Royal Bafokeng, South Africa

Last modified: 2006-01-28 by bruce berry
Keywords: bafokeng | crocodile |
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Royal Bafokeng flag

The present Kgosi (Setswana for King) is Leruo Molotlegi, the 36th recorded Bafokeng king.  His father,  Lebone Molotlegi II (on the throne between 1996 and 1999) was the designer of the current flag of the Royal Bafokeng Administration, the traditional authority responsible for administration in the area.  The flag was designed in 1995 and comprises three horizontal stripes of light green, light blue and beige, with the Bafokeng logo in the centre.  The green symbolizes the algae found in the water in the area and is a reference to the everlasting nature of the Bafokeng kingship. The blue symbolizes water and the source of life for the community while the beige represents the sand found in the rivers.  For the Bafokeng, algae represents a blanket and the sand, a mattress.

The logo of the Bafokeng is a modern representation of the Bafokeng totem, the crocodile, hence the symbolism of water in the flag as a whole.  The crocodile of peace has long been the recognized totem of the Bafokeng people.  A statue at the royal residence at Legato depicts the crocodile of peace and, having a short tail and only two legs, is representative of a human being.  The short tail, and closed mouth, also emphasizes non-aggression as the Bafokeng people believe that a long tail would imply aggressiveness.  The posture of the crocodile denotes movement towards water, which the Bafokeng believe to be a sign of contentment.  This results in a common expression, used at meetings, "A e wele mo Metsing", which literally translated means "Let there be peace".

Behind the logo are a crossed pick and shovel, which refer to the common economic activities in the area, namely mining and agriculture.  Below the logo, in the center of the beige stripe is a South Africa flag. This symbolizes that the Bafokeng recognise that although they are distinctive, they are nevertheless an integral part of South Africa. This flag can be seen flying at the offices of the Royal Bafokeng Administration in Phokeng and at the royal residence of Legato.
Source: my paper presented at the XX ICV in York in July 2001 entitled "Royal Standards in Southern Africa".
Bruce Berry, 13 Mar 2003

Royal Bafokeng is a Tswana-speaking tribe. The "Royal" seems to me to be a means of emphasising that they have a king - the tribe's name is actually Fokeng or Bafokeng (a member of the tribe would be called a Mofokeng).  The emphasis on the king, or paramount chief, puzzles me, since most or all the Bantu-speaking tribes have paramounts, and since 1994 all those paramounts have been styled "king".  The king's residence is at a place called Phokeng (also the main settlement of the tribe). That's not "Fokeng" spelt differently. In Setswana, PH stands for a P with aspiration. I'm not quite sure how the two words are connected.
The Batswana are inclined to build large traditional "villages" that sprawl across the countryside like towns or cities, in contrast with the villages of the abeNguni (Zulu, Xhosa and others) who build small villages, originally comprising a single household of a man (with his own hut) and his several wives (each with their own hut) and their children and cattle (the cattle kraal being central to the settlement).  The Afrikaans word for such a Tswana "city" is "stat", spelt differently from the Afrikaans for "city" (a settlement in the Western image), which is "stad".
Mike Oettle, 13 Mar 2003

Royal Bafokeng emblem