This power point is about culture and Tradition of Batswana

1. BATSWANA
“THE LEGACY REMAINS”
PHECHUDI MD

2.  INTRODUCTION
 HISTORY OF BATSWANA
 CULTURAL IDENTITY
 TRADITION
 MUSIC AND FOOD
 DEATH AND BURIAL
 WESTERN MEDICINE
 STEREOTYPE
 SPECIAL CONCIDERATIONS
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCE
OBJECTIVES

3. 
 According to Cambridge dictionary Culture is the way
of life, specially the general customs and beliefs, of a
particular group of people at a particular time.
 Heritage features belonging to the culture of a
particular society, such as traditions, languages or
buildings, which still exist from the past and which
have a historical importance.
 Cultural heritage is Legacy inherited from past
generations.
INTRODUCTION

4. 
 Martin west (1979), Tswana people are the Sotho’s
who lived scattered over a very wide area extending
beyond the northern cape province and the
Transvaal into the Republic of South Africa
HISTORY OF BATSWANA
Kgalagadi Tribe
Rolong + Tlhaping
Large group(mixture of tribes)

5. 
continue
 The Tswana consisted of 50 groups who were fussed
into one group of Batswana
 They suffered several invasions in the early 19th
century
 The most serious attack was
by King Mzilikazi
Figure 1

6.  Hundreds of Tswana’s were killed.
 Created wide spread of chaos, people got injured,
others fled and some of the 50 groups extinct while
others re-grouped in other areas
Figure 2
The Tswana death toll

7. 
 The better known tribes are the
 Bakgatla
 Bakwena
 Bangwato
 Barolong
 Batawana
 Batlokwa
 Bahurutshe
Figure 3
They then lived in peace in a less densely-packed community.

8. 
 The ethnonym Batswana (Western Sotho) is thought
to be antonyms that come from meaning of the
Sotho-Tswana word “tswa”, which means “to come
out of”. The name would be derived from the word
“Ba ba tswang” eventually shortened to the word
Batswana meaning “The Separatists” or alternatively
“the people who cannot hold together”.
CULTURAL IDENTITY

9. 
TRADITIONS OF BATSWANA

10. 
 The ancestral spirit plays an important role in Tswana
culture. The spirit are often invoked for the pride of
healing, to give fortune and household cleansing.
 Tswana tradition measures wealth and status in cattle.
This also determines the size of households as cattle
is the currency for paying a bride price and are
necessary for feeding the family. Peter Joyce (2009)
Figure 4

11. 
Transfer of Cattles
Figure 5

12. 
Initiation

13. 
MUSIC
 The Tswana are known for their performance on
such diverse instruments as the kwadi musical bow,
the ditlhaka flute, the meropa single-headed conical
drum, matlho cocoon shakers, and mapapata animal
horn trumpets
 Cultural Group are more traditional. Their version of
their songs begins with ululation, by a youthful
singer. Then song progresses with a steady stream
of hand clapping, and multiple variations on a
repetitive choral refrain. Martin West (1979)

14. 
Male Tswana dance

15. 
Female cultural dance

16. 
FOOD

17.  Death is usually considered to have both natural and supernatural
causes. Traditionally,
 men were buried in their cattle kraals, women in the compounds
and small children were buried under houses.
 Immediately after a person dies, hands and feet are straightened
 Daily prayers
 Human hyenas
 Night vigil
 Burial day
 Back to homestead.
 After death, elders become ancestors (Badimo) .People who die
with regrets are believed to become ghosts ( dipoko ); their souls
remain in the grave by day but rise at night to haunt the living.
Martin West (1979)
DEATH AND BURIAL

18. 
The Tswana’s had witchcraft and sorcery who tried to harm their
fellow men. To protect them from sorcery and witchcraft they turned
to traditional doctors
Traditional doctors treated illnesses and protected them from
witchcraft.
The most common doctors were throwing the bones which were
used to divine the nature cause of bad luck and to indicate who
was responsible for it. Schapera, I (1938)
Most Tswana people take western medicine as their death bed,
once they are sent to hospitals they will not come back to their
loved ones.
Most believe that traditional healers understands their illness better
Some Tswana elders may delay seeking medical care, preferring
self-treatment and giving God a chance to heal, or use of home
remedies, and prayer to treat illness.
TSWANA’S AND
WESTERN MEDICINE

19. 
 A woman who deliberately chooses to remain single
is not only virtually unknown, but is also an
embarrassment, and a shame to the community. She
was regarded as refusing to fulfil the fundamental
duty of child−bearing. known as mafetwa (those who
have been passed by) and was the worst form of
social stigma a woman could have.
 Mafetwa are regarded as bad luck. They are not to
touch children
 Man to women
STEREOTYPES

20. 
 Most Tswana people take western medicine as their death
bed, once they are sent to hospitals they will not come
back to their loved ones
 Trust
 Sympathy
 Will
 Assist
 Nurturing
 Action
 T.S.W.A.N.A
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

21. 
Know were you belong culturally
Inherit the culture
Respect other cultures
CONCLUSION

22. 1. Kuper A kalahari Village Politics, Cambridge, 1970
2. Martin West (1979) An Introduction To The Black People Of South Africa. Cape
Town. C.Struik publishers (119-132)
3. Peter Joyce (2009) Cultures Of South Africa. Cape Town. Sunbird Publishers
(134-141)
4. Schapera, I. The Tswana A Handbook of Tswana Law and Custom, London,
International Institute Of African Language And Culture 1938
5. Schapera, I The Ethnic Composition Of Tswana Tribes, london, The London
School Of Economics And Political Science 1952
6. Video 1 youtube.com/watch?v=XzHtxRJN16o
7. Video 2 youtube.com/watch?v=XzHtxRJNjfg176985dr
REFERENCE

23. 6. Figure1 http://www.southafrica.net/entry/article-southafrica.net-the-tswana-
people (Accessed 07 March 2015).
7. Figure 2 15 http://kwekudee-
tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/03/tswana-are-niger-congo-or-
bantu.html (Accessed 05 March 2015)
8. Figure 3 http://kwekudee-
tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/03/tswana-are-niger-congo-or
bantu.htmlhttps://www.google.co.za/search?q=batswana+and+king+mzilikazi+
war (Accessed 05 March 2015)
9. Figure 4 http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/03/tswana-
are-niger-congo-or-bantu.html (Accessed 05 March 2015)
10. Figure 5 http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/03/tswana-
are-niger-congo-or-bantu.html (Accessed 05 March 2015)