Bahurutshe are a subgroup of Tswana People in Southern Africa. The Bahurutshe people live in Zeerust and Marico which are located in the North West Province of South Africa, but belong to the Ngaka Modiri Molema Administrative District. They belong in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality.
According to the 2001 census, major districts in which the Bahurutshe people live can be divided into the following: Manyane, Suping, Le-Ncoe, Gopane, Moiloa, Mokgoswa, and Mothogae.
The Tswana clan was separated into Bahurutshe, Bakwena, and Bakgatla by 1500. Before then there was the difaqane war where the people of Bahurutshe suffered various civil and internal conflicts, living in the Marico Area. The area was invaded by the Tswana, and had to go through continuous strifes. In 1820, the difaqane war from the east of the Drakensburg mountains influenced the Bahurutshe society and the society was completely divided at this time. Between 1823 and 1827, their settlement, Kaditshwene, was invaded. As a result, most Bahurutshe migrated to the south of Mosega. In 1835, when Voortrekkers arrived at Transgariep, the Bahurutshe chose to make a tie with the Voortrekkers; they accepted Voortrekkers as the new masters of the Transgariep land. Moiloa Ⅱ(c. 1785-1875) assisted the Potgieter commando in 1837 to drive out Mzilikazi. During his term as chief (c. 1845-1875), he was regarded as ’a great ally of the Boers’. The Bahurutshe were regarded by the Voortrekkers as their allies. In return for their assistance Potgieter gave them permission to return to Marico and awarded a tract of land to Moiloa’s people, which was designated Moiloa’s Location or Moiloa’s Reserve in 1865.
From 1850 onwards, the Bahurutshe ba ga Moiloa settled in Dinokana, which became the main village of Moiloa’s Reserve. Among the six communities, Bahurutshe ba ga Moiloa clan has the political and economic hegemony in the Bahurutshe society, in terms of both power and population. Bahurutshe ba ga Moiloa is where King Bahurutshe resides in. On 30th June 2011, coronation was held and Molomathotse, King Moiloa III, Tebogo Charles was crowned king.
Bahurutshe ba ga Moiloa’s lineage is evidence of how the Bahurutshe people survived throughout the tumultuous days of history. Their oral history deals comprehensively with the continously changing internal division, the migration and settlement of the Boers, the dominance and rule of the British Empire, the war between the British and Boers, the Union of South Africa, and how the Bahurutshe people fought for their survival and maintenance of chieftainship throughout the Apartheid period.
Bahurutshe ba ga Moiloa’s lineage has significance not only as the history of the Bahurutshe people, but also as a historical insight of the South African region as a whole. Most of the clans in South Africa including the Bahurutshe went through the same.
The oral history of Bahuruths ba ga Moiloa can be constructed into the context of Africans’ history as one of the prominent cases that clearly identify Africans and their history. It is evident in Moiloa’s lineage that despite the internal and external forces Chief System and chieftainship have been one of the driving forces of Africans and their society, and will, for a long time, have a big role in maintaining and stabilizing the African society.