Nguni heritage
Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) clan names & Izithakazelo and direto (praise poems)
The Ndebele of Langa and Mokopane in Limpopo, whose traditions trace them to the Hlubi and who took in many Sotho groups.
Northern Sotho; the old Nguni dialect is now rarely spokenIzithakazelo and direto (praise poems)21 clans
Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) clans
21 clans
- B Bakenberg Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Bakenberg was a son of Masebe III and became the first chief of the northern Langa chiefdom after the 1890 partition. His name, Jackson says, is… View clan
- K Kekana Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · The Kekana are the Ndebele group under the Lebelo line, who broke away from the Ndzundza near present-day Mokopane and settled near Pretoria. Johannes Jane Tane… View clan
- L Lamola Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · The Lamola were the highest-ranking headmen of the Langa until about 1854, when their head, Maruputlane Lamola, was killed and the clan banished. Jackson says he… View clan
- L Langa Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · The Langa are the ruling clan of two neighbouring chiefdoms, Mapela and Bakenberg, north of Mokopane (formerly Potgietersrus) in Limpopo. A. O. Jackson, a government ethnologist… View clan
- L Lelaka Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Lelaka is a ward at Mapela. The people have the crocodile (kwena) as totem and call themselves Bakwena. View clan
- M Mabuela Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · The Mabuela are one of the four "great wards" at Mapela. Jackson says they are the remnant of the Phalane of Mokoka (now in the Pilansberg),… View clan
- M Mabusela Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · The Mabusela ward is the highest-ranking ward at Mapela, and the Mabusela are the clan that most often gave wives to the Langa chiefs. Jackson says… View clan
- M Malebana Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Malebana is a ward at Mapela whose people are Kgatla. Their totem is kgabo, the monkey. View clan
- M Mamaala Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Mamaala (from the Ndebele nomayala ngenhlabathi, "he who sows with sand") is the second-senior lineage of the Langa clan. Jackson says it descends from Makgenene, a… View clan
- M Mankopane Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Mankopane was chief of the Langa Ndebele from about 1836 until his death on 30 May 1877. He was the grandson of Mapela, through Mapela's son… View clan
- M Mapela Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Mapela is both a Langa chief, who ruled from about 1795 to 1825, and the name of the southern of the two Langa chiefdoms, ba ga… View clan
- M Masebe Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Masebe III ruled the Langa Ndebele from 1877 to 1890. He was the son of Mankopane, and the chief after whose death the Langa were divided… View clan
- M Masenya Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Masenya, one of the four great wards of Mapela, is Koni of Matlala origin. Their totem is the small bird tlhantlhagane, a scaly-feathered finch. View clan
- M Matlou Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Matlou is a ward at Mapela. The people say they are Pedi, and their totem is kgwadi, a water bird. View clan
- M Mokopane Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Mokopane (Mugombane in Ndebele, called Makapan in settler records) is the name of several Kekana chiefs of the branch founded at Makapanspoort, and the name the… View clan
- M Mosoge Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Mosoge is the genealogically senior lineage of the Langa clan. Jackson says it descends from Mosoge, the son born to a daughter-in-law married to raise an… View clan
- P Pila Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Pila is a ward at Mapela of Tlokwa people from Moletsi. Their totem is nkwe, the leopard. View clan
- R Ramorulane Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Ramorulane is a ward at Mapela whose people say they came from Bopedi. Their totem is kwena, the crocodile. View clan
- S Seema Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Seema is a ward at Mapela of Matlala origin. The people are Koni, and their totem is the small bird tlhantlhagane. View clan
- T Tshaba Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Tshaba, one of the four great wards of Mapela, is Tlhaloga, with the crocodile (kwena) as totem. Jackson says their name used to be Manamela. View clan
- T Tshokwe Northern Ndebele (Limpopo) · Tshokwe is a ward at Mapela. The people have cattle (dikgomo) as totem, though they actually avoid the hare (mmutla). View clan
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