Tonota

Tonota is a village located in the Central District of Botswana. The people in Tonota are said to be Bakhurutshe who fought against some other tribes they found there and after winning the war, they owned the land and they became 'Ba bina khama le phofu'. The name Tonota is said to be spelled THONOTHA (pronounced DONOTHA) in natural Sekhurutshe but was changed to Tonota due to the influence of the Tswana Languages. The village is located 27 kilometers south of the City of Francistown along the A1 (Francistown-Gaborone) road. It lies along the Southwest bank of Shashe River, which happens to the border between the Central and North East Districts, so Tonota is considered to be in the Central District. Tonota is a large territory divided into small segments, namely: Tonota Village in the South, Semotswane, Mandunyane, and Shashe Bridge to the north. The chief of the Tonota village is Kgosi Ramosinyi Radipitse. It was promoted to sub-district from under Tutume in 2003 and new Council Buildings are built in Tonota. There are 10 primary schools in Tonota:

• Madisakwana Memorial School
• Moutlwatsi Memorial school
• Rauwe Memorial school
• Tonota Primary school
• Kgosi Sekoko Memorial school
• John Phooko Memorial Primary school
• Tholodi Primary school
• Semotswane Primary school
• Mandunyane Primary School
• Masedi Primary school

There are also 3 junior secondary schools:

• Letlhabile Junior School
• Rutwang Junior School
• Tonota Junior School

And a senior school which is Shashe River School. There is also a college (Tonota College of Education(TCE)). The member of parliament for Tonota South under which the village of Tonota is Hon. Pono P.P Moatlhodi and the member of the parliament for Tonota North constituency which is not associated with Tonota village, is Hon. Fidelis Mmilili Molao.

Tonota like many other villages in Botswana,has many tribes living in it but the majority are Bakhurutshe who occupy the Tholo, Molebatsi, Maaloso, Maunya (Main Khurutshe ward), Madisakwana and Mhakamme wards, and Bakalanga who live in the Manyanda ward. There are also Barotsi in Leomboko ward and BaShona(Zezuru) in Mandunyane. Most of the people from Tonota speak Sekhurutshe-SeNgwato (a languae which is merely an inclusion of Kalanga-like words in SeNgwato) and Kalanga.

See also

• Nata River