And so Roy Sesana, leader of the Bakhwa/Bakhoe organisation of First People of the Kalahari
(FPK) is most probably right when he says that the name Basarwa, used to refer to Bakhwa in
Setswana is a corrupted version of the Setswana phrase Ba-Sarua, meaning "those who do not
rear(or raise) animals".
You see, rearing cattle is a central economic activity of the Tswana people ever since the
founding of Khami/Nkami near Bulawayo by the Anunnaki. We have shown on this blog that the
Bangwato, Bakwena, Bangwaketse and Bakaa people originate from Khami. These people, who now
live in Botswana, used to be the herders and milkers of the animals whose milk served as food for the Anunnaki.
What may have escaped notice by Kalanga speakers is that the historical inhabitans of Khami, a people refered to as "Botua" are in fact "Bothua/Bothuwa". Their name is derived from the Kalanga verb "Ku thuwa (ngombe)" meaning "To rear (cattle)". Thus they were known as "Bathuwa" in Kalanga.
Like all animal herders, Bathuwa had to find pasture for their herds when Khami fell, long after the Anunnaki left the scene. Pasture was readily available in the lands of Bakhwa, who were mostly hunter gatherers.
Thus the word "Basarwa" came in handy to clear the consciences of the Bathuwa, as the latter
moved to invade the lands of the Bakhwa to graze their herds.
Do you know the 't' and 'r' are used interchangeably in Bantu languages? In Zulu and other central African languages the very same short statured people are known as Batwa, in Kalanga transliteration as Bathuwa. In the seRolong dialect they are refered to as Barwa. Typical changes in sound are 'rata-thato', 'ruta-thuto', 'rapela-thapelo' and 'rola-tholo' from whence the Rolong totem was derived, erroneously thought to mean Kudu-Thôlô. See the 'r' changes to 'th', pay special attention to the following.
ReplyDeleteThe Kalanga verb "ku thuwa" in Sotho languages is spelt 'go r(th)uwa/rua' from whence the noun Baruwi/rui is derived, and as such cannot be presented as a noun "Bathuwa" in Kalanga without a change in sound. This is clearly a made up word not informed by a language rule.
If indeed the term was dirived from something to do with cattle rearing, it is suppose to bear same meaning in the Chichewa, Zulu and other Bantu languages that identify this group as Batwa. Instead 'Khuwa, khwa, or kgwa' is an expression used to indicate the act of spitting. When an obeject or whale has been beached or anything that come from the sea, we say 'e Kgwelwe ke lewatle' from the verb khwa/kgwa. The first European settlers as such were given the name Mokgowa - Bakgowa/Bakhwa (with the deregotory term Lekgowa) to signify that they were "spat" by the sea (literally meaning they came via the sea). In tshiVhenda language they are refered to as Mukhuwa and (B)Makhuwa, the latter is commonly used by Batswana in general.