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Ga-Molepo

Coordinates: 24°01′59″S 29°47′56″E / 24.033°S 29.799°E / -24.033; 29.799
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Ga-Molepo
Ga-Molepo is located in Limpopo
Ga-Molepo
Ga-Molepo
Ga-Molepo is located in South Africa
Ga-Molepo
Ga-Molepo
Coordinates: 24°01′59″S 29°47′56″E / 24.033°S 29.799°E / -24.033; 29.799
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceLimpopo
DistrictCapricorn
MunicipalityPolokwane
Area
[1]
 • Total
5.43 km2 (2.10 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
4,048
 • Density750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 • Black African99.9%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 • Northern Sotho91.6%
 • English5.5%
 • Other2.9%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Area code015

Ga-Molepo is a town in Capricorn District Municipality and Polokwane Local Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Molepo means a place or a moment of relaxation. The language spoken by the majority in Ga Molepo is Sesotho sa Leboa. Ga Molepo is made up of over thirty villages.

Tlou setumula megaba tlouwana tsa xala dija kgabane ka sefateng sa meditsana ya Boshega

The Molepo's are Kalanga (bakgalaka) batloung a Sotho and Setswana mixture who got separated from Makgoba people this tribe (ke Basotho ba lebowa)you’ll find them in Lebopo mountain .They moved from Tzaneen then settled at their current location in boshega . Upon their arrival they found the bashega clan ruled by sehlapelo sa boshega 'a moshoeshoe Malone was a chief not king .The king was known as mphafudi (phafola)the rain king, The king of all elephants he was the son of Mmathata lesetja la molapo .His older brother is kgoshi mamphoko makgoba and the young one was mathabatha kapi.Mphafudi had Nine children one with another wife whom was not from a royal family they had a son who was named modikana.Then had eight children with ngwana tjale who was from a royal family. Phafola had another son who was named Mmathata he inherits the name of his grandfather ,he is the 3rd born and the first son from ngwana tjale .Then Mmathata was married to ngwatladi kgoshi yah mosadi the daughter of kgoshi maisha remember royalty had to marry royalty, Mmathata then had four children with ngwatladi their son it was modikana but he dead in his early days of high school .Modikana was the first born son, he had three sisters Mogotladi, ngwanamohuba and Mmapitsi The royal house which is kgoro ya molepo wa thaba ,decided to take things slowly as there were preparing to decide who can lead them.That’s when setlakalane took over as moswaredi since molepo wa thaba was busy fixing their things as kgoro.The should be no confusion about this historical figure mentioned in this article make no mistake about this .The rightful king for ga molepo is from molepo wa thaba .Ngaka Motimele was working hand in hand with molepo wa thaba initiation school (lebollo)was one of them .many information it’s still left out about this tribe even though some knew them with the name of baepo the iron people who were mining gold , The are also associated with vhangona and vhampezdi in mapungubwe, munaumatappa great Zimbabwean A tribe that symbolizes Africa”sun of righteousness rising and shining upon it and the birth of a new civilization for Africa and Africans, a civilization that arose from the ashes of ancient African civilization, including the ancient ancient Ethiopian and Egyptian pyramids” According to kalanga oral tradition, mukalanga the great ( the name bears reference to one of the early kalanga kings) resided in the Great Lakes his people traveled south of Zambezi river, since this group is associated with water and rain-making rituals Mbedzi/mpedi, who rose to prominence as the patriarch of this tribe and it is link with the leopard konje culture and also links with moroka a meetse a pula mokgalaka the most amazing thing about this tribe, the was a fallen star in the village the biblical star coming from the east (Matthew 2:1-10) this tribe ( ke bakgalaka a dingotlo) they cut their hair on the side and live hair on the edge of their forehead) it’ is why they call them makgaka a dingotlo, relative’s Bhuba family one of the lemba group who moved from Zimbabwe and settled at phusela near lenyenye (tzaneen) another it’s kgoshi makgoba and mathabatha [2] they shear the same ancestors with nengwekhulu and Rapitswana Rabothatha, modjadji, mamabolo, masopha and Moshoeshoe this tribe it is believed they are the gods of rain making .

Geography

[edit]

Ga-Molepo is surrounded by big Lebopo mountains, and through it runs several rivers: Mphogodiba, Hlabashane, Mokgotla and Mmamatebele.

Religion

[edit]

Although the majority of people in Ga Molepo believe in African Traditional Religion, the town's leadership has always been open to people from different religions especially the Zion Christian Church which is the dominant and a church with a large following. Apart from welcoming the arrival of the Roman Catholic Church missionaries, who settled at Subiaco Mission in Ga Rampheri, the leadership of Ga Molepo has been in contact with missionaries from as far as the Kingdom of Lesotho as early as 1873.[3]

The Dutch reformed church also established a mission station at Bethel village, and the residents of the community are members of the church.

There are also three strong Pentecostal churches at Ga Molepo, Strong tower bible church established and founded by Bishop Phologa James Makgatho from Dihlopaneng village, Assemblies of Christ, established and founded by Bishop EM Molepo, and also the Assemblies of God, based in Laastehoop established under the leadership of Pastor Nyatlo.

Tourist attractions

[edit]

It is the home of the biggest Zion Christian Church (ZCC) church situated at one of the villages called Boyne, one of the villages is Ga-Rampheri where there is a Molepo dam in the Mphogodiba River. At Molepo dam, every festive season residents gather to celebrate the festivities with much entertainment, DJs playing and entertaining crowds.

Notable residents

[edit]
  • John Mpe, incumbent mayor of Capricorn district municipality and Polokwane local municipality.
  • Phaswane Mpe, author of Welcome to Our Hillbrow,[4] a novel which deals with issues of xenophobia, AIDS, tradition, and inner city status in the Hillbrow neighborhood of post-apartheid Johannesburg. Mpe was also a lecturer of African Literature at the University of the Witwatersrand.
  • Hoseah Kgadimonyane Tjale, He is a former Comrade marathon runner who participated in several races and has gold, silver and bronze medals, he hails from Ga Mogano, under Kgoshi Mogano, Bobirwa, Totomeng.He won the Two Oceans Marathon, an ultra-Marathon (56 km), in 1980. He came second in the Comrades Marathon, an ultra-Marathon (90 km), in 1985 and 1990 and came 3rd in 1986 and 1987. He participated in the London to Brighton ultra-marathon (56 Miles), which he won in 1985.[5][6]
  • Former Athletics South Africa (ASA) president Leonard Chuene comes from Ga Mmakata.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Main Place Ga-Molepo". Census 2011.
  2. ^ Mpe, J.K. (1942). "Ba Molepo history (written in Northern Sotho)". Pretoria: University of Pretoria. Available at: https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/72025. (accessed 14 May 2021).
  3. ^ Leselinyana La Lesutho (published as LESELINYANA LA LESOTHO) (1 November 1873). "LETLOHO TSA LITABA: Tsa Moea - Tsa Leeto La Bopeli - Sekolo sa Batlankana - Mosebetsi oa molimo - Potso ya pulungoana". World Newspaper Archive (in Southern Sotho). Moria, Lesotho.
  4. ^ Mpe, P. 2001. Welcome to Our Hillbrow. KwaZulu Natal: University of Natal Press.
  5. ^ "Runner History". admin.twooceansmarathon.org.za. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  6. ^ "The twists and turns of the Comrades Marathon". ESPN.com. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2025.


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