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The Lobedu or Balobedu ''(''also known as the BaLozwi or Bathobolo'')'' are a
southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
n ethnic group that speak a
Northern Sotho Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho, is one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Sotho-Tswana group. The language is spoken mainly in Limpopo Province, and to a lesser exten ...
dialect. Their area is called Bolobedu. The name "balobedu" means "the mineral miners", lobela or go loba – to mine. Their ancestors were part of the great Mapungubwe early civilization. They have their own kingdom, the Balobedu Kingdom, within the
Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...
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 ...
with a female ruler, the Rain Queen Modjadji. It is estimated that there are around 1 million BaLobedu in South Africa. Their population is found in Greater Letaba Local Municipality (171 011 or 80.4% based on the 2011 census), Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality (200 000 or 46% based on the 2011 census),
Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality (; ) is a local municipality within the Mopani District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat is Phalaborwa. Main places The 2011 census divided the municipality into the following main pla ...
( or 47% based on the 2011 census),
Greater Giyani Local Municipality Greater Giyani Municipality () is a local municipality within the Mopani District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat is Giyani. Main places The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places: ...
( or 6.4% based on the 2011 census), and smaller villages in Limpopo. Some are found in
Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
province as labour migrants, especially in
Tembisa Thembisa, formerly Tembisa, is a large Township (South Africa), township situated to the north of Kempton Park, Gauteng, Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1957 when black people were resettled from Alexandr ...
and
Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...
townships.


Language

Their language is known as Lobedu (used here but Khelobedu, KhiLovedu, or Lovedu are equally valid) and is sometimes considered a dialect of the
Northern Sotho language Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho, is one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Sotho-Tswana group. The language is spoken mainly in Limpopo Province, and to a lesser exten ...
and is grammatically similar to other
Sotho–Tswana languages The Sotho-Tswana languages are a group of closely related Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa. The Sotho-Tswana group corresponds to the S.30 label in Guthrie's 1967–71 classification of languages in the Bantu family. The various dia ...
. Mutual intelligibility between certain
Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...
dialects and the Lobedu language is so high that speakers of these Venda dialects can effectively communicate with Lobedu speakers without difficulty. A Tshiguvhu (a Venda dialect) speaker can understand a Lobedu speaker easily, and vice versa. Lobedu could easily have been classified as a Venda dialect or an independent language. For example, Northern Sotho has higher mutual intelligibility with Southern Sotho and Tswana than it does with Lobedu. Most Lobedu speakers only learn to speak Pedi at school; as such, Pedi is only a second or third language and is foreign to them, like English and Afrikaans. Lobedu is a written language and its dictionary, Thalusamandzwi Ya Khilovedu, was published in 2018 by Kgothatso Seshayi. The first Lobedu novel, Lekhekhesha, was published in 2018 by Eliya Monyela. The first Lobedu poetry book, Zwireto zwa KheLobedu, was published and launched in 2020 by Lobedu poet Makgwekgwe Waa-Mampeule. As of October 2021, a translation of the Christian Bible is being undertaken by VALODAGOMA NPC (the BaLobedu think tank) and PANSALB (the Pan South African Languages Board).


Subgroups

There are sub-groups of the Lobedu: * BaLobedu ba Ga-Modjadji, which is the main group of BaLobedu and is led by the Royal House of Modjadji, which is the main royal house for the other groups. The royal house use Warthog as totem. Balobedu ba Ga Modjadji are Kolobe Clan. Mokoto royal family members are part of Modjadji family. * Balobedu ba ga Tsolobolo Clan, they are ruled by Letsoalo Chieftaincy in Khwaname Modjadjiskloof. They are Banareng clan ba Tsolobolo. They use Buffalo as their totem. Chief Tsolobolo was in alliance with Chief Makgoba in fighting Boer settlers. He died at Pretoria Prison in 1896. The government of
South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...
moved the clan to Ga-Kgapane. There is no Chieftaincy in Ga-Kgapane. The current Chief is Moatle Johannes Letsoalo. Tsolobolo Royal Family they are still fighting for their dispossessed land in Land Claims court. * Balobedu ba ga Makgoba are Batlou Clan, located in Makgobaskloof. Molepo people from Ga-Molepo are Batlou Clan, they are related with Balobedu ba ga Makgoba. * BaLobedu ba Ga-Sekgopo (Balobedu Ba Ha Sekhopo), which are located at Ga-Sekgopo Village. They separated from the main group of Balobedu in the late 1700s, when the first female ruler of Balobedu was crowned. They are led by Mogale Family, who have been Headmen for Modjadji Royal family. * BaLobedu ba Ga-Mmamaila, which was founded by Prince Mmamaila, the elder brother of Modjadji I, who objected to being ruled by women, was the 11th son of the last male rulers of BaLobedu, King Mokoto who was the son of King Kheale. This tribe is located around Ga-Mamaila and Sekhosese townships, in an area known as Boroka, which means north in Khelovedu. * Like the Mamabolo took the totem Kolobe by staying amongst dikolobe. The Mamobolo Clan are the descendants of Selwane & Mogashoa who are the Babina Tau ba ga Masemola by origin became dikolobe by staying with dikolobe and adopted the totem Kolobe. See Reference below.


Origins

The Balobedu originally migrated south from present day
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
to their present location in South Africa. The central Queendom village is Khethakoni, in the district of Balobedu. These Kalanga migrants consisted of the Mokwebo, who are the ancestors of all wild pig clans (ba ana golove/ba bina kolobe) like Mamabolo Ramafalo and Modjadji, the Nengwekhulu, who are the ancestors of all elephant clans (Ditlou); and the Ramabulana, ancestors of the other elephant clans (Ditlou), who are also uncles of the Nengwekhulus. All BaLobedu are descended from these three groups: BaKwevho, Nengwekhulu, and Ramabulana. The rest of the people are descendants of East Sotho or BaLaudi refugees and indigenous South Venda groups like BaNgona. As a result, the most common animal totems among BaLobedu are the wild pig (Goloe/Kolobe) and the elephant (Dou/Tlou). The wild pig clans (Dikolobe) are the Modjadji, Mohale, Ramalepe, Modika, Mahasha, Mabulana, Mafa, Mokwebo, Mampeule, Molokwane, Maunatlala, Malepe, Sebela, Thobela, and Ramafalo, all of whom are descendants of the ancient Mokwebo (wild pig) royal house. All Chiefs in Bolobedu are of the wild pig clans, with the exception of the chiefs of Taulome, Malatji, and Rakgoale (Mogoboya), who are Dinoko (porcupines) after running to Bolobedu after difagane wars their traditional dance they brought is Dinaka. The elephant clan is Rabothata, Makgoba, Selowa (Khelowa/Tshilowa/Shilowa), Shai, Matlou (Ma₫ou), Mabulana, and Maenetja; these are the descendants of the ancient royal house of Nengwekhulu. Letsoalo they are Buffalo clan. They call themselves Banareng The BaLobedu are more closely related to the Lozwi Kingdom started by Dlembeu. As they were migrating southward, another splinter went South-East. The Northern Lozwi, or Lozi are found in the present-day Western Province of Zambia. They settled alongside the Zambezi River Banks and established it as Musi-oa-tunya (storms that thunder), present day
Victoria falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...
. They have the praise lines Sai/Shai and Dewa, and call themselves the people of Thobela, which is the same as the Lozwi/Kalanga. The rainmaking powers of Queen Modjadji are also synonymous with the Njelele Shrine in SiLozwi (in present-day Matabeleland, Zimbabwe), and it is therefore accepted that there is an intertwining of their history with the rest of the Lozwi. Lozwi have a history of rainmaking, as does the current Lozwi king, Mike Moyo, who is also gifted with rainmaking. Linguists have listed Lobedu together with Kalanga, Nambya (a dialect of Kalanga),
Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...
, Lemba, Shankwe, Nyubi, and Karanga as a language of the Lozwi, which consequently connects them to their history. Their rainmaking history is tied to that of the Banyai in northern Matabeleland and Kalanga in southern Matabeleland, and there are two areas called Njelele in
Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi ...
.


Traditions

Balobedu do traditional dances called khekhapa for women and dinaka for men.Sekgapa and Dinaka are traditional dances of Bapedi-speaking people covering such areas as GaSekhukhune, GaDikgale, GaMaake, GaSekororo, and Bolobedu. Balobedu have a male initiation ceremony called Moroto. The female initiation ceremony is called Dikhopa. Balobedu have their own way of praising and talking to their God through Dithugula. They sit next to a traditionally designed circle in their homes and start calling the names of their ancestors.


Traditional rulers

The Lobedu have female rulers known as "Rain Queens". The queen is believed to have the power 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 no clear successor acceptable to all members of the Queen's Council. The late queen's brother has served as regent since then. The area of Balobedu consists of around 150 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 (though their role is more akin to what those in the Western world would call ladies-in-waiting), 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 the basis for H. Rider Haggard's novel '' She''.


List of rulers of Balobedu

Before Balobedu was ruled by Queens. They had 6 male Kings. The last being King Mokoto. The King was ordered by Ancestors to conceive a Queen with his daughter Dzugundini # Queen Maselekwane Modjadji I (1800–1854) # Queen Masalanabo I Modjadji II (1854–1894) # Queen Khesethoane Modjadji III (1895–1959) # Queen Makoma Modjadji IV (1959–1988) # Queen Mokope Modjadji V (1981–2001) # Queen Makobo Modjadji VI (2003–2005) # Prince Regent Mpapatla (2005–2023) # Contested King Lekukela (2022–) # Queen Masalanabo II Modjadji VII (2025–)


Notable people

* Stanley Kgatla, former Platinum Stars defender; born in Ga-Ramotshinyadi village * Candy Tsa Mandebele, musician * Lebogang Manyama, Cape Town City FC midfielder * Andrew Rabutla, former
Bafana Bafana The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for soccer in South Africa. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana (The Boys in Zulu), the ...
and
Jomo Cosmos Jomo Cosmos is a South African soccer club based in Johannesburg that plays in the ABC Motsepe League. The club is owned and coached by South African football legend Jomo Sono. At the end of the 2021–22 National First Division season, the ...
defender; born in Ga-Ramotshinyadi village * Tebogo Monyai, former Mpumalanga Black Aces F.C.,
Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred to as Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two Soweto clubs ...
and University of Pretoria FC defender; born in Ga-Abel village * Peta Teanet, born Teanet Peta XiTsonga, a disco musician born and raised in Thapane Village, Bolobedu * Mathole Motshekga, South African politician and former premier of Gauteng province * Solly Mapaila, South African politician and leader of the Communist Party, an ally of the ruling party * Master KG, the Jerusalema song artist * King Monada, Ska Bora Moreki Hitmaker * Thabang 'Lij' Mabale, a township business advocate and founder of Tzaneen Fashion Week * Chief Makgoba * Thabo Cecil Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town * Evidence Makgopa, soccer player, bronze medalist at 2023 Africa Cup of Nations; born in born in Ga-Mampa village * Raymond Mdaka, soccer coach, winner of 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations; born in Ga-Mokgwathi village


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. * * Mamabolo history. https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/76077/letsoala_399_mamabolo_history_tribal_transcript_ns.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y


External links


"Bantu"
GovernPub.com. * Seleti, Yonah

South African History Online




References

{{Authority control 2. Mamabolo history . https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/76077/letsoala_399_mamabolo_history_tribal_transcript_ns.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y Sotho-Tswana peoples in South Africa Northern Sotho Monarchies of South Africa Balobedu people