1. The Interconnection between Islam and
Tswana Culture:
A Case-study of Marriage amongst
the Ngwaketse

2. Religion and Culture
Dual role on societies
Can either bind people together under a
common morality
Or promote change and disruption to the
existing socio-political order
If understood in their proper contexts they
can build and unify a society
If misunderstood, they can ultimately
disintegrate societies.

3. Dawson’s notion - “from the beginning the social
way of life which is culture has been deliberately
ordered and directed in accordance with the higher
laws of life which are religion. As the powers of
heaven rule the seasons, so the divine powers rule the
life of man and society, and for a community to
conduct its affairs without reference to these powers,
seems as irrational as for a community to cultivate
the earth without paying any attention to the course
of the season”

4. Botswana

5. Botswana is a fairly large country in
terms of its size, covering an area of
about (528,000 sq. km)
Known in the colonial era as The
Bechuanaland Protectorate
It gained its independence officially
on the 30th
of September 1966

6. It’s a landlocked country, surrounded
by 4 countries; Namibia to the West
and the North, Zambia to the North-
East, Zimbabwe to the East, and South
Africa to the South.
Capital city is Gaborone, founded in
1890 but only became capital in 1965
after Bechuanaland became a self-
governing nation

7. Some of the significant towns scattered
around the country are; Lobatse, Ghanzi,
Maun, Francistown, Serowe, Jwaneng,
Orapa, Palapye and Mahalapye.
It is perceived to be a stable democracy and
a secular state in which religious freedom
and expression are guaranteed and
protected by the state’s constitution

8. Economically as well, it is regarded as one
of the fastest growing economies.
Much of the economy is largely dependent
on diamonds and tourism. Although the
government has been trying to diversify,
such efforts have not borne fruit yet.

9. Background of Islam/Muslims in
Botswana
Muslims’ first arrival in Botswana traced back to the
late 19th
century
Islam was introduced to Botswana by East-Asian
traders of Indian descent who entered the country via
South Africa
The first known Muslim trader is said to be a certain
gentleman by the name Bhanoo Vahid, who arrived
sometime in 1882 and settled in Moshupa
Other traders followed suit from around 1884, each one
inviting other members of his family to come along
As a result, small clusters of Muslim families began to
spring up around the country forming small Muslim
communities

10. Ramotswa, a Bamalete village 30 km from Gaborone is
perhaps one of the most important of all Muslim
settlements in the early stages of Muslim arrival, with the
first Muslim settlers arriving as early as 1886
Between 1892 and 1967 Ramotswa was recognized as the
religious centre of Islam in the then Bechuanaland
Protectorate
Twice a year Muslim Indian traders would make
pilgrimage to Ramotswa for Eid celebrations from
different parts of the country
Some of the few writings on Islam and Muslims in
Botswana identify Sayed Saidoo Rasul as the first Imaam
between the years 1910-1920 who was later succeeded by
Shaikh Mohammed Umar Khan much younger and eager.
He had studied Hifz in Zeerust.

11. In the 1920s there is a wave of Indian Muslims Traders
coming into Bechuanaland:
This intensifies from the 1930s onwards,
We have Muslim traders establishing businesses in the
remote outposts of the Kgalagadi Desert such as Khakea
(Habib Khan), Kokong (Banoo Kala), Kang (Osman
Saidoo), Hukuntsi (S. Rasool), Lehututu (Noor
Mohammed Kara), Tshane ( Ishmael Jada) and
Lokgwabe (Gulam Mohammed and Noor Mohammed
Moorad)
In areas such as Manyana (Rasool-Khan), Mankgodi,
Moshupa (Abbas Chand), Molepolole (Khan and
Kablay) and Kanye (Dada)

12. Muslim traders faced many challenges: language
barrier, transport and travel limitations. Prior to
the 1940s, the main mode was the ox-wagon then
the railway which ran form Mafeking to
Bulawayo cutting through the Eastern part of the
Protectorate.
Trade restrictions were placed on Muslim
businessmen. --not allowed to open businesses
any where they wanted -not allowed in the large
Reserves and towns (especially along the
railway).

13. The situation only improved in the 1950s when
the ban was lifted to now allow Muslim traders
free-trade, and this was after one Muslim
merchant (Abdul-Rahim Chand) had a bought a
business in Lobatse in 1949, but found himself
having to fight his case in Mafikeng for the
Colonial administration to allow him trade, and he
won the case.
It is after this that many Muslim families moved
from the deeper Kgalagadi areas into the towns.
This is the era that perhaps saw the Muslim
community in Botswana establishing itself within
the urban areas and gradually developing to what
it is today.

14. Early Muslim Settlements
Ramotsw
a

15. The Ngwaketse
The Ngwaketse are one of the main tribes
in Botswana found in the southern part of
the country.
They constitute a part of the Kwena
cluster of Tswana chiefdoms claiming
descent from a common ancestor, Masilo
They sustained themselves largely by
“rearing cattle, mainly for milk, wealth-
prestige and transport” while their meat-
supply was mainly from hunting

16. The Ngwaketse
After breaking away from the Bakwena
kingdom, the Ngwaketse kept on migrating
south with each ruler until the set-up of the
present day Kanye, which serves as the tribe’s
capital.
Tswana life, and hence marriages, have gone
through considerable changes since the
inception of the western-influenced civilisation
that came with the advent of the missionaries
and the colonial administration

17. The Ngwaketse
However, the Bangwaketse, and the Tswana in
general, have retained most of the traditional
practices of marriage, and hence the
researcher’s motivation to write a comparative
study of marriage within Islam and the
Ngwaketse Culture
To mention but a few of such practices that the
Tswana remain unshaken on;
PATLO – Betrothal process
BOGADI – Dowry process
KGOROSO – Delivery process

18. Marriage: Towards a comparative assessment
Both religion and culture regard family ties very
highly and marriage as a pivotal structure that
holds the family together
Society is a conglomerate of families,
A woman cannot contract a marriage on her
own account
Bride price that has to be given as a token of
appreciation for her,
Polygamy

19. Similar processes between Islamic marriages
and Ngwaketse marriages
Patlo (Betrothal process) – Formal request for a
hand in marriage.
Bogadi (Dowry process) – Handing over of the
bride price – mahr
Kgoroso (Delivery of the bride) – When the
bride is delivered to the groom’s place.
Seantlo (Substitute wife) – Where a sister would
be given as a substitute upon the passing of the
other
Lefufa (Polygamy)
Lenyalo (Wedding celebration) – can be
compared with the Islamic walimah

20. CONCLUSION
There are extensive similarities between Islamic
marriages and Ngwaketse/Traditional marriages