Many South Africans know their surname but not their clan name, praises or totem. If that is you – because of adoption, migrant labour, forced removals, a father you did not grow up with, or simply distance from the older generation – this is a practical guide to recovering them.
1. Start with living memory
The single most valuable thing you can do is ask your oldest living relatives, and record the conversation (a phone voice note is fine). Ask each of them, separately if you can:
- What is our isibongo / sefane / surname, and has it always been spelled this way?
- What is our isiduko / seboko / clan name?
- Can you say our izithakazelo / iziduko / direto – the praises? Even a few words help.
- Is there an animal we don’t eat? (This is the totem, and elders often remember it even when the praises are gone.)
- Where did the family come from – which district, which chief, which area?
- Are there other surnames in the family, or names people changed?
Do this now, not later. This knowledge disappears with each funeral.
2. Map the four lines
Traditionally your clan identity comes through your father’s father, but marriage rules and ancestral rites often involve all four grandparents. Draw a simple tree and fill in, for each grandparent: surname, clan name, home area. Gaps are normal – mark them and keep going.
3. Deal with the hard cases honestly
- You don’t know your father. You are not alone, and there are recognised ways forward. Some families perform a ritual to attach a child to the mother’s clan; others use the father’s clan once it is known. An elder or traditional practitioner in your family’s tradition can advise. DNA testing (see below) sometimes helps identify a paternal line.
- You were adopted. Both your adoptive family’s clan (through the rite that brought you in) and, if you can find it, your birth family’s clan may matter to you. This is a personal decision; there is no single rule.
- The surname was changed by a mission, an employer, or at a border post. Ask what the older name was. Many “English-looking” spellings hide an African name.
- Your family were farm labourers or domestic workers far from home for generations. Look for the district the family originally came from – that plus the surname often narrows the clan down.
4. Use written and online sources – carefully
Once you have a surname and ideally a home district, you can cross-check:
- Published collections: C. L. S. Nyembezi’s Zulu work, Jeff Opland on Xhosa, Schapera on the Tswana, the James Stuart Archive. University and provincial archives hold more.
- Clan-name websites (including this one): useful for a starting list of praises, but much online content is copied between sites and some is invented. Treat it as a lead to verify with family, not as proof.
- Home Affairs and church records: baptism, marriage and death registers can confirm older surname spellings and home districts.
- Traditional council / royal house: for many clans, the chief’s office can confirm the praises and the line.
5. Consider DNA testing for the paternal line only
A Y-DNA test (for people with a Y chromosome) follows the direct male line and can sometimes connect you to relatives who share your paternal ancestor, which may point to a clan. Autosomal tests (the common “ethnicity” kits) are weaker for this and their regional estimates for southern Africa are rough. DNA can suggest a link; it cannot tell you your izithakazelo – only people can.
6. Write it down and share it
When you have gathered what you can, write a one-page family record: surname(s), clan name, praises with the meaning of each line where known, totem, home district, and your sources (which elder, which book). Send it to your cousins. Oral knowledge survives when several people hold it, not one.
7. Contribute it back
If your family’s praises differ from what is published, that is valuable – send them to us so the record improves for the next person searching. We keep contributors’ information and credit those who want to be named.
A note on respect
Recovering clan knowledge can raise painful family history – absent parents, old disputes, the wounds of apartheid. Go gently, especially with elders. And remember that not knowing your praises does not make you less of who you are; it is a gap created by history, and closing it is something to be proud of.
Stuck? Tell us your surname and the district your family comes from and we will help you find a starting point. WhatsApp 065 138 8213 or use our contact page.