The Kekana
South African History Online’s biography of Johannes Jane Tane Kekana (1840 to 1887) calls him a captain of the Lebelo clan of the Ndebele in the Transvaal, born at Moletlane near Zebediela, the son of Lebelo Seroto and NaMahlangu of the Ndzundza; Van Warmelo is cited for his being one of twins who was not killed at birth, as custom would have required. It says that soon after the Voortrekkers arrived, Lebelo broke away near present-day Mokopane, and that sources differ on why: Breutz says Lebelo’s rivalry with Chief Maboyaboya endangered his life, while Van Warmelo says the elder brother’s chieftaincy grew wary of Lebelo’s influence. It says the group settled at Nokanapedi (Rhenosterfontein, near Rust de Winter), then near Boschplaats north of Hammanskraal, and about 1860 at Haakdoornfontein on the Pienaars River. Our Ndzundza page has the Ndebele background. We have not found a source that places Kekana in Musi’s genealogy; our Thombeni listing, from Wikipedia, calls Thombeni (Gheghana) a son of Musi, and whether Kekana is the same line is unconfirmed.
Johannes Jane Tane Kekana
The biography says Lebelo died between 1870 and 1875 and Kekana succeeded as captain, having reportedly worked in the Cape, where he obtained guns and some education. From 1867 to 1869 he asked for a Berlin Missionary Society missionary, moved to the Wallmannsthal mission after its founding in 1869, learned to write, was baptised and gave up polygamy; he disputed publicly with the missionary Knothe and left in 1872, after Transvaal legislation of 1870 restricted African movement, required passes, taxed huts and limited locations to five families. It says he settled at Leeuwkraal on Erasmus’s farm, working for the owner, restored ties with the mission in 1878, hired an African teacher and later a teacher-evangelist, saw a small church opened in 1882, kept good relations with the Transvaal government, and died at Leeuwkraal on 12 April 1887, buried at Wallmannsthal. He had one wife, Nontwa or Makgoboketsa, five sons and two daughters; his son Seroto Karel Kekana succeeded him, and under Karel Seroto the tribe bought the Leeuwkraal farm.
The entry calls him a less important captain in the Transvaal but valuable for showing how Western and Christian values pressured an African community. It says its sources are Van Warmelo, Breutz and the Berlin Mission documents, which it notes are one-sided but detailed.
What we have not read
We have not read Van Warmelo, Breutz or the mission documents. We found no praise text or totem and do not know who leads the Kekana today.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Kekana praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Kekana and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- South African History Online: Johannes Jane Tane Kekana
- South African History Online: The Ndebele in history (does not name the Kekana)
Do you belong to the Kekana? Tell us your praises and what elders say about the history, and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.