Phokeng
Encyclopedia
Phokeng is a town in the North West
province of South Africa
. It is the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation
and lies near Rustenburg.
for dew, Phoka, hence Place of dew. It is believed to have first been settled in the late 17th century.
The Tswana people of the area had been living in the area for hundreds of years, but by the mid-19th century, many had been scattered among Boer farms and indentured to work for white farmers. Several chiefs began gathering their old followers around the 1850s and 1860s, asking for donations of cattle to create a fund to purchase land. With the help of German missionaries of the Hermannsburg Mission Society, several chiefs succeeded in buying land and re-establishing villages and chiefdoms. Phokeng was the largest and most famous of these villages in what was then the Western Transvaal. The chief who organized the purchases was named Chief Mokhatle, and the missionary who helped him was named Reverend Penzhorn. In 1908, a very old man who lived in Phokeng told a court how the Bafokeng of Phokeng bought their land:
We were told once that the land in which we lived was white man's land. We were told we [could] buy from the white man, a white man could take transfer for us. The tribe determined to buy land and all contributed to buy [the chief's, i.e., Mokhatle Mokhatle's] kraal. Then it was allowed that any petty chief should buy themselves ground. The chief [Mokhatle] said those who were able to do so could. My father was there and he told me.
By 1900, there were many such villages scattered through this part of the Transvaal, including the Bakwena Ba Magopa villages of Bethanie, Kgabalatsane and Ga-Rankuwa and the Bakgatla village of Saulspoort north of the Pilanesberg mountains.
One thing that made these villages unusual was that they owned the land somewhat in the way white people did. In other words, villages like Phokeng were not just "reserves," but were owned by villagers, although through a system of trusts controlled by the missionaries and the chief. For this reason, when platinum was discovered under the lands of Phokeng, the chiefdom was able to earn some revenue from mining and at one point, the Bakwena Bafokeng of Phokeng were described as one of the wealthiest tribes in South Africa.
Phokeng was included in the "Scheduled Native Areas" under the 1913 Natives Land Act. This essentially transformed Phokeng and its surrounding lands into a "reserve."
One of South Africa's most important Black writers of the 20th century, Naboth Mokgatle, was from Phokeng. He wrote a memoire entitled, Autobiography of an Unknown South African and the first chapters of the book contain a very detailed description of what it was like to grow up in the village in the late early 20th century. He describes wearing traditional clothing made of animal skins, walking far off into the veld herding cattle for father and uncle and working for neighboring white farmers.
By the 1930s, a Black American minister, Rev. Spooner, had come to live in Phokeng and he founded a church that was separate from the German missionary church. The split between Christians who followed the German missionaries and those who followed the new churches created a great deal of turmoil in the 1930s in all these villages, including Phokeng.
During the apartheid era, the "reserve" that Phokeng was part of was transformed into the "homeland" of Bophutatswana.
, a venue for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, is located in Phokeng. The England national football team
was based in Phokeng during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
North West (South African province)
North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng.-History:...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation
Royal Bafokeng Nation
The Royal Bafokeng Nation is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers in the North West Province of South Africa. The administrative capital is Phokeng, near Rustenburg. "Bafokeng" is used to refer to both the tribal grouping as...
and lies near Rustenburg.
Etymology
Phokeng gained its name from the Setswana wordTswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
for dew, Phoka, hence Place of dew. It is believed to have first been settled in the late 17th century.
History
Phokeng is one of a number of unusual Tswana towns in the Northwest Province that were founded by Sotho-Tswana people who had been displaced by years of war in the late 18th and early 19th centuries—first the difaqane wars caused by the invasion of the Matebele, and then the wars of conquest by the Boers. Just a few years after the wars, the famous missionary and explorer, David Livingstone, visited the Bakwena of chief Mokhatle, and found that in addition to farming and raising cattle, they made ornaments out of copper that they mined and smelted themselves.The Tswana people of the area had been living in the area for hundreds of years, but by the mid-19th century, many had been scattered among Boer farms and indentured to work for white farmers. Several chiefs began gathering their old followers around the 1850s and 1860s, asking for donations of cattle to create a fund to purchase land. With the help of German missionaries of the Hermannsburg Mission Society, several chiefs succeeded in buying land and re-establishing villages and chiefdoms. Phokeng was the largest and most famous of these villages in what was then the Western Transvaal. The chief who organized the purchases was named Chief Mokhatle, and the missionary who helped him was named Reverend Penzhorn. In 1908, a very old man who lived in Phokeng told a court how the Bafokeng of Phokeng bought their land:
We were told once that the land in which we lived was white man's land. We were told we [could] buy from the white man, a white man could take transfer for us. The tribe determined to buy land and all contributed to buy [the chief's, i.e., Mokhatle Mokhatle's] kraal. Then it was allowed that any petty chief should buy themselves ground. The chief [Mokhatle] said those who were able to do so could. My father was there and he told me.
By 1900, there were many such villages scattered through this part of the Transvaal, including the Bakwena Ba Magopa villages of Bethanie, Kgabalatsane and Ga-Rankuwa and the Bakgatla village of Saulspoort north of the Pilanesberg mountains.
One thing that made these villages unusual was that they owned the land somewhat in the way white people did. In other words, villages like Phokeng were not just "reserves," but were owned by villagers, although through a system of trusts controlled by the missionaries and the chief. For this reason, when platinum was discovered under the lands of Phokeng, the chiefdom was able to earn some revenue from mining and at one point, the Bakwena Bafokeng of Phokeng were described as one of the wealthiest tribes in South Africa.
Phokeng was included in the "Scheduled Native Areas" under the 1913 Natives Land Act. This essentially transformed Phokeng and its surrounding lands into a "reserve."
One of South Africa's most important Black writers of the 20th century, Naboth Mokgatle, was from Phokeng. He wrote a memoire entitled, Autobiography of an Unknown South African and the first chapters of the book contain a very detailed description of what it was like to grow up in the village in the late early 20th century. He describes wearing traditional clothing made of animal skins, walking far off into the veld herding cattle for father and uncle and working for neighboring white farmers.
By the 1930s, a Black American minister, Rev. Spooner, had come to live in Phokeng and he founded a church that was separate from the German missionary church. The split between Christians who followed the German missionaries and those who followed the new churches created a great deal of turmoil in the 1930s in all these villages, including Phokeng.
During the apartheid era, the "reserve" that Phokeng was part of was transformed into the "homeland" of Bophutatswana.
People
The inhabitants are part of the Batswana tribe and their totem is a crocodile, and they refer to each as kwena or mokwena meaning crocodile.Sport
The Royal Bafokeng StadiumRoyal Bafokeng Stadium
The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace is a football, rugby and athletics stadium in Phokeng near Rustenburg, South Africa It was built and is managed by the Royal Bafokeng Nation.. It is used as the home stadium for Premier Soccer League club Platinum Stars...
, a venue for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009 as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The opening match was played at Ellis Park...
and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, is located in Phokeng. The England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
was based in Phokeng during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.