kgalagadi villages to act as resident headmen. The demands could not be fulfilled. Slavery was being
first such Mokwena was sent to Tsetseng around replaced by the new mode of production.
1910.51 Thereafter Bakwena 'headmen' were sent in Capitalism was gradually encroaching into the Pro-
increasing numbers to various Kgalagadi villages so tectorate and making it difficult for people like
that by the time Kgari came to power around 1933 Kgari to perpetuate slavery.
most of Bakgalagadi were already under the Socially too, Bakgalagadi were gradually
headmanship of Bakwena.;6 beginning to be accepted by some Bakwena as
Boiata in Kweneng did not only affect political "people". A number of my informants said that
and social institutions of Bakgalagadi, it also 'intermarriages between Bakwena and Bakgalagadi
transformed their economy into a completely started around 1930 though on a limited scale. 60
dependent one. In fact it incorporated it into the This change of attitude by Bakwena towards
Kwena economy. Before contact with Bakwena the Bakgalagadi was also observed by the Resident
Bakgalagadi had an independent subsistence Magistrate in 1935. He noted that;
economy based largely on hunting, gathering and The Mokgalagadi is being rapidly absorbed by
on small livestock. After the 1880s when Bakgala- the Mokwena element and today it is being
gadi were theoretically free from Bakwena more and more difficult to distinguish be-
economic exploitation, their economy was tween the two. Intermarriage is an accepted
dominated by agricultural production, but their fact and it occurs throughout the Reserve. hl
arable farming did not produce enough grain to One has no reason to doubt whether in fact inter-
meet their needs because of the low productivity of rna rriage was an accepted fact. After all Bakgala-
the desert soil. Therefore Bakgalagadi had to gadi men worked at the mines like Bakwena men
purchase additional grain from Molepolole. and they "brought back money"h c which they were
Babolaongwe took the lead in the trade with no longer legally bound to give to their "fathers".

26
 Botswana Notes and Records Volume i8

So since working at the mines was ironically viewed other question is whether malata, especially of the
as a source of wealth, Bakwena must have domestic slave category, developed any class
associated mine workers with wealth. And this consciousness as the oppressed in the midst of the
must have facilitated sporadic marriages between Kwena society, and as the producers who could
Bakwena and Bakgalagadi. However, social own nothing. Miers and Kopytoff think that "in'
mobility for Bakgalagadi within the Kwena social general the more a group resembles a stratum, the
hierachy seems to have remained impossible until more likely it is to be conscious of itself; this in turn
perhaps after independence. can lead to solidarity and consequently to the
possibility of concerted actions".65 One suspects
that Bakgalagadi might have recognised their
Conclusion common plight, although we have no concrete
evidence of joint effort on their part to liberate
The evidence from Kweneng has falsified the notion themselves. However, only further research can
that bolata was mutually beneficial to both parties. provide answers to these questions.
It has demonstrated beyond doubt that the
relationship was responsible for the pauperisation
of Bakgalagadi. It is true that Bakwena often gave
fOOTNOTES
their malu,ta certain items such as dogs and traps,
but these must be regarded as necessary hunting
1. B. Hinders and P. Hirst, Pre-capitalist Modes
"tools" needed by anyone required to produce
of Production (London: Routledge and Kegan
trade items. It is also true that malata, especially
Paul, 1977), 184.
Makgalagadi a 10ht'Opa. were dependent on their
owners for providence, but this was vital if the
2. Ibid., 110
badly needed labour was to be reproduced. What
they subsisted on was not a proportion of the
3. Ibid., 112
surplus produce, but rather an equivalent of what a
capitalist would call capital investment or
4. Ibid., 113
maintainance of equipment.
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

Kweneng data has futher demonstrated that the

5. Cited in ibid
plight of domestic slaves was not necessarily better
than that of the tenant-farmer slaves living in
6. 1. Schapera and F.D. van de Merwe, "A
secluded villages. They, like tenant-farmer slaves,
Comparative Study of Kgalagadi, Kwena and
had neither legal nor property rights. And since
other Sotho Dialects" (School of African
they were living with their owners they were more
Studies, University of Cape Town, 1943).
exposed to economic exploitation and social abuse.
The tenant-farmer slaves could have relatively been
P.L. Breutz, "An Ancient People in the
better off than domestic slaves since they could
Kalahari desert" (reprinted from Africa and
stealthily engage in contraband trade with either
Ubersee, Vol XLII, Hamburg, 1958, bd42pp.
travellers or with the people of neighbouring
49-68), map.
districts.
However, there are still some questions on bolata
A. Kuper, Kinship and Politics in a Kgalagadi
that can only be answered through further research.
Vii/age (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, University
One is whether bolata has completely died out in
of Cambridge, 1976).
Kweneng or Botswana as a whole. It is possible to
hear a Mokwena today saying "this was my
Mokgalagadi but now I ha ve to pay him
monthly. "63 One therefore, suspects that the 7. G.Y.Okihiro, Hunters. Herders. Cultivators
relationship, especially between Makgalagadi a and Traders: interaction and change in the
lolwapa and their owners, still exists except that the Kgalagadi NineteenJh CenJUlY (unpublished
Ph. D. thesis. University of California, 1976),
I.ot of the former was improved by the legal
Innovations of the late Nineteenth and early 124.
Twentieth centuries.
This may have been further improved by the 8. D.T. Cole, An Introduction to Tswana
labour laws of the present nationalist government. Grammer (Cape Town: Long C.M. Doke and
There is evidence, however, which indicates that D.T. Cole, Contributions 10 the History of
even in the present decade there are some Batswana Bantu Linguistics (Johannesburg:
who are still trying to perpetuate bolata .64 This Witwatersrand University Press, 1969),88.
strengthens the suspicion that even in K weneng the
relationship may still be covertly in existence. The I. Schapera and van de Merwe, op. cit., 3

27
 9. M. Guthrie, Comparative Bantu Studies Vol 3 19. See footnot 19, supra
(Farnborough: Cregg International, 1970),
15. 20. Okihiro,op cit., 130

In this particular volume Guthrie has .no 21. Ibid., 143

reView oT the previous studies of Bantu
languages. However in vol. 2 published in 22. MHT No. I, James Mhiko, op cit.
1971 by the same publisher, he reviews
previous studies in what he calls "Excursus MHT No. II, Ashton Keitheile; 65 years;
3". Here he has completely ignored Totem - Kwena; Ward - Kodisa; Regiment
invaluable contributions by the linguists on - Maakathata; Occupation - farmer; 03-08-
the spot, at least as regards Southern African 80.
languages, dted in footnote 12 above.
23. Okihiro, op cit., 135
10. Cited in a Kuper op cit., 2 24. Ibid., 136
II. Cited In R. Hitchcock and A. Campbell,
25. L. Knobel, "The History of Sechele", in
"Settlement Patterns of the Bakgalagadi" Botswana Notes and Records (Hereafter BNR)
(Paper presented to the Settlement (1968), 58.
Symposium, Gaborone, 1980), 2.
MHT No. II, A. Ketheile, op cit.
12. I. Schapera and F.D. van de Merwe, "Notes
on the Tribal Groupings, History and MHT No. 21, T. Ratau, op cit.
Customs of the Bakgalagadi" (Cyclostyled
Manuscript, School of African Studies, 26. MHTNo. 13, Seipato Ntloyakhumo; 79 years;
University of Cape Town, 1945), 25. Totem - Kwena; Ward - Suna; Regiment-
Maatswakgotla; Occupation - farmer;
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

13. ASSP Kit on Botswana (Nairobi: Executive 04.08.80.

Secretary, )973), illustrations 33 and 34.
MHT No. 14, Koosenye Segakisa; 79 years;
14. Molepolole Historical Texts (hereafter MHT) Totem - Kwena; Ward - Difetlhamolelo;
No.3, James Mhiko; Totem - Kwena; Regiment - Maatswakgotla; Occupation -
Regiment - Malatakgosi; Ward - Difetlha- farmer; 04.08.80.
molelo; Age - 74; Occupation - Ward head;
Education level - Native Primary Lower; 27. LHT No. 22, Ponego Mazwemabe; 74 years;
30.07.80. Totem - Tlou; Ward - Shageng; Regiment
- Malatakgosi; Occupation - farmer;
MHT No.4, Alina Moatshe, 79 years; Ward 09.08.80.
- Bobididi; Totem - Mhele; Regiment -
Malatakgosi; 31.07.80. MHT No. 19, Ratlou Sebetlela; 78 years;
Totem - Kubu; Ward - Mollale; Regiment
15. Okihiro, op. cit., 130 - Maatswakgotla; Occupation - farmer;
06.08.80.
16. Botswana Nation'al Archives (hereafterBNA)
BNB 1458, "Ethnographic Texts In the MHT No. 18, Mmolotsantwa Kedumetswe,
Boloongwe Dialect of Sekgalagadi", 160. 75 years; Ward - Totem- Tau; Regiment-
Malatakgosi; Occupation - none (blind);
17. Letlhakeng Historical Texts (hereafter LHT) 06.08.80.
No. 21, Tlhose Ratau, 85 years; Totem -
Nare; Ward - Puleng; Regiment - 28. LHT No. 23, E.G. Reokwaeng; 63 years;
Mathubantwa; Occupation - farmer; Totem - Tlou; Ward - Moiphisi; Regiment
09.08.80. - Maakathata; Ed; Junior Certificate; Occu-
pation - trader (MP): 09.08.80.
MHT No. I, James Mhiko, op. cit., 29.07.80
29. MHT No.2, Athor Pheto; 66 years; Totem-
18. BNA S. 8717, Census in the Bechuanaland Tlou Regiment - Matlhaselwa; Ward -
Protectorate 1941: Return fOT ..Languages Bokaa; ED; j.c.; Occupation - farmer;
spoken in K weneng District. 30.07.80.

28
 Botswana Notes and Records Volume 18

30. BNA. HC 153/1, High Commissionor for years; Totem - Kwena; Ward-Kodisa;
South Africa: A. Wookey's report on slavery Regiment - Matlhaselwa; Occupation -
in Bechuanaland to the Administrator British General Duty Assist. Hospital; ED: Std. 5;
Bechuanaland, Molepolole, 21st June, 1887. 01.08.80.

31. Ibid 47. P. Chakalisa, "The Development and Impact

of Western Education in Kweneng 1846-
1970" (History Seminar paper, University
32. Hindess and Hirst, op. cit., 233 College of Botswana, 19th Feb. 1981), 2.

33. Schapera. A Handbook. 31 48. BNA HC. 153/1

34. See footnote 9, supra 49. R. Moffat, Missionary Labours and Scenes in
Southern Africa (London: John Stow, 1842),
35. K.K. Prah. Essays on African Societ), and 9.
History (Accra: Ghana University Press,
1976).45. 50. Okihiro, op.cit., 137

36. L. Huberman. Man's Worldly Goods 51. MHT No.4, Alina Moatshe, op. cit.
(Bombay: New Age Printing Press. 1953). 5.
52. LHT No. 24, T. Mosobori; 60 years; Totem-
37. When this paper was discussed in a seminar B. Nare; Ward - Puleng; Regiment- Matlama;
Mokopakgosi gave a parallel of this type of Occupation - Church leader; 09.08.80.
treatment of human beings with the situation
in the Ngwaketse District where he said some LHT NO. 21, T. Ratau, op. cit.
Bangwaketse had balata who were fed in the
same way as people feed their dogs. 53. Okihiro, op. cit., 162
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

38. Hindess and Hirst, op. cit., 127 54. L. Knobel, op. cit., 58

39. Okihiro.op. cit., 157 55. MHT No. 32, Selebatso Masimega; 65 years;
Totem - Kwena; Ward - Tshosa; Regiment
40. MHT No.6, Beleme; 68 years; Totem - - Matlhaselwa; Occupation - farmer; ED:
Kwena; Ward - Difetlhamolelo; Regiment Std. 6; 12.08.80.
- Matlhaselwa; ED: Std. 6; 01.08.80.
56. MHT No.3, James Mhiko, op. cit.
41. T. Tlou. "Servility and Political Control: MHT No. 32, Selebatso Masimega, op. cit.
Botlhanka among Batawana of Northern
Botswana", in Miers and Kopytoff (eds), 57. O. Schapera, Tribal Innovators (London: The
Slavery in Africa Madison: University of Athlone Press, 1970), 90.
Wisconsin Press, 1977), 120.
58. Ibid., 91
42. J. Mackenzie, Ten Years North of the Oranf[e
River 1859-1869 (London: Frank Cass, 1971), 59. Ibid" 207
129.
60. LHT No. 23 E.G. Reokwaeng, op. cit.
43. Cited in J. Miers and S. Kopytoff, "Slavery as MHT No. 15, Kukubi Moleti; 79 years; Totem
an Institution of Marginality", in Miers and - Phiri; Ward - Moatlhodi; Regiment-
Kopytoff (eds), op. cit., 45. Maatswakgosi; Occupation - farmer;
04.08.80.
44. Miers and Kopytoff, "Slavery as an 61. BNA S. 447/6, Position of Masarwa and
Institution of Marginality" in Miers and Makgalagadi in Bakwena Reserve, Resident
Kopytoff (eds), op. cit., 35 Magistrate to Government Secretary,
Mafikeng, Molepolole, December, 1935.
45. See footnote 7, supra
62. M. Leepile, "The Impact of Migrant Labour
46. MHT No.4 Alina Moatshe, op. cit. on the Economy of K weneng 1940-1980"
(History Seminar Paper, University College of
MHT No.8, Letsiababa Potongwana; 65 Botswana, 29th January 1981), 8.

29
 63. During my interviews a number of my 64. Botswana Daily News, No. 203 (October 23,
informants said this pointing to a 1980), l.
Mokgalagadi who was apparently working
for them. One of them, Ratlou Sebetlela even 65. Miers and Kopytoff, "Slavery as an
said this pointing to a small hut which he said Institution of Marginality", In Miers and
they still use when they visit him. Kopytoff (eds), op. cit., 43.
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

30
 Map of Kweneng sho~ing Bakgalagadi Settlements in relation to District Capital
....

•
o SO 100 Km

CE:5J
(S'I~~
KUTSE GAME ·Soje'956.'· "

..
, Tsetseng 229
, Boatlaname •
~~,
,, "'. . 678
Kang· , '::/ ,935
"
:? ' \'"
I'h.dum'I~~~'-" ~
w
..... Tswaanea _. - . Takatok /,'
- ...... wane
~-~-.. 430., \
•~ . Motakwe 704 ' DutIwe 653' - - .. 561 "\
"'~,Maboane 1069 ,~ILetlhakeng 1684 ,
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

- ~-i;ShegW~n~;'l\.' ?-l
.-. -- 7
~-
.b:!
<:l
<::
LEGEND \ ~"~_/' ) ~
E:
• District capital ~
~
• village inhabited mainly by Bakgalagadi 1::1
E:.
main road ~
II>

_~ river
8
it
'"
- - .... secondary road
• Mabuasehube
234 population (1971 census)
iII>
.....
00