Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 per cent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It is connected by the Kazungula Bridge to Zambia, across the world's shortest border between two countries.
The Batswana, a term also used to denote all citizens of Botswana, refers to the country's major ethnic group. Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule.
Gaborone is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
The Tswana are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.
The Bakwena or Bakwena are a large Tribe in Southern Africa. They form part of the Tswana Bantu people and can be found in different countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. Their main languages are Sesotho and Setswana."Koena" ("Kwena") is a Sotho/Tswana word meaning "crocodile", the crocodile is also their totem (seboko).
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.
Southern is one of the districts of Botswana. The capital of Southern district is Kanye, home to the Bangwaketse and Barolong in Botswana. The Southern district is home to Botswana's second largest beef farmers where there are large privately owned ranges, and several government run beef ranges which provide agricultural support to the local farmers. Maize and sorghum, Botswana's staple crop, are also raised in the area. Southern district is where the third diamond mine of Botswana was found, which buoys Botswana's economic state of prosperity. It was the first district to house the capital city before being moved to Gaborone after independence.
Moshupa is a large village in the Southern District of Botswana with a population of 20,016 per the 2011 census. The people of Moshupa are called the Bakgatla-ba-ga Mmanaana, a group also found in Thamaga. Along with the related Bakgatla-ba-ga Kgafela of Mochudi, they arrived to the region from the Transvaal region in South Africa throughout the eighteenth century.
Kanye is a village in southern Botswana, located 83 kilometres (52 mi) south-west of the capital, Gaborone. It is the administrative centre of the Southern District, and had a population of 48,028 as of the 2022 Population and Housing Census. There is an increase comparing to the 45,196 of the 2011 census, making it the ninth-largest village in the country. Kanye is the traditional capital of the Ngwaketse tribe, who first settled in the area in the 1790s. The village is the longest continuously occupied tribal capital in the country.
Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana - whether construed as members of the Setswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana. the Batswana believe in the rich culture of Botho-Ubuntu, ‘‘People are not individuals, living in a state of independence, but part of a community, living in relationships and interdependence.’ Batswana believe in working together and in being united.
The Sotho-Tswana, also known as the Sotho or Basotho, although the term is now closely associated with the Southern Sotho peoples are a meta-ethnicity of Southern Africa. They are a large and diverse group of people who speak Sotho-Tswana languages. The group is predominantly found in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and the western part of Zambia. Smaller groups can also be found in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Isaac Schapera FBA FRAI, was a social anthropologist at the London School of Economics specialising in South Africa. He was notable for his contributions of ethnographic and typological studies of the indigenous peoples of Botswana and South Africa. Additionally, he was one of the founders of the group that would develop British social anthropology.
Christianity is the largest religion in Botswana. However, the country is officially secular and allows freedom of religious practice.
The population of Botswana is divided into the main ethnic groups of Tswana people (73%), Kalanga people (18%), and Basarwa (2%). The remaining 7% consist of other peoples, including some speaking the Kgalagadi language, and 1% of non-African people.
The history of Gaborone began with archaeological evidence in the area around Gaborone dating back to 400 BCE, and the first written accounts of Gaborone are from the earliest European settlers in the 19th century. Since the 1960s, when Botswana gained its independence from Britain and Gaborone became the capital, the city has grown from a small village in the Botswana scrubland to a major center in southern Africa.
Lejwana, Botswana is a small village in the Republic of Botswana in Africa. It is situated in the Southern District of Botswana. It lies between the coordinates 25°24'23S and 25°32'27E. It is situated between the villages of Gathwane, Pitsane, Kgoro, and Digawana. Lejwana is about 30 km from Lobatse and about 100 km by road from the capital Gaborone.
The Three Dikgosi Monument is a bronze sculpture located in the Central Business District of Gaborone, Botswana. The statues depict three dikgosi : Khama III of the Bangwato, Sebele I of the Bakwena, and Bathoen I of the Bangwaketse. Events are held at the monument such as the 2008 Miss Independence Botswana. A study conducted between January and August 2007 shows that the monument is the most visited tourist destination in Gaborone.
Setapa is a traditional music dance which originates from the Bangwaketse tribe of Kanye village and surrounding areas in Botswana, such as Sesung, Selokolela and Molapo wa Basadi villages. Setapa traditional dance was started by Bangwaketse in the past and therefore it is regarded as the dance for the tribe. Setapa involves a group of people stamping in to the ground with their feet to the song played or sung by the choir or the group. The word is derived from the Tswana word Go tapa-tapa, which means to step into the ground continuously. Setapa troupes involves an equal mix of both men and women dressed up with the skin of animals. The dance troupes wear brown shells in their feet which gives out a perfect sound as they dance and the males usually carry on whistles and heifer horns to produce sound from the stream of air or as they blow into them.
Kanye Adventist Hospital is a Christian health facility located in Kanye, a town in southern Botswana, located 83 kilometres (52 mi) south-west of the capital Gaborone. Kanye is the administrative centre of the Southern District. Kanye is the traditional capital of the Ngwaketse tribe, who first settled in the area in the 1790s. The hospital has 167 beds.
