Across much of southern Africa, ask someone which clan they belong to and the answer may be an animal: “We are the crocodile,” “We are the elephant,” “We do not eat the kudu.” This is the totem system, and it is one of the oldest organising ideas in the region’s societies.
The words
- Setswana / Sesotho / Sepedi: seboko (pl. diboko) – also the word for the clan itself and for its praises.
- Tshivenda: mutupo (pl. mitupo).
- Shona (closely related, north of the Limpopo): mutupo.
- isiZulu: isilo or isithakazelo sesilwane – the concept exists but is less central.
How a totem works
A totem is inherited in the male line, along with the clan name. Its core rules are:
- You do not kill, eat or harm your totem animal. Breaking this is believed to bring misfortune, illness or loss of teeth or hair, and requires ritual cleansing.
- The totem is honoured, not worshipped. It is a badge of identity and a link to the ancestors, not a god.
- The totem defines who you may marry. Two people with the same seboko are relatives; marriage between them is incest, even if they are strangers.
- The totem appears in the praises. A Sotho-Tswana direto will name the animal and often describe it admiringly – the crocodile’s power in water, the kudu’s grace, the elephant’s memory.
What the totems tell us about history
Because clans kept their totem when they broke away to form new groups, the totems act as a map of descent. Among the Sotho-Tswana:
- Crocodile (kwena) – the Bakwena and the many groups descended from them: Bangwato, Bangwaketse, Bakwena of Molepolole, and the royal line of Lesotho.
- Kudu (tholo) – the Barolong and their offshoot the Batlhaping (who later switched to the fish, tlhapi, after moving to the Vaal).
- Monkey (kgabo) – the Bakgatla, who separated early from the Bakwena.
- Baboon (tshwene) – the Bahurutshe, regarded as the senior Tswana group.
- Porcupine (noko) – the Bapedi (Marota) of Sekhukhuneland.
- Elephant (tlou) – the Batlhako, Batlokwa ba ga Matlala and others.
When two clans with the same totem meet, they treat each other as kin even if they cannot trace the exact link – the shared seboko is proof enough of a common origin.
The Nguni difference
The Nguni peoples – Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele – are less strict about animal totems. Some clans do keep an avoided animal (the Xhosa amaMpondomise honour the Majola house snake as an ancestor who visits newborns; some Zulu clans avoid a particular animal), but for most, identity is carried by the isibongo and its izithakazelo rather than a food taboo. Historians think totem observance was stronger in the drier interior, where the Sotho-Tswana developed, than on the well-watered Nguni coast – but the reasons are still debated.
Totems today
Many South Africans still keep their totem: they will not order crocodile or kudu at a restaurant, and they will say “re a leboga, [totem]” – “thank you, [totem]” – when thanking a clan member. The system also survives in sports and school emblems and in the reeds, animals and shields of the national coat of arms. For families reconnecting with their heritage, the totem is often the first thing recovered, because older relatives remember “we don’t eat…” even when the full praises are lost.
Sources and further reading
- Isaac Schapera, The Tswana (1953) and A Handbook of Tswana Law and Custom (1938).
- N. J. van Warmelo, A Preliminary Survey of the Bantu Tribes of South Africa (1935) – lists clans and totems.
- Monica Wilson, chapters on the Nguni and Sotho in The Oxford History of South Africa, vol. 1 (1969).
- Michael Bourdillon, The Shona Peoples (1976) – the mutupo system north of the Limpopo, closely related to the Venda and Sotho.
What is your clan’s totem? If you can tell us your seboko / mutupo and the praises that go with it, send us a WhatsApp on 065 138 8213 or use our contact page. We credit contributors who wish to be named.