Tales abound about one of Kanye's richest resources, the Mmakgodumo Dam. The resource is beginning to fascinate tourists with its wonders - the ever green forest of eucalyptus, the mystery-laden Kgaring Gorge overlooking the dam, a rare species of fish, and more.
Legend has it that Mmakgodumo Dam was once colonised by a giant monster that had the face and torso of a woman of great beauty and the tail of a serpent. Those who came near the dam were held spellbound and drawn into the water by the woman's amazing smile, never to be seen. The result was that only the daring watered their livestock there, turning the myth of Mmakgodumo on its head and her waters into a source of life, which was befitting: Kgodumo is the noun form of goduma, which means to have a draught or gulp of something, usually water, agreeable soup, or of good beer. The country around Mmakgodumo near Kanye was a moraka or cattlepost of old, with dozens of wells dug by farmers for watering their livestock. But with the urging of the late Kgosi Bathoen II, BaNgwaketse built a huge dam in the early 1940s. Mmakgodumo Dam is now becoming one of Botswana's major tourist attractions.
