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For instance, Kgoši Ratšhatšha Lebogo – only known as Malebogo – of the
Bahananwa, is still mostly revered for his brave fight against the Transvaal
Republic Boers in 1894 609 . Other chiefs such as Matsiokwane, also of the
Bahananwa, and the Matlala chiefs of the Bakone, such as Selaki, are still
respected today 610 . Again people still talk about Ga-Matlala (Matlala’s
location) and Ga-Malebogo (Malebogo’s location) to define their residence
and this indicates the strength of these forms of identities.
Respect of the tribal institution of chieftaincy is also expressed in traditional
war songs, oral tradition, praise poems and other cultural forms which
distinguish each ethnic and tribal entity from the others. In their emphasis on
culture, De Vos and Romanucci-Ross identify “another form of group
separation”, which is “ethnic identity”, which they say can be a source of
conflict, since ethnic groups in many instances do not remain in a fixed
position within a stratified system 611 . On the issue of culture, Zimitri
Erasmus highlights the importance of culture in this case by asserting that,
“since cultural formations involve borrowing from cultural forms,… thus all
identities could be seen/read as cultural hybrid…” 612 . However, the form of
ethnic and tribal identity displayed in the Makgabeng area is not the
negative one of exclusivity and chauvinism. It is also not the kind of ethic
609 Interview, Mofotoloko Mashilo, Ga Monyebodi village, 4 May 2004.
610 Ibid.
611 M. Castells, “Globalisation, Identity…”, p. 6.
612 Z. Erasmus, Coloured by History. Shaped by Place. New Perspective of Coloured Identities in
Cape Town, p. 16.
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