People often use “clan name”, “surname”, “praise name” and “totem” as if they mean the same thing. In South African tradition they do not. Getting the difference clear makes izithakazelo, marriage rules and family history much easier to understand.
Surname (isibongo / sefane / xivongo)
The surname is the family name you write on official forms: Buthelezi, Dlamini, Khumalo, Mokoena, Baloyi. In most Nguni languages the word for it – isibongo – literally means “that by which you are praised”, which already tells you the surname and the clan are historically the same thing. But over time surnames spread: people took a chief’s name, adopted a new name after a move, or were recorded under a mission or employer’s spelling. So today one surname can belong to several unrelated clans, and one clan can include several surnames.
Clan name (isiduko among the Xhosa; the core of the isibongo among the Zulu)
The clan name identifies the descent group you belong to – everyone who shares a common ancestor in the male line. Among the Xhosa this is the isiduko, and it outranks the surname completely: a man is Jola or Tshawe or Mpinga first, and Mandela or Sigcau or Nkosi second. Among the Zulu the clan is usually the same as the surname, but the izithakazelo are what confirm which clan of that name you belong to.
The practical test is marriage. Traditionally you may not marry someone with the same clan name (or, among many groups, the same clan name on any of your four grandparents’ sides), because that would be marrying a relative – even if the surnames are different and the families have never met.
Praise names (izithakazelo / iziduko / direto / tinanatelo)
The praise names are the string of words recited to greet or thank a member of a clan. They are not a single name but a short oral text – founding ancestors, places, deeds and honorifics (see our full explainer). They are the proof of clan membership: if two people recite the same praises, they are the same clan, whatever their surnames say.
Totem (seboko / mutupo / isilo)
A totem is an animal (occasionally a plant or object) that a clan honours and will not kill or eat. Totems are central to Sotho-Tswana and Venda identity – the Bakwena are “people of the crocodile”, the Barolong honour the kudu – and the totem, not the surname, is what defines the clan and its marriage rules. Among the Nguni, totem observance is weaker: identity runs through the isibongo and its praises rather than a strict animal taboo, though some Nguni clans do keep an isilo or avoided animal.
Putting it together: one person, four labels
| Label | Example (a Motswana of the Bakwena) | Example (a Xhosa of the Jola clan) |
|---|---|---|
| Surname | Mokwena / Sechele / many others | Mandela / Sigcawu / many others |
| Clan name | Bakwena | amaMpondomise, isiduko: Jola |
| Praise names | the clan’s direto naming Kwena, Kgabo, the crocodile | the clan’s iziduko: Jola, Mthwakazi, Ngwanya, Majola… |
| Totem | Kwena – the crocodile (not killed or eaten) | the Majola snake, honoured as an ancestor who visits the home |
Why the distinctions were blurred
Colonial and apartheid record-keeping wrote down surnames and ignored clan names. Migrant labour, forced removals, mission schooling and adoption separated many people from the elders who carried the praises. As a result a lot of families today know their surname but not their isiduko or izithakazelo – and rebuilding that knowledge is one of the main reasons sites like this one exist.
Sources and further reading
- Monica Wilson & Leonard Thompson (eds), The Oxford History of South Africa, vol. 1 (1969) – clan and lineage structure.
- Isaac Schapera, A Handbook of Tswana Law and Custom (1938).
- W. D. Hammond-Tooke (ed.), The Bantu-Speaking Peoples of Southern Africa (1974).
Not sure of your clan name? Our guide to tracing your clan name is a good place to start, and you can ask us on WhatsApp at 065 138 8213.