Majande

Majande is located in Bobirwa of eastern Botswana. It is probably the largest stone walled settlement built by the Bakalanga during the rule of the Mambos of the Nichasike Dynasty (AD 1450-1685). It was an elite village of Mbilimangenje (Regional Governor) of the southern region (Bulilima) of the Bakalanga State of Butua.

At the pinnacle of its occupation, Majande consisted of elaborately decorated dry-stone walling structures incorporating diverse patterns and contrasting effects. The prolific decoration is like the sites of Danangombe, Naletale and Zinjanja in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Surrounding this elite settlement were villages of the Bakalanga farming communities.

Butua was one of the largest pre-colonial state systems, established in southern Africa in the early 15th century. Abundant minerals found in the region, such as gold, tin and copper, were in demand from Swahili and Portuguese traders on the Indian Ocean coast and played a key role in the State’s development. Available natural resources including water from the Shangani River and quality pasturage ensured the growth of domestic stock and attracted wild animal species, some of which were exploited for a variety of purposes, including consumption and trade.

The 19th century witnessed the Difaqane invasions into the communities in the interior of southern Africa, leading to the fragmentation of the Butua state that had dominated the Zimbabwe plateau for about four centuries. This led to its collapse and its population becoming subject to the Ndebele invaders in south-western Zimbabwe. The Ndebele became the most powerful political formation in the 19th century until the arrival of European colonialism in the area.

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Doorways sealed with stone monoliths at Majande are found at similar sites in the region such as Matendere in Zimbabwe. These blocked doorways denied access to sacred spaces, mainly when rulers moved their administrative centre, signalling the abandonment of part or all of the site.

Sources

1. Huffman, T, and Main, M. (2021). Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 32, 1-28 [Link]
2. Huffman, T., Merwe, H., Grant, M., and Kruger, G. (1995). Early copper mining at Thakadu, Botswana. Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 53-61 [Link]
3. Mukwende, T. (2020). The Archaeology of Khami and the Butua State. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History.
4. van Waarden, C. (1989). The granaries of Vumba: Structural interpretation of a Khami period commoner site. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 8, 131–157 [Link]