Royal Bafokeng Nation

The Royal Bafokeng Nation is the ethnic home area of the South African tribe of the Bafokeng. The area covers about 2000 square kilometers in the North West Province of South Africa. The population is around 300,000. The administrative capital is Phokeng. The Bafokeng are the richest tribe in Africa.

History

The Bafokeng belong to the people of the Sotho - Tswana, populate large parts of South Africa. They settled their present region probably 1450-1550. The Boers took over the area in the middle of the 19th century and made it a part of the South African Republic. The legislation of the Boers retained the purchase of land from the whites. But the Bafokeng succeeded the late 19th century under the Kgosi (about: "King " ) Mokgatle ( 1834-1891 ) to repurchase their own country, led by, among others, German Protestant missionaries to acquire the land ownership for them and to hold in trust.

The fact that the Bafokeng are owners of their own country by applicable law, is a South African tribes rather unusual situation and is responsible for ensuring that the Bafokeng are the richest tribe in Africa in conjunction with the mineral wealth.

During apartheid, the area of ​​the Royal Bafokeng Nation was part of Bophuthatswana homelands.

Mythology

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

The totem is often chosen to commemorate a historically significant event. The Bafokeng ( = Bafokeng people of morning dew ) called themselves originally Bakwena ( Bakwena = people of the crocodile ) and revere the crocodile as a totem today. According to oral tradition, the Bakwena reached during their long migration to their present area, which was well suited to agriculture and animal husbandry. Since the valleys of hilly country had an unusual amount of morning dew, the land was fertile and provided a good livelihood. Therefore, the Bakwena decided to settle here and to honor this event by assuming the Tau as an additional Totem and Bafokeng called.

Economic and natural resources

The largest part of the area is hilly grasslands. Before the discovery of the Merensky Reef in 1925, agriculture was the main source of income. The Merensky reef is a few tens of centimeters thick layer of platinum- rich rocks and houses the largest known platinum reserves of the earth.

In 1999, the Bafokeng fought a judgment them a funding interest in the value of 22 % of the funded in their area platinum and owned shares in Impala Mining Co., the second largest platinum company in South Africa zusprach. The value of shares in Royal Bafokeng Impala has tripled alone by the year 2001 to more than 50 million U.S. dollars. The annual platinum NSR, the get the Bafokeng, at this time was about 60 million U.S. dollars. The Impala 's share price has increased tenfold in about 1999 to the summer of 2008 ( before the start of the Great Depression ).

The platinum stocks will, however, likely to about 2040 completely degraded. In an effort to expand the exports from the region and to overcome the complete economic dependence on the platinum promotion, the Bafokeng settle currently processing industries, and seek to develop tourism. Among others, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was opened in 1999 in Phokeng, a modern sports complex with 40,000 seats, which was one of the host cities of the Football World Cup 2010.

Management

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

Twin Cities

The Royal Bafokeng Nation is twinned with:

• USA - Maryland Prince George's County, Maryland, USA