Clan Names: Southern African Clan Names by Tradition

Across Southern Africa a clan name ties a family to the ancestor it descends from. Among Zulu and Xhosa speakers the people who trace their descent from the same ancestor in the male line share a clan name, and among the vaShona every member of a clan inherits its totem and praise name. ^{[1] [2]}

Each tradition has its own word and its own customs, and they are not one system in different languages. A Zulu clan is praised in izithakazelo. A Xhosa clan name is an isiduko. A Swati clan praise is a sinanatelo. A Sotho, Tswana or Pedi clan is a seboko tied to a totem. A Shona clan is named by its mutupo. A Tsonga clan name is a xivongo. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [2] [7]}

The same surname can belong to several peoples. Dlamini, Khumalo and Ndlovu are each carried in more than one tradition, and each has a page that sets the records side by side without merging them. ^[7]

The BaKalanga clan names in this record are surname and totem groups. They are listed here under the English words clan names because their source does not give a Kalanga term, and inventing one would be a claim the record cannot support. ^{[8] [7]}