The
Bamangwato (more correctly BagammaNgwato) people are one of the eight principal
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists hold that...
s of
BotswanaThe Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, and constitute some 25 percent of the country's population. Modern Bangwato formed in the
Central DistrictCentral is the largest of Botswana's districts in terms of area and population. It encompasses the traditional homeland of the Bamangwato people. Some of the most politically connected Batswana have come from the Central District, including former President Sir Seretse Khama, former President...
, with its main town and capital (after 1902) at
SeroweSerowe was famed as Botswana's largest village. It was superseded in this by neighbouring Palapye around 2000.Serowe is located in a fertile, well-watered area in Botswana's Central District and is a trade and commerce centre. It lies west of the Gaborone–Francistown road, from which it is easily...
. Its paramount chief, ostensibly a hereditary position, occupies one of the fifteen places in the
House of ChiefsThe House of Chiefs of Botswana is an advisory body of the country's Parliament.-Composition:The House of Chiefs consists of 15 members. Eight members are hereditary chiefs from Botswana's principal tribes...
, Botswana's parliamentary
upper houseAn upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.- Possible specific characteristics :An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:...
.
The core patrilineage of the Bamangwato are an 18th-century offshoot of the Bakwena people, but members in the Ngwato kingdom came from many sources, as was the case with all of the major 19th-century African kingdoms. Khama's paternal forebears had built several prior capitals including
ShoshongShoshong is a town in Botswana, formerly the chief settlement of the eastern Bamangwato.-Physical location:Shoshong is located at latitude -22.95, longitude +26.48, in the Central District, about N.N.E. of Mafeking and N. of Shoshong Road Station on the Cape Town-Bulawayo railway...
and Phalatswe, also known as
Old PalapyePalapye is a large town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone. Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–south rail and road routes...
.
The
Bamangwato (more correctly BagammaNgwato) people are one of the eight principal
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists hold that...
s of
BotswanaThe Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, and constitute some 25 percent of the country's population. Modern Bangwato formed in the
Central DistrictCentral is the largest of Botswana's districts in terms of area and population. It encompasses the traditional homeland of the Bamangwato people. Some of the most politically connected Batswana have come from the Central District, including former President Sir Seretse Khama, former President...
, with its main town and capital (after 1902) at
SeroweSerowe was famed as Botswana's largest village. It was superseded in this by neighbouring Palapye around 2000.Serowe is located in a fertile, well-watered area in Botswana's Central District and is a trade and commerce centre. It lies west of the Gaborone–Francistown road, from which it is easily...
. Its paramount chief, ostensibly a hereditary position, occupies one of the fifteen places in the
House of ChiefsThe House of Chiefs of Botswana is an advisory body of the country's Parliament.-Composition:The House of Chiefs consists of 15 members. Eight members are hereditary chiefs from Botswana's principal tribes...
, Botswana's parliamentary
upper houseAn upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.- Possible specific characteristics :An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:...
.
The core patrilineage of the Bamangwato are an 18th-century offshoot of the Bakwena people, but members in the Ngwato kingdom came from many sources, as was the case with all of the major 19th-century African kingdoms. Khama's paternal forebears had built several prior capitals including
ShoshongShoshong is a town in Botswana, formerly the chief settlement of the eastern Bamangwato.-Physical location:Shoshong is located at latitude -22.95, longitude +26.48, in the Central District, about N.N.E. of Mafeking and N. of Shoshong Road Station on the Cape Town-Bulawayo railway...
and Phalatswe, also known as
Old PalapyePalapye is a large town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone. Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–south rail and road routes...
. (Before the advent of colonial administration and fixed infrastructure, it was common for a town to move when the local environment degraded.
http://www.thuto.org/ubh/bw/oldp.htm) Khama and the Protectorate administration created the modern borders of the Central District in Botswana.
Sengwato, the local dialect of Setswana, caused excitement in linguistic circles in 1998 when it was realized that it contained a unique f-s sound.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_1998_Oct_31/ai_53227243
Seretse KhamaSir Seretse Khama, KBE was an African stateman. Born into the royal family of what was then the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home -- with a popular but controversial bride -- to lead his country's...
, Botswana's first president, was of the Bamangwato, and his son, current President Ian Khama, is the tribe's paramount chief.
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