Botswana. The Insider's Guide, by Ian Michler

Botswana. The Insider's Guide, by Ian Michler.

Botswana. The Insider's Guide by Ian Michler is a thorough contemporary guide, full of useful information, travel advice and interesting anecdotes.

Ian Michler  

Village life and the kgotla

In the post, with the exception of the semi-nomadic Bushmen, most other groups lived pastoral lifestyles in permanent settlements. Traditionally, these villages were located (for defensive reasons in hilly regions, or around reliable water sources where grazing conditions were best. Homesteads, which consisted of circular huts, built with reeds or mud, had grass roofs and were usually surrounded by a pole or reed fence. Communal eating places and smaller huts built for storage purposes were situated in the centre of the village. Every family was entitled to land, where agricultural fields were planted, and a cattle post for keeping livestock. The village heads or chiefs [kgosi] were responsible for looking after the affairs of the community. The kgotla, or traditional meeting place, was the most significant spot within any village. Recognised by all as a place of respect, it was always to be found in the middle of the village or under the largest tree. This is where all social, judicial and political affairs of the community were discussed and dealt with. Today, while most of the homesteads in the rural villages are built using modern fabricated materials of some sort, the kgotia and cattle posts remain integral to the stability of these communities.

Cattle

Cattle, and to a lesser extent goats and sheep, have always played an important social and economic role within Botswana society. Animal husbandry was central to the survival and success of most groups, other than the Basarwa and Bayei. Cattle in particular were kept, not only for food and clothing, but also as a measure of wealth. The larger their herd's size the greater the influence an individual or family had within the community. Cattle were also traditionally used as the primary means of exchange. Disputes and punishments handed down by the kgotia were settled with payments of cattle, and men paying their bogadi (bride price) would deliver cattle to the woman's family. Cattle still retain a prominent place in rural Botswana, and for many the herd remains the preferred store of wealth.

Totems

The occurrence of totems is common throughout Africa, and indeed the world. While some groups have non-animal totems, most within Botswana have animals as their group or community totem. The totem serves as a symbolic representation of a strong association with a specific animal, and with the natural world in genera . The totem is given extraordinary respect, usually because of a specific event that has occurred in a group's history, or more generally because of the nature of the interaction between the group and their particular totem animal. The Basubiya live along the waterways of the Chobe River, which has always had a large population of hippopotamus, and so this species is their totem. For the Bakwena it is the crocodile, and for the Batawana the lion.

Two more interesting associations concern the Bangwato and a community of Banoka, known as the Xaniqwee. The Bangwato totem is the duiker, a small nondescript antelope species, which is revered in their mythology for saving the life of a chief. The aardvark serves as the Xaniqwee totem, because when the group first trekked up to the Okavango region hundreds of years ago they had to cross the parched lands of the Kalahari. It was the aardvark that provided them with food, and more importantly with water that was found trapped in the animals' burrows. Out of respect, there are very specific restrictions on hunting or handling the totem animal. [...]

This is an excerpt from the book: Botswana. The Insider's Guide, by Ian Michler.

Title: Botswana
Series: The Insider's Guide
Author: Ian Michler
Struik Publishers
ISBN 1868729966 / ISBN 1-86872-996-6
Cape Town, Soth Africa 2004
Softcover, 21x25 cm, 192 pages, throughout colour photos