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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Tlokwa oral traditions and the interface between history and archaeology at Marothodi
Authors:Boeyens, JanISNI
Hall, Simon
Year:2009
Periodical:South African Historical Journal
Volume:61
Issue:3
Pages:457-481
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:Tlokwa
ruins
archaeology
oral traditions
history
Iron Age
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02582470903189717
Abstract:Bridging the somewhat arbitrary divide between history and archaeology remains a critical aim of the study of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in the South African interior. Despite the prejudice inherent in the oral records collected by State ethnologist P.L. Breutz and others, it is argued that they still play a fundamental role in ascribing a historical identity to the countless Late Iron Age stone-walled sites that have been attributed to Tswana speakers. The focus of this study is on the settlement sequence of a Tlokwa branch along the Kgetleng (Elands) River in the Rustenburg region of South Africa's present-day North West Province. More specifically, the authors examine the evidence that identifies the stone ruins on Vlakfontein and adjoining farms as Marothodi, the capital of the Rustenburg Tlokwa, prior to their dispersal during the 'difaqane'. Though it was renowned for its copper industry and constituted one of the largest African towns in the interior prior to the 'difaqane', Marothodi has largely faded from historical memory. This article explores the historical roots of the Tlokwa, their settlement history at Marothodi, and their interaction with near neighbours, such as the Fokeng, the Tlhako and the Kgatla. It highlights the potential contribution of an integrated historical and archaeological study of late precolonial Tswana society. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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