THE liAGANANOA ()K .M A-LA r.( )t 1 1 . 243 



Traditional History. 



The Baganaiioa are supposed to be an offshoot of the 

 Bahurutsi,* one of the divisions of the Bakuena who invaded 

 the country from the North. The earhest known chief, accord- 

 ing to tradition, was Mahti, who settled down in some mountains 

 in Northern Bechuanaland, which were called after his name. 



This Maliti was the great-great-grandfather of the present 

 chief, Kgalushi Alalaboch. He had two sons. The younger 

 of these, Lebogo. seems to have been a man of fine character, 

 and great ability, and as he grew up a rivalry between him and 

 his elder brother, the rightful heir to their father's throne, was 

 inevitable. A gentle disposition and courteous manners, com- 

 bined with tmquestionable boldness and courage, and an 

 indomitable will, secured for Lebogo a large following in the 

 tribe, but under the wise and firm rule of their father, no open 

 rupture between the brothers took place for many years. 



At the time our history commences, the whole country, in 

 what is now the Northern Transvaal, was suffering severely 

 from drought and famine. The scarcity of food led a party of 

 Modjadji's people to leave their homes in search of supplies. 

 Tliey carried with them a number of iron hoes of their own 

 manufactm-e to barter for food. By the time they reached the 

 Bahurutsi. however, they were nearly dying of starvation. 



One of the leaders of the band was a princess of the royal 

 house of A'lodjadji. a winsome maid, who at once captured the 

 heart of Lebogo. He took her to his home, fed her. and cared 

 for her till her health and strength were restored. 



The bundles of hoes carried by the strangers seem to have 

 awakened the curiosity of Lebogo, and in answering his ques- 

 tions, the girl was astonished to find that the whole tribe sub- 

 sisted chiefly on meat, and knew nothing whatever about 

 agriculture. She therefore promised Lebogo that she would 

 teach him the use of the hoe, and instruct his people in the art 

 of planting seed, and tilling the ground. When the time came, 

 however, her labourers in the field were greeted by derisive 

 cheers by the Bahurutsi w^omen, and as the days passed, atid 

 their prognostications of failure seemed as though they would 

 be realised owing to the parched condition of the ground, slie 

 turned upon Lebogo in anger and reproached him for not pro- 

 viding rain. The foreign maid came from a country whose 

 chieftain queens were recognised throughout the Bantu world 

 as the greatest rainmakers upon earth, and according to the 

 current belief of the time, that the power of rainmaking was 

 vested in the royal family, she naturally expected that Lebogo, 

 or at least his father, would be able to control the rain in his 

 own district. Lebogo convinced her of his ignorance, so she 

 determined to impart all her own knowledge on the subject 

 (which must have been considerable) to him, lest her lesson in 



* Cf. Govt. Report. 



