Mochudi: the village of the velvet monkey people

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Friday October 26, 2007 00:00

According to historians Dr Jeff Ramsay, Barry Morton and T Mgadla in their book, Building A Nation in April 1870, the Kgosi of the ba-ga-Kgafela (who were then living in the former Transvaal) refused to provide Kruger with additional labourers. This must have shocked the Boers because it happened at a time when they strongly believed that blacks were just good-for-nothing 'hewers of wood and drawers of water'.

In response to this resistance, Kruger commanded that Kgamanyane be tied to an ox-wagon and flogged with a sjambok. According to the account of South African historian G M Theal, Kruger personally flogged Kgamanyane in the presence of the morafe.

The Bakgatla then decided to flee to Mochudi under their ageing kgosi who died a few years later in 1874. The body of Kgosi Kgamanyane was returned to the Transvaal where he was buried at Moruleng. The kgosi was buried near his old capital to avoid a situation where the enemies of the Bakgatla, such as the Bakwena, whom they always viewed with suspicion, could not overrun the village one day and desecrate his grave.

After the death of Kgamanyane, his heir, Linchwe I, began to assert the independence of the Bakgatla by raiding 'the owners of the land', the Bakwena's cattleposts. In 1875, the Bakgatla got attacked by the Bakwena but repelled them, leaving 90-100 people dead.

Although the Bakgatla dikgosi did not feature prominently in their resistance to the incorporation of the then Bechuanaland Protectorate into South Africa as the likes of Khama III of the Bangwato, Sebele I of the Bakwena and Bathoen I of the Bangwaketse, they like other Batswana dikgosi were unanimous in their condemnation of the possibility of incorporation. From their capital Mochudi, ba-ga-Kgafela established themselves and would later be regarded as one of the eight 'principal' merafe of Botswana.

*Present-Day Mochudi
Today Mochudi, is regarded as one of the largest villages in Botswana and the Bakgatla are regarded as the foremost custodians of the Setswana culture. Recently, the ba-ga-Kgafela buried their kgosi, Linchwe II in a funeral that was characterised by the observance of Setswana traditional rituals that were abandoned at the advent of Christianity decades ago. At the funeral, some mephato sang, dikoma, traditional songs like Tlotlang Kgosi E Kgolo (give honour to the great king).  During his reign, Linchwe was revered by both the old and the young. There were so many myths and legends surrounding the kgosi and one of the rumours that would not go away was that there were big and terrifying snakes keeping guard of the great palace perched on the Phuthadikobo Hill. It was said that the kgosi was the only one who could face the monsters.

The myth continues that somewhere between Phuthadikobo and Modipe, resides a dragon or rain-snake, otherwise known as kgwanyape that wreaks havoc by literally brewing up a storm whenever provoked by individuals who have no regard for tradition and the way of life of the Bakgatla.

In the past, the two hills were used for performing rainmaking rituals and some rainmaking artefacts were found in the hills. Some of these artefacts have since been taken to Phuthadikobo Museum for safekeeping. Although some Bakgatla claim to have seen the mythical kgwanyape, nobody is able to describe it in a convincing way. Some describe it as a big serpent with big fangs and eyes that glow in the dark.

Like most major villages in Botswana, Mochudi is somewhat caught between modernity and the past and some have aptly described it as 'a fascinating mix of traditional and modern building styles'.

According to Guide To Mochudi a publication by Phuthadikobo Museum, the first of the 'modern' houses were built soon after the ending of the Anglo-Boer War in 1902.

Presently, there are many 'modern' houses mushrooming from amongst traditional mud huts.  Some of these houses, like tiled-houses, are a symbol of 'wealth' among rural people countrywide. In his book, Mochudi Around The Time Of Independence, Sandy Grant says: Not only are the Bakgatla credited for being the first people to build modernised homes, it is possible that the oldest buildings in Botswana are to be found in Mochudi. However, the curator of Phuthadikobo Museum Elinah Grant noted that although Mochudi is credited as one of the villages that became modernised earlier nowadays it is lagging behind other villages as far as development is concerned.

Mochudi Mall boasts of 'urban' shops and service providers like Spar, Lewis, and Shell Barcelos. Other developments include a number of government schools and council offices.  Given the short distance between Mochudi and Gaborone and the fact that some good infrastructure is found in the Bakgatla capital, it is not surprising to find that some people who work in Gaborone prefer to stay in Mochudi and commute to work every morning.

There are too many dikgotlana (wards) to mention in Mochudi but all these fall under the main ones - namely: Kgosing, Tshukudu, Morema, Mabodisa, and Mammamakgote.

One can only hope despite the encroachment of foreign cultures and practices, the Bakgatla-ba-ga-Kgafela will continue to be the custodians of the Setswana culture.