Royal Bafokeng Nation

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Flag of the Royal Bafokeng Nation

The Royal Bafokeng Nation is the ethnic homeland of the South African tribe of the Bafokeng . The area covers about 2000 km² in the Northwest Province of South Africa. The population is around 300,000. The administrative capital is Phokeng . The Bafokeng are considered to be the richest tribe in Africa.

history

The Bafokeng belong to the Sotho-Tswana people who populate large parts of South Africa. They probably settled their present region between 1450 and 1550. The Boers took over the area in the mid-19th century and made it part of the South African Republic . The Boer legislation reserved the acquisition of land for the whites. But the Bafokeng managed to buy back their own land towards the end of the 19th century under the Kgosi (about: "King") Mokgatle (1834-1891) by persuading German Protestant missionaries, among other things, to acquire the land for them and to be held in trust.

The fact that the Bafokeng are the owners of their own land under current law is a rather unusual situation for South African tribes and, in conjunction with the wealth of natural resources, is responsible for the Bafokeng being considered the richest tribe in Africa.

During apartheid , the Royal Bafokeng Nation's territory was part of the Bophuthatswana homeland.

mythology

The Sotho-Tswana speaking peoples revere totems as symbols of the tribe.

The totem is often chosen to commemorate a historically significant event. The Bafokeng ( baFokeng = people of the morning dew) originally called themselves Bakwena ( baKwena = people of the crocodile) and still worship the crocodile as a totem. According to oral tradition, the Bakwena came to their present-day area during their long migration, which is ideal for agriculture and cattle breeding. As the valleys of the hilly country had an unusually high amount of morning dew, the land was fertile and provided a good livelihood. The Bakwena therefore decided to settle here and honor this event by adopting the tau as an additional totem and calling themselves Bafokeng.

Economy and Natural Resources

Most of the terrain is hilly grassland . Before the discovery of Merensky Reef in 1925, agriculture was the main source of income. The Merensky Reef is a layer of platinum-rich rock a few ten centimeters thick and is home to the largest known platinum reserves on earth.

In 1999, the Bafokeng won a judgment that awarded them a production interest value of 22% of the platinum mined in their area as well as shares in Impala Mining Co. , the second largest platinum company in South Africa. The value of Bafokeng's stake in Impala has tripled to over $ 50 million by 2001 alone. The annual platinum mining interest the Bafokeng receive at the time was over $ 60 million. The Impala share price increased roughly tenfold from 1999 to summer 2008 (before the start of the global economic crisis).

However, platinum reserves are expected to be fully depleted by around 2040. In an effort to expand the region's exports and to overcome its complete economic dependence on platinum mining, the Bafokeng are currently settling processing industries and trying to expand tourism. Among other things, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was opened in Phokeng in 1999 , a modern sports complex with 40,000 seats that was one of the venues for the 2010 World Cup .

administration

Kgosi Leruo Tshekedi Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, with employees of the US Embassy in Pretoria before the soccer match between the national teams from the USA and Ghana during the Soccer World Cup 2010 on June 25th in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium , Rustenburg , South Africa

Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi (* 1968), the 36th recorded monarch of the Bafokeng tribe, was enthroned in August 2003. Molotlegi graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Natal . His predecessor in office was his older brother, Kgosi Lebone II.

Twin cities

The Royal Bafokeng Nation is twinned with:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Our past , official website of the Royal Bafokeng Nation (English)
  2. ↑ The Bafokeng People of Rustenburg ( Memento from July 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  3. ↑ Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI) (English)