Bechuana

Bech·u·a·na

B0145500 (bĕch′o͞o-ä′nə)n. pl. Bechuana or Bech·u·a·nas See Tswana.

Bechuana

(bɛˈtʃwɑːnə; ˌbɛtʃʊˈɑːnə; ˌbɛkjʊ-) n, pl -na or -nas1. (Languages) a former name for Tswana2. (Peoples) a former name for Tswana3. (Peoples) a former name for a member of the Bantu people of Botswana

Tswa•na

(ˈtswɑ nə, ˈswɑ-)

n., pl. -nas, (esp. collectively) -na. 1. a member of an African people, a division of the Sotho, living mainly in Botswana and in the Transvaal and Cape Province in South Africa. 2. the Bantu language of the Tswana.

Thesaurus

Noun

Bechuana - a member of a Bantu people living chiefly in Botswana and western South AfricaBatswana, TswanaBotswana, Republic of Botswana - a landlocked republic in south-central Africa that became independent from British control in the 1960sRepublic of South Africa, South Africa - a republic at the southernmost part of Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1910; first European settlers were Dutch (known as Boers)Bantu - a member of any of a large number of linguistically related peoples of Central and South Africa

Bechuana

(Iswana; also Chwana), a people occupying the area of the upper basin of the Limpopo River in Botswana and border areas of the Republic of South Africa and Rhodesia. Total population, 1.7 million (according to a 1967 estimate).

In terms of language (Setswana), the Bechuana belong to the southeast group of the Bantu language family. Most of the Bechuana adhere to local traditional beliefs, but some are Christians. During the period of European colonization, the best Bechuana lands on the shores of the Limpopo were confiscated, and the Bechuana were resettled by the colonial powers on tribal reservations. The main occupation of the Bechuana is livestock raising (cattle, sheep, and goats); farming is well developed only in the eastern and northern regions of Botswana. A considerable portion of the Bechuana work on Afrikaaner farms and in the ore-mining enterprises of the Republic of South Africa.

REFERENCES

Potekhin, I. I. Formirovanie natsional’noi obshchnosti iuzhnoafrikanskikh bantu. Moscow, 1955.
Soga, J. H. The Southeastern Bantu. Johannesburg, 1930.

Bechuana

Bech·u·a·na

Bechuana

Tswa•na

Bechuana

Bechuana

REFERENCES

Bechuana

Synonyms for Bechuana

noun a member of a Bantu people living chiefly in Botswana and western South Africa

Synonyms

Related Words