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.
- 384
- Clans documented
- 14
- Peoples & groups
- 25
- In-depth articles
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Explore by people
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
Trace your clan name
Search any clan or surname to find its praises, totem, history and the people it belongs to. Or browse the full directory by letter.
Open the clan directoryThe archive
History, in depth
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
News & articles
Culture, in depth
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…
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.…
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…
Family trees
Build your family tree, and link it to your clan
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.
Start your treeKnow a story that isn't here yet?
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.