"A nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul"
Sir Seretse Khama (1921-1980)
Introduction
View of Bokaa ward, Shoshong with Shoshong Primary School in the foreground. © Jacob Knight
Shoshong is in the Central District of Botswana, just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. A visitor to the sleepy village today would find it difficult to believe that just 150 years ago it was the largest village for thousands of kilometres.
I do not pretend to be an authority on Shoshong�s history, but fell in love with the village on my first visit in 2008 with my future wife who was born and brought up there. This book grew out of a desire for a simple account of the history for our son Letsopa, and the apparent lack of any existing books on the subject despite the importance of Shoshong in Botswana�s history.
The book builds on whatever information was readily available, and the records from missionaries form the primary source, although I have tried to get information from as wide a range of sources as possible.
The people living in Shoshong originate from a mix of historical tribes, but have lived together in harmony for most of their history and this book aims to celebrate that shared past rather than sow divisions.
Map of Africa from 1885; Shoshong, Kanye and Tunobis are the only places noted in what is today Botswana. Tunobis near the modern Namibia border was the easternmost point reached by an expedition in 1850.
If any readers can contribute more information or wish to correct any inaccuracies, please contact me at:
jacob@kwangu.com
Jacob Knight
May 2014