Bamangwato

people

Also known as: Ngwato

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Last updated

June 18, 2026

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The Bamangwato are a subgroup of the Tswana people, who are Bantu-speaking and primarily reside in Botswana and South Africa. Historically, the Bamangwato have lived in grassland areas, relying on animal husbandry and agriculture, with men often migrating for work in South African mines. Their material culture has been influenced by European goods, and their traditional social structure is based on patrilineal descent groups and wards. Serowe is the largest village and traditional headquarters of the Bamangwato people.12

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Southern Africa
Growth of missionary activity
…the Tswana converts were the Ngwato, under the king Khama III (reigned 1875–1923), who established a virtual theocracy among his people and was perhaps the most acclaimed Christian convert of his day, while in the eastern Cape the Mfengu were in the forefront of mission activity and peasant enterprise. In…
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…the Tswana converts were the Ngwato, under the king Khama III (reigned 1875–1923), who established a virtual theocracy among his people and was perhaps the most acclaimed Christian convert of his day, while in the eastern Cape the Mfengu were in the forefront of mission activity and peasant enterprise. In…
Read More

Serowe
…the traditional headquarters of the Bamangwato people. It consists primarily of clusters of round, traditional African houses surrounded by extensive compounds and gardens, the whole village in turn being surrounded by about 30 miles (50 km) of arable agricultural lands and cattle-grazing posts. Serowe was first occupied by the Bamangwato…
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…the traditional headquarters of the Bamangwato people. It consists primarily of clusters of round, traditional African houses surrounded by extensive compounds and gardens, the whole village in turn being surrounded by about 30 miles (50 km) of arable agricultural lands and cattle-grazing posts. Serowe was first occupied by the Bamangwato…
Read More