Basarwa: the plural form of the word Sarwa, meaning a single Bushman
Bakhalagari: descendants of early occupiers of Botswana. Bantu but not Tswana in origin
Bogadi (or Lobola): bride wealth—the “price” paid for a wife
Cattle post: a location in the bush with a borehole and where a man’s cattle will be based
CBNRM: Community Based Natural Resource Management
Chibuku: a traditional beer made from maize
Dikgosi: plural of kgosi, chiefs
D.W.N.P.: Department of Wildlife and National Parks
Great Trek: the mass exodus of Boer farmers by ox-wagon out of the Cape into the African hinterland that took place in 1834–5
Kalahari: a so-called desert but, strictly, a semiarid area and a former desert defined by the distribution of windblown sand forming the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world, reaching from the Orange River in South Africa to north of the equator in Congo
Kgosi (pl. Dikgosi): a tribal chief
Kgotla: traditional meeting place in every Tswana village where the Chief or headman deals with tribal matters. Originally confined to men only, now open to both sexes
Khadi: a traditional alcoholic beverage
Khama III: Ruled as chief of the Ngwato people, 1872–3 and 1874–1923. A powerful and successful chief who accepted Christianity, banned alcohol, and steered his tribe through much of the tumultuous nineteenth century
Lobola: see Bogadi
Lolwapa: a low wall surrounding the courtyard in front of a dwelling
Mokoro: a wooden, dugout canoe (pl. mekoro)
Mzilikazi: Chief of the Matabele people who raided eastern Botswana in the 1830s and eventually established themselves in the southern part of modern Zimbabwe in the town now called Bulawayo
N.G.O.: Nongovernmental Organization
Pan: a wind formed surface feature of semiarid zones. Usually hard clay, semicircular, usually bare of vegetation (although occasionally covered with a coarse grass), collecting rainwater and holding it for a few months
San: also known as Bushmen—autochthonous inhabitants of southern Africa
Seswaa: a traditional Tswana meat dish consisting of boiled meat beaten into a fibrous state and eaten with green vegetables