Kaditshwene

Kaditshwene
Gaditshwene
Karechuenya
Region Zeerust, North West Province town
History
Abandoned 1820s
Cultures Bahurutshe people

Kaditshwene aka Gaditshwene or Karechuenya, was a South African Iron Age settlement some 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the present-day North West Province town of Zeerust.

John Campbell on the banks of the Orange River

It was the cultural capital of the Bahurutshe people, one of the principal Tswana tribes and a centre of manufacturing and trading. The missionary, John Campbell, came across this settlement in the Tshwenyane hills of the Marico in 1820, at which time its population of 20 000 exceeded that of Cape Town. Archaeologists estimate that it had been founded in the late 1400s on the site of iron and copper ore deposits.[1][2][3]

In 1821, during the Mfecane, the town was sacked by the Batlokwa under the warrior queen, Mantatisi. The attack was followed round 1823 by another under Sebetwane and the Bafokeng tribe. The survivors fled west and sought sanctuary among the Bakwena and other Tswana tribes.[4] Crumbling stone walls, foundations, ash middens and remains of a metal working industry are the only evidence of the settlement's previous existence. In 2011 the ruins were declared a National Heritage Site by the Government.[5][6]

John Campbell referred to the town as “Kurreechane”, a rendition which has survived in Kurrichane thrush and Kurrichane buttonquail, species that were described from there by Andrew Smith.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Boeyens, Jan (2000). "In search of Kaditshwene.". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 55: 3–17. JSTOR 3888888.
  2. ↑ Mason, R.J. "Transvaal and Natal Iron Age Settlement Revealed by Aerial Photography and Excavation." (PDF). University of the Witwatersrand: Institute for Advanced Social Research (A13).
  3. ↑ "Kaditshwene (Karechuenya or Kurrichane) - North West Province South Africa". Archive-za.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  4. ↑ Boeyens, Jan (Dec 2003). "The Late Iron Age sequence in the Marico and early Tswana history.". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 58 (178): 63–78. JSTOR 3889303.
  5. ↑ "Republic of South Africa : Volume 555" (PDF). Kaditshweneheritage.co.za. 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  6. ↑ "9/2/238/0012". SAHRA.org.za. 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  7. ↑ Jan C.A. Boeyens; Desmond T. Cole. "Kaditshwene : What's In A Name ?" (PDF). Uir.unisa.ac.za. Retrieved 2016-01-30.

Coordinates: 25°23′00″S 26°12′00″E / 25.3833°S 26.2000°E / -25.3833; 26.2000

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