27/09/2021
The Bapedi tribe
(also known as Pedi and Basotho) arose from small chiefdoms that were formed before the 17th century. They were defeated in the 19th century by the armies of Mzilikazi, the king who founded the Matabele kingdom. They were then revived by Pedi chief Sekweti.
The Bapedi tribe practices the ancestral customs. The Malopo ritual is the most ritual of understanding the Bapedi culture. This is overall called go phasa. This ritual usually involves the animal sacrifice or the presenting of beer by the most key figure family member called Kgadi. Some slaughter goats or cows when they need to communicate with their ancestors while some use s***f and tlhotlwa (African traditional beer). Ancestors may come to you via a spiritual power and give you strength to heal through ditaola (bones).
When they prepare traditional beer, they use different kinds of mabele (sorghum meal), which is mixed with hot water. They then store the mixture in a cold place, a self-made traditional house made of tree branches. When it’s ready, the old women brew it, and then pour it into moeta (muddy pots), and serve it to the elders. They don’t drink from regular cups, but from mokgopu (traditional cups). Traditional beer for others is only cooked and served at weddings and ancestral ceremonies.
Bapedi also have different kinds of cultural music:
Mpepetlwane, played by young girls.
Mmatšhidi, played by elderly men and women
Kiba/Dinaka, played by men and boys, and now joined by women
Dipela, played by everyone
Makgakgasa, played by older women
Bapedi eat meat and vegetables, and popular dishes include thophi (made from maize meal and a fruit called lerotse, a melon), mashotja (Mopani worms), moroga wa dikgopana (spinach cooked and left to dry in the sun), and dikgobe (coarsely ground corn/samp and beans).