[6] The Sotho-Tswana people would have diversified into their current arrangement during the course of the 2nd millennium, but they retain a number of linguistic and cultural characteristics that distinguish them from other Bantu-speakers of southern Africa.

These are features such as totemism/diboko a pre-emptive right of men to marry their maternal cousins, and an architectural style characterized by a round hut with a conical thatch roof supported by wooden pillars on the outside.

Other major distinguishing features included their dress of skin cloaks and a preference for dense and close settlements, as well as a tradition of large-scale building in stone.

[10] The Sotho-Tswana ethnic group derives its name from the people who belong to the various Sotho and Tswana clans that live in southern Africa.

The Swazi called the Bapedi "Abashuntu" because they wore breechcloths made of animal skins tied in knots to cover their private parts.

Other Sotho-speaking groups who also wore breechcloths adopted the term as well, and it eventually came to be used to refer to all Sotho people.

[citation needed] The Sotho-Tswana are a cultural and ethnic group whose ancestors arrived in Botswana and South Africa around 200–500 AD,[13] they are descendents of the khoi people who in Sesotho(Southern Sotho) are known as Baroa.

Unlike the Nguni people, who predominantly settled in coastal areas, the Sotho-Tswana found their home in the highlands of South Africa, specifically in the region known as the Highveld.

The Sotho-Tswana predominantly inhabited the highlands and steppes, resulting in a relatively lower population density than the Nguni.

The 19th century marked a significant period of change for the Sotho-Tswana territories due to the expansion of the Nguni people, known as the Mfecane.

Eventually, the British defeated the indigenous African groups, and the areas under their control were divided among different territories.

South Africa, Bechuanaland (now known as Botswana), Barotseland (now in Zambia), and Basutoland (now Lesotho) emerged as distinct geopolitical entities.

This complex historical process shaped the cultural and political landscape of the Sotho-Tswana territories, contributing to the formation of diverse states and the interaction between various ethnic groups.

This means distinguishing between clans that share the same totem, like the crocodile, but are distinct, such as the Bapo, Bakwena, Bangwaketse, and Bafokeng of Phokeng.

Inter and intra-clan relationships have been a question that has occupied the Sotho-Tswana since the split that occurred between the followers of Mohurutshe and Kwena.