Moshupa
Encyclopedia
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
with a population of approximately 20,000 (2011 est.). The people of Moshupa are called the Bakgatla-ba-ga Mmanaana, a group also found in Thamaga
Thamaga
Thamaga is a large village located in the Kweneng District of Botswana and about 40 km west of the capital city Gaborone.The village is dominated by large rock formations, the largest being Thamaga Hill. Thamaga is second in the district to Molepolole in both size and population...
. Along with the related BaKgatla-ba-ga Kgafela of Mochudi
Mochudi
Mochudi is one of the larger villages in Botswana with a population of around 40,000. It is situated in the Bakgatla tribal region, in Kgatleng District, about northeast of Gaborone...
, they arrived to the region from the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
region in South Africa throughout the eighteenth century. Moshupa is characterised by unique and gigantic mountain outcrops which often leave visitors in wonder. The giant rocks (some up to 50 metres in radius) are so balanced on top of each other that even the villagers themselves wonder why they do not fall. They are believed to fall only when the village chief is dying, as an omen. The tribal chief of Moshupa is Kgosi Kgabosetso Mosielele and as is customary in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
the salutation 'kgosi' is the title used before the chiefs name.
Geography
There are three seasonal rivers crossing Moshupa, the MosopeMosope River
The Mosope River is a natural watercourse in Botswana, passing through the village of moshupa. The Mosope River joins the Kolobeng river to form Metsimotlhaba which joins Notwane river around Mochudi, and continues to the Limpopo river.-References:...
, Hatshelatladi(Gatsalatladi), and Monnamme, and to some extent, Kolwane in the north. The Mosope River is legended the host of a Kgwanyape (a dragon, called Bushi, Seriri, or Noga ya metsi), with village elders saying it was placed by the first kgosi as a totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
for the village. The villagers avoid crossing the Mosope River, particularly at night where the river leaves the Phuting/kgosing mountain for fear of the Kgwanyape. This place, called lefikeng, or just 'hikeng' has a large rock outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
curiously balanced upon the river banks with a perennial pond underneath it. Although villagers avoid this place, tourists and teachers venture there, giving rise to the local belief that the 'Kgwanyape' turns into a white lady and sunbathes during the day.
Infrastructure
There are six primary schools, three junior secondary schools, and one senior secondary school in Moshupa. In addition there are a few day-care centers and an orphanage. A vocational training center (Moshupa Brigade) offers trade, business, and secretarial courses with some evening classes.The health system consists of three clinics with full time nurses and visiting physicians to handle childbirth
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
and short time inpatients. The clinic refers major cases to the Kanye
Kanye, Botswana
Kanye is a town located in southern Botswana. It is the administrative center of the Southern District.Kanye is the oldest major center in Botswana, founded since 1853. It is the capital of the Bangwaketse tribe who their King is King Malope II son of Seepapitso IV. Kanye is the original village...
hospital or the Thamaga Hospital. There are plans to build a hospital in Moshupa. One of the latest additions to Moshupa has been a detention center
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for young offenders to the west.
Demographics
Moshupa is divided into wards or dikgotla, typical of Botswanan villages. They are Kgosing, Nakedi, Phuting, Kgope, Nkaikela, Mmamohuhumedi, Rungwana, Modimele, Sau, Jerusalem(part of Phuting),Mokakaneng, Mogaung, Maunatlala, Dibotong, Mmaseetsele, Lepapeng, Ntle ga majwe,Maunatlala, and other wards emerge with village growth. Each kgotla has its own sub-chief or Kgosana.The settlement into Moshupa was the final settlement of the Bakgatla-ba-Mmanaana during the Mfeqane/Difaqane wars. The area may have been chosen for its mountainous natural defence or because of the presence of a seasonal water source (Mosope River). In the early 20th century problems with the Bangwaketse chief, Bathoeng the second, and his two shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
hut tax led to a split up of the village with the chief leaving to live in Thamaga in 1934 under the Kwena territory. The main royal family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
was hence based in Thamaga, and some of the Moshupa chiefs, such as the late Kgosi, Diratsame Gobuamang the Second, came from Thamaga.
Religion
There are a large number of Christians in Moshupa. The most popular are the United Congregational Church of South Africa, the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
,the Apostolic Faith Mission, the Roman Catholic Church, the Zion Christian Church
Zion Christian Church
The Zion Christian Church is one of the largest African initiated churches in southern Africa, with members belonging to ZCC star and members belonging to the saint Engenas ZCC...
, and the Indian Pentecostal Church of God
Indian Pentecostal Church of God
The Indian Pentecostal Church of God is the largest indigenous Pentecostal movement in India, with its headquarters at Hebron, Kumbanad, Kerala, India. The movement was established in 1924 and registered on 9 December 1935 at Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, under the Government of India.K. C...
alongside other Afro-Christian assemblies. One of the oldest churches is the Bo-Nothowagne Church, established in 1903.
Ethnicity
Moshupa is occupied predominantly by Bakgatla baga Mmanaana and it has several ethnic groups that melded into the village as it grew. To the south are mostly Bangwaketse people, to the west there are groups with Kgalagadi (Tlharo, Ngologa) ancestry while the inhabitants of Phuting are thought to be of a Ngwato ancestry: hence the name, 'Phuting', from, the animal phuti(African duikerDuiker
A duiker is any of about 21 small to medium-sized antelope species from the subfamily Cephalophinae native to Sub-Saharan Africa.Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear...
), a Ngwato tribal totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
.
There are a considerable number of people of Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
ancestry in the Maburung kgotla who can trace their roots to South Africa (Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
) and 17th century Holland. The most well known of them are the Stegling and the Ludick family. They have a strong tradition of ironsmithing
Smith (metalwork)
A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques , whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in...
, which was at its peak during the times of the wooden ox drawn cart or the 'kgothokgotho'. They still speak Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
, a language similar to post medieval Dutch. They are sometimes referred to as 'Maburu', although the use of the word is sometimes considered derogatory. The word comes from the Dutch word, 'Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
s' meaning 'Farmers' from the strong farming culture of the first Cape Colony settlers from Holland. Almost all Nguni (Xhosa, Swati, Zulu) and Sotho-Tswana tribes use the same word.
There are also a number of business people of Middle eastern and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n origin who have become Batswanan while still living as their own small tight communities. Prominent businessman and former member of parliament, Satar Dada has roots in the Moshupa Arab people.
Industry
The area around Moshupa consists of crop and cattle farmland, the latter highly overgrazedOvergrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.Overgrazing reduces the...
, on a path to desertification
Desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
. There are also a number of poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
farmers clustered in one place who supply the local market. Poultry is a lucrative business in Moshupa. There is also a vegetable farm on a wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
along the river where spinach, tomatoes and other vegetables are raised. Most vegetables are imported into local supermarkets because Moshupa is too arid for productive farming.
Moshupa does not have a major shopping center but a cluster of shops around the main road, selling goods from lingerie and food to building materials and furniture. A Local bakery supplies bread to all vendors and schools in Moshupa. There are also a number of hair salons that boom around Christmas time. They all specialise in afro-styles. There are also a few metal-smiths who specialise in welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
and supplying local tomb crates (good business). Trade services such as plumbing, bricklaying, and electrical installation are supplied by individuals, in a largely unregulated trade.
Like many Botswana villages, development is controlled by a group of volunteers and the local municipality called the Village Development Committee. They usually deal with minor projects that do not require expert consultancy such as government housing and the management of landscaping projects.
Politics
There are as few as four and as many as seven political parties dominant in Moshupa. The current reigning party is the Botswana Democratic PartyBotswana Democratic Party
The Botswana Democratic Party is the governing conservative party in Botswana. Its chairman is Daniel Kwelagobe.BDP was shaped by Sir Seretse Khama, who is celebrated for nurturing the economic and political success of Botswana. The party's base is in the traditional Setswana communities, and it...
(BDP, Domkrag). There is also considerable support for the Botswana Congress Party
Botswana Congress Party
The Botswana Congress Party is a social-democratic political party in Botswana, considered the third largest party in Botswana.The BCP was founded in 1998 in a split from the Botswana National Front, with most of the BNF's sitting Members of Parliament joining the new party after a leadership...
and The Botswana National Front
Botswana National Front
The Botswana National Front has been the main opposition party in Botswana since the 1969 elections.It achieved its greatest electoral success in the 1994 elections, when it won 37.1% of the vote and 13 of 40 parliamentary seats. A factional conflict in 1998 led to the departure of 11 of these...
and the Botswana Alliance Movement
Botswana Alliance Movement
The Botswana Alliance Movement is a progressive political party in Botswana, led by Ephraim Lepetu Setshwaelo. Prior to the 2009 election the party entered into an electoral pact with the Botswana Congress Party. In the 2009 elections the party won a seat in the National Assembly of Botswana for...
.
The member of parliament for Moshupa is called Hon. Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi and is serving in the current cabinet as the Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. He is son to the first MP for Moshupa who won the first elections after independence. Hon Eric Masisi has one of his brothers also serving as an MP in Francistown West constituency. He has received advanced training at graduate leve in the fields of education, economics (social policy and social development) and recently began studying epidemiology.
The name Moshupa means naked and is said to have originated from a lone man found in the place when the people first settled there, although it has not been confirmed whether it is after the man's name or due to the legend that he was always naked.
Moshupa is not considered a tourist destination and thus does have only Bed and Breakfast Guest-House in jesusalem ward. There are a large number of bars, liquor shops and one newly opened club. A motel is in Kanye, thirty minutes drive from Moshupa. Workers in the Peace corps and volunteers can have accommodation organised through the V.D.C. housing which is highly subsidised.
Moshupa should actually be spelled and pronounced Mosopa, but has the name Moshupa, because the first documenters were British, who did not pronounce it faithfully.
An extensive history of Moshupa was made by one Dr Jeff Ramsay, an historian who now works as press secretary to the office of the President. The information can be accessed at The Botswana National Archives by request. Some research has also been done by the University of Botswana history and geology department about Moshupa and can be accessed at the University Library. It also is another thrase for a spitroast with 3 men