pedi

The Pedi or Bapedi (also known as the Northern Sotho or Basotho ba Leboa and the Marota or Bamaroteng) – are a southern African ethnic group that speak Pedi or Sepedi, a dialect belonging to the Sotho-Tswana enthnolinguistic group. Northern Sotho is a term used to refer to one of South Africa's 11 official languages. Northern Sotho or Sesotho sa Leboa consist of 30 dialects, of which Pedi is one of them.The BaPedi people are almost exclusively found in South Africa's northeastern provinces which are Limpopo, and parts of northern Mpumalanga. There is confusion regarding the distinction between BaPedi people, and tribes referred to Northern Sotho (Basotho ba Lebowa). On the one hand, one military explanation is that the BaPedi people became powerful at one point under a powerful king that ruled over a large piece of land. During this period, a powerful army of the BaPedi conquered smaller tribes, and proclaimed paramountcy over them. On the other hand, another explanation is that after the decline of one of the BaPedi Kingdom, some tribes separated from the kingship, hence the use of the term Northern Sotho. One reason for separation might be related to the power battle that has been raging for many years between the varying factions in the BaPedi Kingdom. In the year 2020, Judge Ephraim Makgoba made a ruling on the rivalry between members of the BaPedi traditional council.The separation of powers between Northern Sotho tribes, and the once powerful BaPedi Kingdom became more vivid during the fragmentation of Northern Transvaal. The Lebowa Bantustan wielded political, economic, and social power in the 1980s with the help of the apartheid government. The Lebowa Bantustan was incorporated into South Africa in 1994. Other Northern Sotho tribes can be found in South Africa's northwestern provinces, and speak various other dialects. Examples of tribes with variations of Northern Sotho are found in Seshego, Magoebaskloof, Lebowakgomo, Ga Mamabolo, Ga Mothiba, Ga Dikgale, and Ga Mothapo to mention a few. Some clans in tribes that speak variations of Northern Sotho can be traced back to the Kalanga-Tswana-Sotho group originating from earlier states such as Great Zimbabwe and Butua.The Pedi are of Tswana origin and are descendants of the Kgatla (Bakgatla) a Tswana speaking clan that migrated to 'Bopedi', present-day Limpopo around the 1700s. The Pedi heartland is known as Sekhukhuneland, and is situated between the Olifants and Steelpoort River also known as the Lepelle and the Tubatse. The Pedi were the first of Sotho-Tswana peoples to be called Basotho, the name is derived from Swazi word uku shunta which referred to their clothing style, the Pedi took the name with pride and other similar groups began to refer to themselves as Sothos.

View More On Wikipedia.org