Nonetheless, there are few prehistoric ruins that are generally accepted as highlighting the importance of these schools in the area that is presently known as Bukalanga and beyond. The complexity of this issue is exacerbated by the near lack of historic documents showcasing the existence of these traditional schools among the Bakalanga in the past. I have travelled around many Bakalanga villages in the last few years and sporadically cast the question of initiation schools among the elderly people. I have hit a stumbling block in most cases except at villages such as Mosojane, Sebina and a few others where elders seemed uncomfortable to discuss the issue with me. It is therefore difficult for me to clearly outline how these schools operated in the distant past. First of all, the topic is usually considered sacred particularly among the elders. In this article, I continue the subject of early education institutions among the Bakalanga people. In this article, I would like to focus on the antiquity of the initiation schools and highlight few heritage sites that played an integral role in the attainment of education among the young people. After all, these schools were equally important institutions among most Bantu speaking people as modern schools are these days. The earliest and publicly acclaimed initiation schools in the region are linked with several secluded stone walls found among Great Zimbabwe period ruins. Oral traditions of the Shona in Zimbabwe suggest that during the Great Zimbabwe state, initiation schools were conducted by the ritual sister who was related to the successive kings ruling at those times. Great Zimbabwe period ruins found in the north eastern Botswana were also conducting initiation schools as a way of ushering the youth in the world of adulthood, thereby teaching them tribal rites, their history and important socio-political aspects essential in their daily livelihoods.
One of the ruins interpreted as an initiation school dating to the Great Zimbabwe period can be found at Lekhubu in the Makgadikgadi Pans. On the northern parts of a crescent shaped stone wall, there are over 200 stone cairns which remarkably resemble those that are interpreted as Great Zimbabwe’s initiation centre. These cairns are considered to be stones that were piled by initiates after each successful initiation season. Lekhubu is considered to have been a significant initiation centre as it provided the perfect place for introducing the initiates into the complex world of adulthood. Its location on the edges of the pan offered an excellent metaphor depicting the transition from departing from boyhood and entering the world of adulthood. It also provided the necessary climatic conditions for the successful completion of the initiation practice; the cold harsh winters. In addition to these, lessons on trade with the resident KhoeSan populations in the pans for salt and animal hides were transmitted to the boys. Hunting practices and lessons could have also been attained better at Lekhubu than elsewhere in the region.
