Motswedi is a Village in

Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality The Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality (), formerly the Central District Municipality, is one of the four districts of the North West province of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng, which is also the capital of the province. It was nam ...

in the

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The village is 44 km north-west of

Zeerust Zeerust is a commercial town situated in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of North West Province, South Africa. It lies in the Marico valley, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. It lies on the N4, the main road link betwee ...

; the

Riet River The Riet River is a westward-flowing tributary of the Vaal River in central South Africa. In precolonial times the Riet was known as the Gama-!ab (or Gmaap), a name meaning 'muddy'. Its main tributary is the Modder River and after the confluenc ...

rises in the north of the village. The first recorded mention of the settlement is around 1800, when it was occupied by the baKgatla ba ga Mmanaana, who abandoned the village in 1808 after being attacked by the

baNgwaketse The Bangwaketse (also known as the BaNgwaketse, or Ngwaketse) are one of the eight principal tribes in Botswana, and are ethnic Tswana. (The "Ba" or "Bo" prefix in African tribal names in southern Africa means "people of" or "people who speak" ...

. It was then occupied by the baHurutshe, and became the headquarters of the independent baHurutshe boo Manyane in the 1880s. In the 1970s and 1980s Motswedi expanded, and a large dam and schools were established.

References

Populated places in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality {{NorthWestZA-geo-stub