Bahurutshe vs Bangwaketse
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday September 1, 2017 14:49
The Bangwaketse under Kgosi Malope II are against the plan to drape Kgosi of Bahurutshe Boo-Manyana with a leopard skin at tomorrow’s ceremony. They are adamant that doing such will be a direct challenge to the authority of Kgosi Malope II, who presides over the entire territory, including Manyana. Traditionally, draping of the Kgosi with a leopard skin demonstrates true existence and operation of customary laws that to some people have gone extinct.
When Mmegi team visited Manyana village Kgotla on Thursday, the villagers who were evidently excited of the event were busy with preparation for the Saturday event. The young and old could not cease to show their excitement over the draping of their Kgosi with the leopard skin. The women were singing and ululating while the men led the cattle to be slaughtered for the feast into the kraal.
Mmegi team found Kgosi Mosielele seated with his regiment. He obliged to the Mmegi’s request for an interview, and started off by stressing that even though there were issues surrounding his ceremony, the event was going ahead tomorrow as planned. He said his tribe was adamant on draping him with the leopard skin, as it was their custom inherited from the former Dikgosi. “In 2010 my father summoned me to attend a family meeting where he told the family that he wanted to retire because he was old. At first we were reluctant to inherit his throne because we knew the burden that comes along with the responsibility of being a Kgosi. After a number of meetings, the family together with my paternal uncles agreed that I must succeed him since I was the first son.
The community was informed about his decision and they accepted the motion with open arms,” he said. He said during the installation ceremony, he could not be draped with the leopard skin because his father was still alive. Kgosi Mosielele explained that his father, Mareko Mosielele instructed the community and his uncles to drape him (Kebinatshwene) with the skin once he passed on. The senior Kgosi Mosielele passed on in December 2015.
“The community was assembled in May 2016 where my uncles notified them that it was time l wore the skin. The community agreed. That is when preparations of this event started. In April 2017, my deputy, Robert Mangope led the delegation to notify the Bangwaketse bogosi on the upcoming event. Surprisingly, the Bangwaketse authorities opposed the motion. They said I could not wear a leopard skin because my village was under their tribal territory,” he said. Kgosi Mosielele said he was disappointed by that response because their (Bahurutshe) former dikgosi had been wearing leopard skins with former Bangwaketse bogosi having no issues with that. He added that the late Kgosi Bathoen II of Bangwaketse draped his late father with the leopard skin and had no problem with that in a ceremony that was held back in 1952.
“My great grandfather wore the skin and my father wore it. There had never been problems between Bangwaketse and Bahurutshe on that matter. I was surprised when I heard that Bangwaketse and their Kgosi Malope II said they were the only tribe allowed to wear leopard skin in their tribal territory, as it was the only way other tribes could respect them.” “They said if I want to wear an animal skin I must either wear a baboon (Bahurutshe’s totem) skin or go to South Africa and wear a leopard skin because it is where my tribe originates. I felt that was an insult to my people. The reason Dikgosi wear leopard skin is because it is a fierce and scarce animal. Traditionally, we believe that a Kgosi can be able to lead and protect his people. We don’t want to take power from them. All we want is to follow our customs,” he said. Kgosi Mosielele said they applied for permits to hunt a leopard, but the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism responded that the hunting season was closed and opted to give them the lion and leopard skins. He said they were later given the skins before the ministry decided to withdraw the licence of possessing the skins and trying to confiscate them. The ministry’s efforts to confiscate the skins were futile, as Kgosi Mosielele demanded a court order or the Minister, Tshekedi Khama to address his people. For his part Kgosi Malope II told Mmegi that nothing was untoward with the Bangwaketse response. He said it was according to the culture of Tswana chieftainship for the Kgosi who oversees the tribal territory to be the only one to be draped with the leopard skin. “I am totally against the Bahurutshe’s idea of putting on a leopard skin because they are under my tribal territory. I have consulted the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Slumber Tsogwane about this matter.
Even if they can go ahead with draping their Kgosi with the leopard’s skin, I will never recognize him in that way. I have never seen any of the Bahurutshe of Manyana wearing a leopard skin before and neither did I hear reports of the late Mosielele draped with a leopard skin,” Kgosi Malope II said. Asked if what he was talking about was constitutional ,Kgosi Malope II stated that it was a culture that is used by all Dikgosi countrywide even though it is not documented. “In all tribal territories, there is only one Kgosi who must be draped with a leopard skin, hence not knowing why the Bahurutshe prefer to ignore the traditional Bogosi culture even though it is not written in the constitution,” Malope said.
According to Kgosi Mosielele’s 88-year old uncle, Thobogang Mogomotsi, who witnessed the draping of the late Mosielele in 1952, it was their culture as the Bahurutshe to dress the reigning chief with a leopard skin.
“I was present when the late Kgosi Mosielele was draped with a leopard skin by the late Kgosi Bathoen II and my late father, Kgosi Mpoisang Mosito who also wore the same skin during his tenure. There were no disputes between our tribes then. It is important for our Kgosi to wear the skin as a symbol of our culture that comes along with pride and respect,” he emphasised.
Another elder, 70-year-old Otshidile Tiro, said while at the time the late Mosielele was draped with a leopard skin he was still a young boy, his memory is still vivid about events of that day. “I was part of the boys who tracked the cow that was slaughtered for the ceremony to the kraal and witnessed Kgosi Bathoen II draping and advising the late Kgosi Mosielele on issues of bogosi. Both tribes lived harmoniously,” Tiro said.
Bahurutshe’s case may find favour in the law. In the Bogosi Act, part II on recognition of tribes, section three, sub section one to two states that “the minister after consulting a tribal community in its Kgotla, may recognise that tribal community as a tribe. In deciding whether a tribal community shall be recognised as a tribe, the minister shall take into account the history, origins and organisational structure of the community and any other relevant matter”.
One of the objectives of the national policy on culture states that Botswana is an independent democratic state of different ethnic groups, which together represent a rich and diverse cultural heritage. This heritage gives Botswana a distinctive character from which it derives its unique personality. This value heritage must be preserved, natured and developed to foster a strong sense of national identity, pride and unity and to become a vitalising force in the development process.
“Our multi ethnic value systems, traditions and beliefs as reflected through the various languages, performing and visual arts as well as other forms of cultural expression constitute the strands of a broader national culture and need to be well-researched in order to be known, appreciated and respected,” it noted.