The peoples of South Africa

Your history didn't start with a surname. It started with a clan.

We trace the origins, totems, praise names and folk-tales of the Nguni, Sotho-Tswana, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda peoples, carried for generations around the fire and now written down before they're lost.

Popular: Alexander McKiddAntonio AlbasiniBafokengBakenbergBakgaga
384
Clans documented
14
Peoples & groups
25
In-depth articles
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All peoples and groupings →
Nguni Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, Ndebele and Hlubi: the largest language family, from KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape. Explore Nguni → Sotho-Tswana Sotho, Pedi and Tswana clans of the highveld and beyond, known by their totems (diboko). Explore Sotho-Tswana → Shangana-Tsonga Tsonga clans of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Mozambique, and the Shangaan royal lines. Explore Shangana-Tsonga → Venda Vhavenda clans with Karanga-Rozvi roots and the royal houses of Mphephu and Tshivhase. Explore Venda → Khoi and San The first peoples of Southern Africa: Khoi pastoralists and San hunter-gatherers. Explore Khoi and San →
Izithakazelo & iziduko

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Search any clan or surname to find its praises, totem, history and the people it belongs to. Or browse the full directory by letter.

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Hlongwa Cornelis Lottering Antonio Albasini Gabriel Buys Gabriel Buys, evangelist to the Banyai Doris Buys Michael Buys Coenraad de Buys Buys community Buysdorp Stephanus Hofmeyr Kranspoort

The archive

History, in depth

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History Tribute, land and the Boer state in the Soutpansberg, 1855 to 1898 From the 1850s to 1898 the Boer settlers of the Soutpansberg and the government of the South African Republic tried to turn Venda rulers… 19 Oct 2026 · 11 min read History The Soutpansberg war, 1863 to 1869 Between about 1863 and 1869 the Venda ruler Makhado and the Boers of the Soutpansberg fought a war that began inside the white community,… 19 Oct 2026 · 12 min read History The Ramabulana succession, 1864 to 1895 Twice in thirty years the Venda royal house of Ramabulana had to decide who would rule after a king’s death: in 1864, when Ramabulana… 19 Oct 2026 · 10 min read History Christian missions in Venda and the Spelonken, 1863 to 1895 Between 1863 and the early 1890s three missionary societies founded stations in the Soutpansberg: the Dutch Reformed Church in the west, the Berlin Missionary… 19 Oct 2026 · 9 min read History The Berlin Mission in Venda, 1872 to 1908 The Berlin Missionary Society worked among the Vhavenda from 1872 to well into the twentieth century. Its first converts were not made by the… 19 Oct 2026 · 11 min read History The Venda succession wars of the 1880s In the 1880s three Venda territories fought over who should rule: Tsianda (1881 to 1885), Lwamondo (1883) and, longest of all, Dzimauli, the Rambuda… 19 Oct 2026 · 9 min read
News & articles

Culture, in depth

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Uncategorized What are izithakazelo, and why do they matter? If you have ever been at a South African wedding, funeral or family gathering and heard someone greeted not by their name but by… 27 Sep 2026 · 4 min read Uncategorized Clan name, surname, praise name, totem: the difference People often use “clan name”, “surname”, “praise name” and “totem” as if they mean the same thing. In South African tradition they do not.… 27 Sep 2026 · 4 min read home page When clan praises are used: lobola, weddings, funerals Clan praises are not museum pieces. They are used, out loud, at almost every important family occasion in South Africa. Here is when and… 16 Sep 2026 · 4 min read
Family trees

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Add your ancestors, tag each branch with its clan, and share the tree with family. Living relatives are protected by default and nothing is public until you say so.

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A lot of this history still lives only in rondavels and in people's memories. If you know a clan praise, totem or story passed down around the fire, we want to add it, properly verified and credited to you.

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