A Short History of Barolong.(part 4)

Period of Traditional History.

The earliest Chief of whom the BaRolong have any recollection is Morolong after whom the tribe is named. As one informant put the situation,
"When God had created us, the BaRolong, He saw that we needed a Chief, and so He gave us Morolong".

We do not know by what outstanding achievement in the history of the tribe Morolong made such an indelible impression upon them that they decided to regard him as the founder of the tribe.

It is probable that he was the Chief under whose leadership the BaRolong broke away from the parent tribe to which they once belonged; it may be that he introduced certain notable improvements in their social organisation or in their, material culture; he may have distinguished himself in some other way in the life of the tribe.

The BaRolong are unable at present to provide a clue to the solution of this question. Nor can any reliable information be obtained regarding the probable date of the reign of Morolong. The only way in which this can be estimated is by reckoning the number of Chiefs who ruled the tribe after his death up to the time of which we have more or less reliable information.

Judging by the number of Chiefs who are reputed to have occupied the BaRolong throne before the death of Tau which is generally placed at 1760, it is probable that Morolong reigned in the latter part of the 14th or the early part of the 15th century.

Some estimates put his reign in the latter part of the 15th or the early part of the 16th century. Morolong is reputed to have been followed in the chieftainship by Noto, his son. Noto (Iron Hammer) must also have been a remarkable man or his reign must have been marked by outstanding events in the history of the tribe, because the BaRolong often refer to themselves as Ba-binaTshipi (i.e. those-who-revere-Iron).

It is suggested that this subsidiary Barolong seboko (totem) is derived from the name of Noto (Iron Hammer). Very few chiefs in Tswana history have had their names honoured in this way.

The BaKwena are a case in point. Their seboko is supposed to be Kwena (the crocodile) derived from the name of Kwena, the Chief under whose leadership the tribe hived off from the BaHurutshe. Some historians say that it was during the reign of Noto that the BaRolong reached the region of the Molopo. This may account for the prominence given to his name in BaRolong tradition.

On the other hand some suggest that the tribe reached the region of the Molopo during the reign of Morara, the son of Noto.

The popularity of the name Morara among the royal lineage groups of the BaRolong seems to suggest that this Chief of whom little is otherwise known also left his mark on the tribe.

Once settled in the region of the Molopo the tribe prospered and grew in numbers and was ruled in succession by a number of Chiefs whose reigns were apparently uneventful. These were Mabe, Mabua, Monoto, Mabeo and Modibowa. Stow records that Monoto is said to have been " skilful in invention and resources", whatever that means, but as regards the others practically nothing is known.

Modibowa is said to have left two sons, namely, Mooki and Tshesebe, the former being the elder. A quarrel over succession to the chieftainship arose between the two brothers, although according to custom there should have been no doubt about Mooki being the rightful heir to the chieftainship. However Tshesebe seems to have had the support of the bulk of the people in his claim: The reasons for this attitude on the part of the tribe are obscure.

It is possible that Mooki may have had certain undesirable features in his character which did not commend themselves to the tribe. , On the other hand although Mooki was older than Tshesebe as far as age was concerned it may be that his mother was inferior in status to the mother of Tshesebe. In other words they may have been the sons of Modibowa by different wives and therefore different in status.

It is common knowledge that among the Bantu the son of the chief wife is the one entitled to the chieftainship and the chief wife is not always the first wife married. The latter custom sometimes results in the rightful heir being younger than some son or sons of his father by a junior wife or wives.

Whatever may have been the reason for the support which Tshesebe obtained, the result of the quarrel was that he broke away from the main body of the tribe with his followers and established himself at a place called Setlagole, about 45 miles west of the present town of Mafikeng. Those loyal to the elder son remained with him.