Discover Kgatleng District: Pottery, Dikopelo and weaving

Culture in Kgatleng District

Pottery of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela

Women of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela make pottery from clay, weathered sandstone, iron oxide, cow dung, water, wood and grass. The variety of materials used makes this craft an illustrative cultural subject. At the same time, UNESCO considers the pottery practice to be in urgent need of safeguarding. It is therefore not only an example of craftsmanship, but also a tradition whose preservation requires special attention.

Dikopelo: singing and choreographed dance

Dikopelo, the folk music of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela, combines vocal singing with choreographed dance and is performed without instrumental accompaniment. Voice and movement together shape the musical form. UNESCO considers the viability of this practice to be low. As part of Kgatleng District’s cultural profile, Dikopelo is therefore a distinct form of expression of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela, alongside pottery.

Wool products from Oodi

The Oodi Weavers Project produces wool products such as bedspreads, table runners, mats and bags. The wool is spun and dyed by hand locally, and traditional geometric patterns characterize the products. The production process thus encompasses both preparing the material and designing the finished goods. Together with pottery, the project showcases another, textile facet of cultural life in the district.

Botswana in the wider travel picture

The wider destination of Botswana also has striking landscapes and cultural sites. The following examples are part of the broader Botswana context and are not features of Kgatleng District. In northwestern Botswana, the Okavango Delta is a large, gently sloping alluvial fan, also known as an inland delta. It is one of the few large inland deltas without an outlet to the sea; its water seeps into the desert sands of the Kalahari Basin. The World Heritage site includes most of the delta and more than two million hectares of largely undisturbed wetlands and seasonally flooded grasslands.

The Okavango Delta’s habitats include rivers and lagoons with permanent and seasonal water, permanent swamps, seasonally and occasionally flooded grasslands, riparian forests, dry deciduous woodlands and island communities. They are home to significant populations of cheetahs, white and black rhinos, African wild dogs and lions. Highlights of activities include game drives and speedboat trips. The Okavango Panhandle begins at Mohembo, where the Okavango flows from Namibia into Botswana, and extends about 80 kilometres to the southeast.

Another landscape in northwestern Botswana is the Tsodilo Hills, near the Namibian border. The massive quartzite rock formations rise between ancient sand dunes to the east and a dry fossil lakebed in the Kalahari to the west. Their sheltered spaces and caves contain extensive rock paintings that appear to date from the Stone Age to the 19th century, though they have not been precisely dated. Tsodilo preserves archaeological evidence, rock art and enduring traditions that document the development of human culture and the relationship between people and nature over many millennia. The Hambukushu and San communities revere the water sources and hills as a sacred cultural landscape.

Choose the region that suits your trip

When looking for a holiday rental, the first consideration is which region best matches your travel interests. If you want to focus primarily on the pottery of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela, Dikopelo or wool products from Oodi, you can use Kgatleng District as your search area. Delta landscapes, game drives and Tsodilo, by contrast, are part of the broader picture of travel in Botswana. This distinction helps you choose your geographical focus before comparing accommodation options.

Discover the subordinate destination Kgatleng.

Discover more destinations: North-East District, Central District, Ghanzi District, South-East, North-West District, Kgalagadi District, Northwest.

Return to the overview of the broader destination: Botswana.