Balobedu
Encyclopedia
Balobedu is an African tribe of the Northern Sotho group. They have their own kingdom, the Balobedu Kingdom, within the Limpopo Province of South Africa
with a female ruler, the Rain Queen
Modjadji. Their language is known as Selobedu, which is a "non-Pedi" dialect of Northern Sotho. kelobedu is grammatically similar to other Sotho–Tswana languages and Tshivenda, nowadays the Selobedu is becoming more similar to the Northern Sotho which is used as the standard in education.. The Balobedu are situated between Venda and Northern Sotho speaking people, as well as the Tsonga
and others. Khilobedu has become more and more similar to Sesotho since the language of the schools in the region is Northern Sotho. However, the Balobedu culture originated to the north, in what is now Zimbabwe, and their language contains sounds that do not exist in Sesotho.
Balobedu have their own traditional dances called sekgapa for women and dinaka for men. Dinaka is a traditional dance of all the Northern Sotho speaking people covering such areas as gaSekhukhune, gaDikgale and the Balobedu area.
Balobedu have their own way of praising and talking to their God. They sit next to a traditionally designed circle in their homes and start calling the names of their ancestors.
The Balobedu originally migrated south from Zimbabwe to their present location in South Africa. The central tribal village is Sehlakong in the district of Balobedu.
They have female rulers known as "rain queens". The queen is believed to have powers to make rain. The Balobedu Kingdom consists of a number of small groups tied together by their queen. On 12 June 2005, Queen Makobo Modjadji
died, leaving the kingdom without a queen.
The area of Balobedu consists of many villages and every village has a male or female ruler who represents Modjadji, the rain queen.
The Rain Queen was historically known as an extremely powerful magician who was able to bring rain to her friends and drought to her enemies. Visitors to the area always brought her gifts and tribute, including cattle and their daughters as wives, to appease her so that she would bring rain to their regions. The name Lobedu is thought to derive from this practice, referring to the daughters or sisters who were lost to their families. The rain queen extends her influence through her wives, because they link her politically to other families or villages.
The Rain Queen was referenced in literature as a basis for H. Rider Haggard
's novel She
.
The BaLobedu/BaLotswi are more related to the Rozwi Kingdom started by Changamire Dombo rather than Mwene Mutapa as has been widely believed. They have the praise lines Sai/Shai and Dewa and call themselves the people of Thobela which is the same as the Rozvi/Kalanga. The rainmaking powers of Queen Motjatji are also synonymous with the Njelele Shrine in BuLozvi/SiLozvi[present day Matabeleland in Zimbabwe] and therefore given that there is an entertwining of their history with the rest of the Rozvi. Linguists have listed Lobedu together with Kalanga, Nambya, Venda, Lemba, Shankwe, Nyubi and Karanga as a language of the Rozvi and thus therefore connects them to this history. Their rainmaking history must be read with the Jewish connections that the Rozvi are said to have had.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with a female ruler, the Rain Queen
Rain Queen
The Modjadji or Rain Queen is the hereditary queen of Balobedu, a people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The succession to the position of Rain Queen is matrilineal, meaning that the Queen's eldest daughter is the heir, and that males are not entitled to inherit the throne at all...
Modjadji. Their language is known as Selobedu, which is a "non-Pedi" dialect of Northern Sotho. kelobedu is grammatically similar to other Sotho–Tswana languages and Tshivenda, nowadays the Selobedu is becoming more similar to the Northern Sotho which is used as the standard in education.. The Balobedu are situated between Venda and Northern Sotho speaking people, as well as the Tsonga
Tsonga
Tsonga may refer to:* Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa* Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , French tennis player...
and others. Khilobedu has become more and more similar to Sesotho since the language of the schools in the region is Northern Sotho. However, the Balobedu culture originated to the north, in what is now Zimbabwe, and their language contains sounds that do not exist in Sesotho.
Balobedu have their own traditional dances called sekgapa for women and dinaka for men. Dinaka is a traditional dance of all the Northern Sotho speaking people covering such areas as gaSekhukhune, gaDikgale and the Balobedu area.
Balobedu have their own way of praising and talking to their God. They sit next to a traditionally designed circle in their homes and start calling the names of their ancestors.
The Balobedu originally migrated south from Zimbabwe to their present location in South Africa. The central tribal village is Sehlakong in the district of Balobedu.
They have female rulers known as "rain queens". The queen is believed to have powers to make rain. The Balobedu Kingdom consists of a number of small groups tied together by their queen. On 12 June 2005, Queen Makobo Modjadji
Makobo Modjadji
Makobo Modjadji VI was the 6th in a line of the Balobedu tribe's Rain Queens. It is said that Makobo Modjadji had the ability to control the clouds and rivers. Makobo was crowned on 16 April 2003 at the age of 25 after the death of her predecessor and grandmother, Queen Mokope Modjadji...
died, leaving the kingdom without a queen.
The area of Balobedu consists of many villages and every village has a male or female ruler who represents Modjadji, the rain queen.
The Rain Queen was historically known as an extremely powerful magician who was able to bring rain to her friends and drought to her enemies. Visitors to the area always brought her gifts and tribute, including cattle and their daughters as wives, to appease her so that she would bring rain to their regions. The name Lobedu is thought to derive from this practice, referring to the daughters or sisters who were lost to their families. The rain queen extends her influence through her wives, because they link her politically to other families or villages.
The Rain Queen was referenced in literature as a basis for H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
's novel She
She (novel)
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by Henry Rider Haggard, first serialized in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and with over 83 million copies sold in 44 different languages, one of the best-selling books...
.
Further reading
- Krige, E. Jensen and J. D. Krige. The Realm of a Rain-Queen: A Study of the Pattern of Lovedu Society. London: Oxford University Press, 1943.
The BaLobedu/BaLotswi are more related to the Rozwi Kingdom started by Changamire Dombo rather than Mwene Mutapa as has been widely believed. They have the praise lines Sai/Shai and Dewa and call themselves the people of Thobela which is the same as the Rozvi/Kalanga. The rainmaking powers of Queen Motjatji are also synonymous with the Njelele Shrine in BuLozvi/SiLozvi[present day Matabeleland in Zimbabwe] and therefore given that there is an entertwining of their history with the rest of the Rozvi. Linguists have listed Lobedu together with Kalanga, Nambya, Venda, Lemba, Shankwe, Nyubi and Karanga as a language of the Rozvi and thus therefore connects them to this history. Their rainmaking history must be read with the Jewish connections that the Rozvi are said to have had.
External links
- "Bantu", GovernPub.com.
- Seleti, Yonah. Turning Points, SouthAfricanHistoryOnline.
- "The Balobedu of Modjadji".
- The Lobedu: A North Sotho Tribe