The ‘capital of the Kalahari’ isn’t much more than a break in the dust, although it's a growing town with good accommodation options and a handful of petrol stations and supermarkets. The town itself is a place of few attractions, but its appeal lies in its statistics: Ghanzi is 275km from Maun, 540km from Windhoek and 636km from Gaborone. Spend any time in the country’s west and you’re likely to spend some time here, whether to fill your petrol tank, stock up on supplies or get a good night’s sleep.

It may be difficult to understand how a town could prosper in such inhospitable terrain, but it helps that Ghanzi sits atop a 500km-long low limestone ridge containing vast amounts of artesian water. Interestingly enough, the name ‘Ghanzi’ comes from the San word for a one-stringed musical instrument with a gourd soundbox, and not the Setswana word gantsi (flies), though this would arguably be more appropriate.

This small village just north of Ghanzi is home to a large community of Ncoakhoe San who operate an art gallery, cultural centre and wildlife ranch. The ranch is run under the auspices of the Kuru Family of Organisations (www.kuru.co.bw), an affiliated group of NGOs working towards the empowerment of the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa.

The dry heart of the dry south of a dry continent, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is an awesome place. If remoteness, desert silences and the sound of lions roaring in the night are your thing, this could become one of your favourite places in Africa. Covering 52,800 sq km (about the size of Denmark), it's also one of Africa’s largest protected areas. This is big-sky country, home to black-maned Kalahari lions, a full suite of predators and an utterly wonderful sense of the remote.

Central Kalahari & Khutse Game Reserves

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1Bape CampsiteC4

2Brakah CampsiteC1

Deception Valley LodgeC1

Haina Kalahari LodgeC1

3Kalahari Plains CampC2

4Kalahari RestA5

5Kaziikini CampsiteC1

6Khankhe Pan CampsitesC4

7Khutse Pan CampsitesC5

8Kori CampsitesB2

9Mahurushele Pan CampsitesC4

10Molose Pan CampsitesC5

11Moreswe Pan CampsitesC5

12Motopi CampsitesB1

13Passarge Valley CampsitesB1

14Phokoje CampsiteB2

15Piper Pan CampsitesB2

16Sunday Pan CampsitesB2

17Tau Pan CampB2

18Xade CampsitesB3

19Xaxa CampsiteB3

The 2500-sq-km Khutse Game Reserve ( GOOGLE MAP ; %596 0013; per day per nonresident/vehicle P120/50; h6am-6.30pm Apr-Sep, 5.30am-7pm Oct-Mar), which is an extension of the southern boundary of the CKGR, is a popular weekend excursion for residents of Gaborone, but it’s still deliciously remote and crowds are rare, especially from Sunday to Thursday. It has all the attractions of the Kalahari, including good (if low-density) wildlife watching, well-maintained trails and around 60 mineralised clay pans that once belonged to Africa’s largest inland lake. Leopard and lion sightings in particular are possible, while gemsboks and giraffes are also commonly seen.

The name Khutse, which means ‘Where One Kneels to Drink’ in Sekwena (the local dialect of Setswana), indicates that the area once had water, though today the reserve experiences continual droughts.

The small settlement of Kang, 277km southeast of Ghanzi, sits at the turn-off to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. As such, it’s an important crossroads town for those travelling between Namibia, South Africa and Botswana (at some places in town you can pay in the currencies of any of the three countries). Kang wouldn’t win a beauty contest, but it has reliable petrol stations as well as affordable places to eat and sleep.

In 2000 the former Mabuasehube-Gemsbok National Park was combined with South Africa’s former Kalahari Gemsbok National Park to create the new Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park ( GOOGLE MAP ; dwnp@gov.bw; non-resident adult/vehicle per day P20/4; h6am-7.30pm Jan & Feb, 6.30am-7pm Mar, Sep & Oct, 7am-6.30pm Apr & Aug, 7am-6pm May, 7.30am-6pm Jun & Jul, 5.30am-7.30pm Nov & Dec). The result is a 28,400-sq-km bi-national park that is one of the largest and most pristine arid wilderness areas on the continent. The park is also the only place in Botswana where you’ll see the shifting sand dunes that many mistakenly believe to be typical of the Kalahari. This is true desert; in the summer it can reach 45°C, and at night it can drop to -10°C.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

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2Gharagab Wilderness CampA2

3Kalahari Game LodgeA3

4Mabuasehube Pan Camp SitesD2

5Mata Mata Rest CampA3

6Monamodi CampsitesD2

7Motopi CampsitesC2

8Mpayathutlwa Pan CampsitesD2

9Nossob Rest CampB2

10PolentswaA2

11RooiputsB4

12Swart PanA2

13Twee Riverien Rest CampB4

14Two RiversB4

15Urikaruus Wilderness CampA4

The Unhappiest Place on Earth?

We’ve always found people in Botswana to be a pretty welcoming and cheerful lot, and their booming economy suggests that there is much for them to be happy about. But not everyone agrees. In 2012 the New Economics Foundation (www.neweconomics.org) surveyed people in 151 countries in order to create the latest version of its Happy Planet Index. Contrary to popular reporting in Botswana in the wake of the survey, the index doesn’t measure people’s day-to-day happiness. Instead, it reveals the efficiency with which countries convert their natural resources into long and happy lives for their citizens while maintaining a small ecological footprint. In other words, the countries that do well are those where people achieve long, happy lives without overstretching the earth’s natural resources. Having languished in the lower regions since the index was created in 2006, in 2012 Botswana came in…last. Thankfully, things have improved in the years since – Botswana rose to a better, if still rather disappointing, 126th out of 140 countries in 2016.

Resource Rich

By any standards, Botswana’s recent history is a lesson to other African countries. Instead of suffering from Africa’s oft-seen resource curse, Botswana has used the ongoing windfall from its diamond mines to build a stable and, for the most part, egalitarian country, one whose economic growth rates have, for decades, been among the highest on earth. This is a place where things work, where education, health and environmental protection are government priorities. Even when faced with one of the most serious challenges confronting Africa in the 20th century – HIV/AIDS – the government broke new ground in making antiretroviral treatment available to all.

The country’s dependence on diamonds is, however, also a major concern when looking into Botswana’s future; diamonds make up 85% of the country's export earnings and one third of government revenues. As such, the economy remains vulnerable to a fluctuating world economy – in 2015 the economy grew by just 1% (which is very low by the country's recent, albeit lofty standards) and unemployment sits at a worrying 20%, prompting the government to announce an economic stimulus package in 2016. Tourism is the big growth industry as the country attempts to diversify an economy that remains, despite some leaner times, one of the strongest in Southern Africa.

Fifty & Proud

On 30 September 2016, Botswana celebrated 50 years as an independent country. We were fortunate enough to join in the celebrations and the outpouring of national pride made it clear that this is one of Africa's most enduring success stories. Yes, much of it wouldn't have been possible without diamonds – the country would be unrecognisable to those who were around 50 years before – but Botswana has used its resources to make a better life for its people, something that can be said about few other resource-rich African nations. But there's more to it than simple good economic management, because this country is very much united. Despite considerable diversity, the project of building a cohesive and peaceful nation has been similarly successful – people here identify themselves first and foremost as Botswanans, with tribal affiliation very much in second place. If this sounds like a given, again, a quick scan of other countries on the continent serves as a reminder that this is so special that it fully deserves the slogan that accompanied the anniversary celebrations – ‘Botswana: United and Proud’.

Political Stability

In many African countries, an 11th straight election victory for the ruling party – in this case, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) – would be a signal that all is not well. But in Botswana, the opposite applies. The government was reelected in 2014, with President Ian Khama and his BDP taking just under 50% of the vote, winning an absolute majority in parliament; for the first time, more voters chose opposition presidential candidates than the president himself. The opposition mounted a strong campaign and the electoral process was judged by international observers to be free and fair. In the aftermath, there were no complaints over electoral fraud, and a robust political debate prevails thanks to a free press and a marked lack of authoritarianism. In Botswana, it seems, voters keep reelecting the government thanks to a widespread perception that the government is doing a decent job. The fact that Botswana's past presidents have, for the most part, stepped off the political stage voluntarily, offers further credence to the idea that Botswana's governance, though far from perfect, is less about personal aggrandisement for its rulers than it is a reflection of the society it represents.

A Fragile Environment

Botswana inhabits one of the driest regions on earth, and not just because the Kalahari sweeps across much of the country's territory. In 2016 Botswana, along with the rest of Southern Africa, suffered its fourth successive year of drought, causing massive problems for the country's agricultural and cattle-farming sectors. Drinking water, particularly in the country's northwest from D'Kar to Maun, has become increasingly scarce, prompting concerns for the long-term sustainability of entire communities.

Despite low water levels in places like the Boteti River and the drying up once again of the Savuti Channel and neighbouring marshlands, wildlife tends to be surviving the crisis a little better than the country's human population, but poaching in the region remains a concern – despite promising news compared to the rest of Africa, the fact remains that Botswana has lost 15% of its elephants since 2010. Hunting, too, is a fraught issue, with the country's ban on commercial or trophy hunting in 2014 winning both praise and criticism from conservationists. The worldwide clamour for change in the hunting industry after the killing of Cecil the lion in neighbouring Zimbabwe in 2015 makes it unlikely that the government will change tack any time soon.

First Footprints

To understand Botswana, one must look deep into the past. Here, history extends back through the millenniums to the earliest presence of humanity on the planet, when humans took their first footsteps on the savannahs of southern and eastern Africa. Developing rudimentary tools, these people hunted and gathered across the abundant plains, moving seasonally over grassland and scrub in and around the extensive wetlands that once covered the north of the country.

By the Middle Stone Age, which lasted until 20,000 years ago, the Boskop, the primary human group in Southern Africa, had progressed into an organised hunting and gathering society. They are thought to be the ancestors of the modern-day San.

Archaeological evidence and rock art found in the Tsodilo Hills place these hunter-gatherers in shelters and caves throughout the region from around 17,000 BC. The paintings that gave expression to the natural world in which they lived attest to their increasing level of sophistication – clumsy stone tools gave way to bone, wood and, eventually, iron implements. Better tools meant more efficient hunting, which allowed time for further innovation, personal adornment and artistic pursuits such as the emerging craft of pottery.

Such progress prompted many of these hunter-gatherers to adopt a pastoral lifestyle – sowing crops and grazing livestock on the exposed pastures of the Okavango Delta and the Makgadikgadi lakes. Some migrated west into central Namibia, and by 70 BC some had even reached the Cape of Good Hope.

Settlement

Following the fragmented trail of ancient pottery, archaeologists and anthropologists have been able to piece together the complex, criss-crossing migration of different ethnic groups into Southern Africa. From AD 200 to 500, Bantu-speaking farmers began to appear on the southern landscape from the north and east. To begin with, relations between the San and Khoekhoen appear to have been cordial, and the groups mixed freely, traded and intermarried. After all, there was much to learn from each other. The farmers brought with them new political systems, and superior agricultural and metalworking skills. In the Tswapong Hills, near Palapye, there’s evidence of an early iron-smelting furnace that dates back to AD 190. One of the earliest and most powerful Bantu groups to settle in the region was the Sotho-Tswana, who consisted of three distinct entities: the Northern Basotho (or Pedi), who settled in the Transvaal of South Africa; the Southern Basotho of Lesotho; and the Western Basotho (or Batswana), who migrated north into Botswana.

Cattle herders began arriving from Zimbabwe around AD 600, and in the 13th century most of eastern Botswana came within the sphere of influence of Great Zimbabwe, one of Africa’s most legendary ancient kingdoms. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, Great Zimbabwe incorporated many chiefdoms of northeastern Botswana, and the region was still part of Zimbabwe-based dynasties several hundred years later.

The only other significant migrations into Botswana were those of the Herero in the late 19th century. Faced with German aggression in Namibia, they fled eastward, settling in the northwestern extremes of Botswana.

Rise of the Tswana

One of the most significant developments in Botswana’s human history was the evolution of the three main branches of the Tswana ethnic group during the 14th century. It’s a typical tale of family discord, where three brothers – Kwena, Ngwaketse and Ngwato – broke away from their father, Chief Malope, to establish their own followings in Molepolole, Kanye and Serowe respectively. These fractures probably occurred in response to drought and expanding populations eager to strike out in search of new pastures and arable land.

The Ngwato clan split further in the late 18th century, following a quarrel between Chief Khama I and his brother Tawana, who subsequently left Serowe and established his chiefdom in the area around Maun. The four major present-day Batswana groups – the Batawana, Bakwena, Bangwaketse and Bangwato – trace their ancestry to these splits and Botswana’s demographic make-up owes much to the dispersal of the various groups.

The Difaqane

As people fanned out across Southern Africa, marking out their territories of trade and commerce, the peaceful fragmentation of the past became increasingly difficult. By the 1700s villages were no longer small, open affairs but fortified settlements situated on strategic, defensive hilltops. This antagonistic mood was exacerbated by the increasing trade in ivory, cattle and slaves, which prompted raids and counterraids between powerful tribes eager to gain control over these lucrative resources.

The most prominent aggressor was the Zulu warlord Shaka, the new chief of the Zulu confederation. From his base in Natal he launched a series of ruthless campaigns aimed at forcibly amalgamating or destroying all tribes and settlements in his way. By 1830 the Bakwena and Bangwato areas had been overrun, and survivors had started the difaqane (literally ‘the scattering’ or exodus). In Shaka’s wake came his equally ruthless Ndebele general, Mzilikazi, who continued to send raiding parties into the villages of Botswana and forced villagers to flee as far as Ghanzi and Tshane in the heart of the Kalahari. His troops also defeated the Bangwaketse, who fled into the desert, finally settling near Letlhakeng.

The Tswana states of Ngwaketse, Kwena and Ngwato were only reconstituted in the 1840s after the ravages of the difaqane had passed. Realising from their experience that their divided nation was vulnerable to attack, they began to regroup under the aegis of King Segkoma I.

These new states were then organised into wards under their own chiefs, who then paid tribute (based on labour and cattle) to the king. Botswana may have begun to unite, but the states were also highly competitive, vying with each other for the increasing trade in ivory and ostrich feathers being carried down new roads to the Cape Colony in the south. Those roads also brought Christian missionaries into Botswana for the first time and enabled the Boer trekkers to begin their migrations further north.

The Boers & the British

While Mzilikazi was wreaking havoc on the Batswana and missionaries were busy trying to convert the survivors to Christianity, the Boers were feeling pressured by their British neighbours in the Cape. The Boers were farmers from the eastern Cape in Southern Africa, the descendants of Dutch-speaking settlers. In 1836 around 20,000 Boers set out on the Great Trek across the Vaal River into Batswana and Zulu territory and proceeded to set up their own free state ruling the Transvaal – a move ratified by the British in the Sand River Convention of 1852. Effectively, this placed the Batswana under the rule of the so-called new South African Republic, and a period of rebellion and heavy-handed oppression ensued. Following heavy human and territorial losses, the Batswana chiefs petitioned the British government for protection from the Boers.

But Britain had its hands full in Southern Africa and was in no hurry to take on and support a country of uncertain profitability. Instead, it offered to act as arbitrator in the dispute. By 1877, however, animosity against the Boers had escalated to such a dangerous level that the British conceded and annexed the Transvaal – thereby starting the first Boer War. The war continued until the Pretoria Convention of 1881, when the British withdrew from the Transvaal in exchange for Boer allegiance to the British Crown.

With the British out of their way, the Boers once again looked northward into Batswana territory. In 1882 the Boers managed to subdue the towns of Taung and Mafikeng, and proclaimed them the republics of Stellaland and Goshen. They might have gone much further had it not been for the annexation of South West Africa (modern-day Namibia) by the Germans in the 1890s.

With the potential threat of a German-Boer alliance across the Kalahari, which would have put an end to their dreams of expansion into mineral-rich Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), the British started to look seriously at the Batswana petitions for protection. In 1885 they proclaimed a protectorate over their Tswana allies, known as the British Crown Colony of Bechuanaland.

Cecil John Rhodes

British expansion in Southern Africa came in the form of a private venture under the auspices of the British South Africa Company (BSAC), owned by millionaire businessman Cecil John Rhodes.

By 1889 Rhodes already had a hand in the diamond-mining industry in Kimberley (South Africa), and he was convinced that other African countries had similar mineral deposits just waiting to be exploited. He aimed to do this through the land concessions that companies could obtain privately in order to colonise new land for the Crown. The system was easily exploited by Rhodes, who fraudulently obtained large tracts of land from local chiefs by passing off contracts as treaties. The British turned a blind eye, as they eventually hoped to transfer the entire Bechuanaland protectorate to the BSAC and relieve themselves of the expense of colonial administration.

Realising the implications of Rhodes’ aspirations, three Batswana chiefs – Bathoen, Khama III and Sebele – accompanied by a sympathetic missionary, WC Willoughby, sailed to England to appeal directly to the British parliament for continued government control of Bechuanaland. Instead of taking action, the colonial minister, Joseph Chamberlain, advised them to contact Rhodes directly and work things out among themselves.

Naturally, Rhodes was immovable, so the delegation approached the London Missionary Society (LMS), who in turn took the matter to the British public. Fearing that the BSAC would allow alcohol in Bechuanaland, the LMS and other Christian groups backed the devoutly Christian Khama and his entourage. The British public in general felt that the Crown should be administering the Empire, rather than the controversial Rhodes. Public pressure rose to such a level that the government was forced to concede to the chiefs. Chamberlain agreed to continue British administration of Bechuanaland, ceding only a small strip of the southeast (now known as the Tuli Block) to the BSAC for the construction of a railway line to Rhodesia.

Colonial Years

By 1899 Britain had decided it was time to consolidate the Southern African states, and it declared war on the Transvaal. The Boers were overcome in 1902, and in 1910 the Union of South Africa was created.

By selling cattle, draught oxen and grain to the Europeans streaming north in search of farming land and minerals, Bechuanaland enjoyed an initial degree of economic independence. However, the construction of the railway through Bechuanaland to Rhodesia and a serious outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the 1890s destroyed the transit trade. This new economic vulnerability, combined with a series of droughts and the need to raise cash to pay British taxes, sent many Batswana to South Africa to look for work on farms and in mines. Up to 25% of Botswana’s male population was abroad at any one time. This accelerated the breakdown of traditional land-use patterns and eroded the chiefs’ powers.

The British government continued to regard the protectorate as a temporary expedient until it could be handed over to Rhodesia or the new Union of South Africa. Accordingly, investment and administrative development within the territory were kept to a bare minimum. Even when there were moves in the 1930s to reform administration or initiate agricultural and mining development, these were hotly disputed by leading Tswana chiefs on the grounds that they would only enhance colonial control. So the territory remained divided into eight largely self-administering ‘tribal’ reserves and five white settler farm blocks, with the remainder classified as ‘Crown’ (ie State) land. Similarly, the administrative capital, Mafikeng, which was situated outside the protectorate’s border, in South Africa, remained where it was until 1964.

Independence

The extent to which the British subordinated Botswanan interests to those of South Africa during this period became clear in 1950. In a case that caused political controversy in Britain and across the Empire, the British government banned Seretse Khama from the chieftainship of the Ngwato and exiled him for six years. This, as secret documents have since revealed, was in order to appease the South African government, which objected to Khama’s marriage to a British woman at a time when racial segregation was enforced in South Africa.

This only increased growing political agitation, and throughout the 1950s and ’60s Botswanan political parties started to surface and promote the idea of independence, at the precise historical moment when African colonies elsewhere were seeking their freedom. Following the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, South African refugees Motsamai Mpho, of the African National Congress (ANC), and Philip Matante, a Johannesburg preacher affiliated with the Pan-African Congress, joined with KT Motsete, a teacher from Malawi, to form the Bechuanaland People’s Party (BPP). Its immediate goal was independence.

In 1962 Seretse Khama and Kanye farmer Ketumile ‘Quett’ Masire formed the moderate Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP). The BDP formulated a schedule for independence, drawing on support from local chiefs such as Bathoen II of the Bangwaketse, and traditional Batswana. The BDP also called for the transfer of the capital into Botswana (ie from Mafikeng to Gaborone) and a new nonracial constitution.

The British gratefully accepted the BDP’s peaceful plan for a transfer of power, and Khama was elected president when general elections were held in 1965. On 30 September 1966, the country – now called the Republic of Botswana – was granted full independence.

In contrast to the situation in so many other newly independent African states, Seretse Khama wisely steered Botswana through its first 14 years of independence. He guaranteed continued freehold over land held by white ranchers, and adopted a strictly neutral stance (at least until near the end of his presidency) towards South Africa and Rhodesia. The reason, of course, was Botswana’s economic dependence on the giant to the south, but, that said, Khama refused to exchange ambassadors with South Africa and officially disapproved of apartheid in international circles.

Modern Politics

Sir Seretse Khama died in 1980 (not long after Zimbabwean independence), but his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), formerly the Bechuanaland Democratic Party, continues to command a substantial majority in the Botswana parliament. Sir Ketumile ‘Quett’ Masire, who succeeded Khama as president from 1980 to 1998, followed the path laid down by his predecessor and continued to cautiously follow pro-Western policies.

In 1998 President Masire did something very few African leaders seem to manage – he retired in keeping with new constitutional provisions and stepped gracefully off the political stage. His successor and former vicepresident, Festus Mogae, became president and his position was confirmed in elections the following year. With the country in the grip of an HIV/AIDS catastrophe – Botswana had the highest infection rate of any country in the world – Mogae won international acclaim by announcing in 2001 that treatment drugs for HIV/AIDS patients were to be distributed free of charge. Mogae was reelected president in a landslide in 2004.

Festus Mogae handed over the presidency to vicepresident Ian Khama (son of Sir Seretse Khama) on 1 April 2008. Mogae is lauded in global circles for the move. Whatever the international community thought of Mogae, his decision to make Khama president generated concern at home as Khama had not yet been elected as president.

Since assuming power, Khama has cracked down on drinking, demanding earlier curfews at bars (sometimes enforced, sometimes not). In addition, Khama, a former commander of the Botswana Defence Force, has appointed military and law-enforcement colleagues to government posts traditionally held by civilians, which has caused some concern in civil society. Nonetheless, the BDP with Khama at the helm easily won elections in October 2009.

Khama's government also generated controversy with policies that continue to make life difficult for the San who want to return to the CKGR and with the decision to ban all commercial hunting in Botswana from 2014. Even so, Khama remains popular and he was reelected as president for a second term in 2014. At the same time, the BDP won a clear majority of parliamentary seats and, having controlled Botswana's politics since independence, looked likely to remain in power for some years to come.

Tswana

Botswana means ‘land of the Tswana’ and about 80% of the country’s population claims Tswana heritage. The origins of the Tswana are simple enough. As land-owning agriculturalists, the Tswana ethnic group has clearly defined areas of influence. The Bangwato are centred on the Serowe area, the Bakwena in and around Molepolole, and the Bangwaketse near Kanye. A later split in the Bangwato resulted in a fourth group, the Batawana, who are concentrated near Maun in the northwest.

Known for being proud, conservative, resourceful and respectful, the Batswana have an ingrained feeling of national identity and an impressive belief in their country. Their history – a series of clever manoeuvres that meant they avoided the worst aspects of colonisation – has nurtured a confidence that is rare in postcolonial Africa.

The importance of the family in Batswana society has made the crisis caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic particularly damaging. At last count, the country had more than 60,000 AIDS orphans (down from more than 90,000 in 2011), a staggering 2.7% of the population. How the country reacts to this breakdown of traditional family networks is one of the greatest challenges facing its people.

Bakalanga

Botswana’s second-largest ethnic group, at around 11% of the population, the Bakalanga is a powerful land-owning group whose members are thought to descend from the Rozwi empire – the culture responsible for building Great Zimbabwe. In the colonial reshuffle, the Bakalanga were split in two and now some 75% of them live in western Zimbabwe. In Botswana, they are based mainly, although not exclusively, around Francistown.

Herero

The Herero probably originated from eastern or central Africa and migrated across the Okavango River into northeastern Namibia in the early 16th century. In 1884 the Germans took possession of German South West Africa (Namibia) and systematically appropriated Herero grazing lands. The ensuing conflict between the Germans and the Herero was to last for years, only ending in a calculated act of genocide that saw the remaining members of the tribe flee across the border into Botswana.

The refugees settled among the Batawana and were initially subjugated but eventually regained their herds and independence. These days the Herero are among the wealthiest herders in Botswana.

Basubiya & Wayeyi

The Basubiya, Wayeyi (Bayei) and Mbukushu are all riverine tribes scattered around the Chobe and Linyanti Rivers and across the Okavango Panhandle. Their histories and migrations are a textbook example of the ebb and flow of power and influence. For a long time, the Basubiya were the dominant force, pushing the Wayeyi away from the Chobe River and into the Okavango after a little spat over a lion skin, so tradition says. The Basubiya were agriculturists and as such proved easy prey for the growing Lozi empire (from modern Zambia), which in turn collapsed in 1865. They still live in the Chobe district.

Originally from the same areas in Namibia and Angola as the Mbukushu, the Wayeyi moved south from the Chobe River into the Okavango Delta in the mid-18th century to avoid the growing conflict with the Basubiya. They established themselves around Lake Ngami and eventually dispersed into the Okavango Delta. At the same time, the Bangwato (a Batswana offshoot) were pushing northward and came into contact with the Wayeyi. Over time this relationship became a form of clientship, which many Wayeyi still feel resentful about today.

In 1948 and 1962 the Wayeyi made efforts to free themselves of Batswana rule, but neither attempt succeeded. In 1995 these efforts were renewed in a more concerted manner with the establishment of the Kamanakao Association, which aims to develop and protect Wayeyi culture and language. Following this, the Wayeyi decided to revive their chieftainship and on 24 April 1999 they elected Calvin Diile Kamanakao as Chief Kamanakao I and recommended him for inclusion in the House of Chiefs. The government rejected this proposal, so in 2001 the Wayeyi took the matter to the High Court, which passed judgement that chiefs elected by their own tribes should be admitted to the house. In 2008 the Wayeyi chief Shikati Fish Matepe Ozoo was appointed to the House of Chiefs by former president Festus Mogae. In the meantime, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has pointed out that most Wayeyi children cannot speak their ancestral tongue, one of the keys to maintaining a distinct ethnic identity.

Mbukushu

The Mbukushu (or Hambukushu), who now inhabit the Ngamiland area around the Okavango Delta, were originally refugees from the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia. They were forced to flee south in the late 18th century after being dislodged by the forces of Chief Ngombela’s Lozi empire. The Mbukushu carried on to southeastern Angola, just north of present-day Andara (Namibia). There, they encountered Portuguese and African traders, who began purchasing Mbukushu commoners from the tribal leadership to be used and resold as slaves. To escape, some Mbukushu headed back to the Okavango Panhandle, where they mixed and intermarried with the Batawana. Many remain in and around the villages of Shakawe and Sepupa.

San

The San are Botswana’s first inhabitants: they were living in the Kalahari and Tsodilo Hills as far back as 30,000 years ago, as archaeological finds in the Kalahari have demonstrated. Some linguists even credit them with the invention of language. Unlike most other African countries, where the San have perished or disappeared through war and interbreeding, Botswana, along with Namibia, retains the remnants of its San communities – barely 100,000 individuals in total, which may include many with mixed San ancestry. Of these, around 60% live in Botswana (the !Kung, G//ana, G/wi and !xo being the largest groups), where they make up just 3% of Botswana’s population, and 35% in Namibia (the Naro, !Xukwe, Hei//kom and Ju/'hoansi), with the remainder scattered throughout South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

For a window on the life of the San, join local hunter !Nqate in Craig and Damon Foster’s film The Great Dance (2000), an inspiring collaborative project that involved the local community at every stage of the filming and editing.

And a word on terminology: in Botswana you’ll often hear the term ‘Basarwa’ being used to describe the San, but this is considered by the San to be pejorative as it literally means ‘people of the sticks’.

Tribal Chiefs

Botswana’s early tribal belief systems were primarily cults centred on ancestor worship. For the Batswana, this meant the worship of Modimo, a supreme being who created the world and represented the ancestors. Other ethnic groups may have differing cosmologies, but the majority of belief systems revolve around the worship of an omnipotent power (for the San it is N!odima and for the Herero it is Ndjambi) and the enactment of rituals to appease the ancestors, who are believed to play an active role in everyday life.

Introduction of Christianity

By the 19th century, Christian missionaries had begun to arrive, bringing with them an entirely new set of ideas that dislodged many indigenous traditions and practices. They established the first schools and as a result the Christian message began to spread.

Religion Today

Today about 30% of Batswana adhere to mainstream Christian faiths (the majority are either Catholic or Anglican), while around 60% adhere to the practices of what is known as the African Religion, an indigenous religion that integrates Christian liturgy with the more ritualistic elements of traditional ancestor worship. It comprises a variety of churches (the Healing Church of Botswana, the Zionist Christian Church and the Apostolic Faith Mission), and is extremely popular in rural areas.

Traditional Arts & Crafts

Handwoven baskets and the traditional crafts of the San are the best of a fairly modest collection of locally made traditional handicrafts. There are some impressive woodcarvings and textiles in Botswana, but very few are produced here – most come from West Africa (Mali in particular) or the Democratic Republic of Congo. One exception is Lentswe-la-Oodi Weavers, close to Gaborone.

Poetry

Like many African cultures, Botswana has a rich oral tradition of poetry, and much of Botswana’s literary heritage, its ancient myths and poetry, is still unavailable in translation. One of the few books that is available is Bayeyi & Hambukushu: Tales from the Okavango (1994), edited by Thomas J Larson, which is a primary source of oral poetry and stories from the Okavango Panhandle region.

Botswana’s best-known poet is probably Barolong Seboni, who, in 1993, was poet in residence at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. He has written several books of poems, including the short volume Love Songs (1994) and Windsongs of the Kgalagadi (1995), which details some of the Batswana traditions, myths and history that have been recited for centuries.

More modern poetry tends to highlight current issues. For example, The Silent Bomb aimed to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS. It was written by AIDS activist Billy Mosedame (1968–2004), who himself succumbed to the virus.

Jazz & Reggae

Bojazz is the colloquial term for a form of music called Botswana jazz. It has been immortalised by Nick Nkosanah Ndaba, among others, who recently released Dawn of Bojazz (2007), the first bojazz album to be produced in Botswana.

Another popular artist is Ras Baxton, a Rastafarian who plays what he calls ‘tswana reggae’, but he, like many other Batswana artists, has to go to South Africa to make a living. Banjo Mosele is huge all around the nation, while Bonjour Keipidile is perhaps the greatest living guitarist in Botswana.

Jazz performances are staged every few weeks in the winter (dry season) in and around Gaborone. Details are advertised in the English-language newspapers.

Fusion & Hip Hop

Gumba-gumba is a modern blend of Zulu and Tswana music mixed with a dose of traditional jazz – the word comes from the township slang for ‘party’. Alfredo Mos is the father of rumba kwasa, that African bum-gyrating jive that foreigners have so much trouble emulating. Hot on his heels is kwasa kwasa king Franco, one of the most successful artists in Botswana at the moment, alongside the Wizards, Vee and Jeff Matheatau.

Wildly popular is Botswana’s version of hip hop, championed by the Wizards, who fuse the style with ragga and R&B. It’s nearly always been the case that talented Batswana musicians have had to move to South Africa to make a living, but as of this writing there was still some decent talent here, including Kast, Scar, Vee and Stagga Don Dada. Kwaito music, the South African township fusion of hip hop, house and all things that make booties shake, is also hugely popular.

The Basics

Local Batswana cooking is, for the most part, aimed more at sustenance than exciting tastes. Forming the centre of most Batswana meals nowadays is mabele (sorghum) or bogobe (porridge made from sorghum), but these staples are rapidly being replaced by imported maize mealies, sometimes known by the Afrikaans name mealie pap, or just plain pap. This provides the base for an array of meat and vegetable sauces such as seswaa (shredded goat or lamb), morogo (wild spinach) or leputshe (wild pumpkin). For breakfast, you might be able to try pathata (sort of like an English muffin) or megunya, also known as fat cakes. These are little balls of fried dough that are kind of like doughnuts minus the hole and, depending on your taste, the flavour.

Sadly, most travellers rarely encounter local dishes, not least because locals generally eat at home and foreign self-drivers are usually also self-caterers. Some top-end safari lodges do make variations on some of the more conventional Batswana meat and vegetable recipes. In general, however, you’ll be dining on international fare, some of which is quite sumptuous considering the logistical problems of getting food in and out of remote locations. One plate where local and international tastes converge is in the local obsession with steaks – Botswana’s cattle industry is well regarded and its steaks are available in restaurants in most cities and larger towns.

Gaborone’s Courtyard Restaurant is a rare and welcome exception to the separation of international clientele from local dishes – it serves guinea-fowl stew among other local dishes.

Otherwise, many hotels offer buffets, and there’s always a good range of fruit and vegetables. In larger towns you’ll even find a selection of Indian and Chinese restaurants.

Local Dishes

When it comes to local dishes, there's one you may find to be an acquired taste: mopane (woodland) worms. These fat suckers are pulled off mopane trees and fried into little delicacies – they’re tasty and a good source of protein. You might be able to buy some from ladies selling them by the bag in the Main Mall in Gaborone; otherwise, they’re pretty common up in Francistown.

Kalahari Cooking

The more challenging environment of the Kalahari means that the San have an extraordinary pantry, including desert plants such as morama, which produces leguminous pods that contain edible beans. There is also an immense tuber that contains large quantities of water. Other desert delectables include marula fruit, wild plums, berries, tsama melons, wild cucumbers and honey. There’s also a type of edible fungus (grewia flava) related to the European truffle but now presented by marketing people as the ‘Kalahari truffle’.

Drinks

Decent locally made beers include Castle Lager (made under licence from the South African brewery), St Louis Special Light and Lion Lager. Also available are the excellent Windhoek Lager (from Namibia) and Zambezi Lager (from Zimbabwe).

Traditional drinks are plentiful. Legal home brews include the common bojalwa, an inexpensive sprouted-sorghum beer that is brewed commercially as Chibuku. Another serious drink is made from fermented marula fruit. Light and nonintoxicating mageu is made from mealies or sorghum mash. Another is madila, a thickened sour milk that is used as a relish or drunk (‘eaten’ would be a more appropriate term) plain.

Mosukujane tea and lengane tea are used to treat headaches/nausea and arthritis respectively. They’re a bit strong in flavour, but locals faithfully tout their remedial properties.