The Sekhoto–Mashinini Family Tree & Alliances

An overview of the Ubunye ba Sekhoto lineage across three clan hubs — Sekhoto, Mashinini, and Makhoba — and the marriages that connect them.

Note: This is a first transcription from the family-tree diagram. Names and relationships marked (confirm) need a family elder to verify. Correct anything here and it becomes our official record.

What this is

The family tree of Ubunye ba Sekhoto — an "intuitive inverted" tree showing descent, paternal and maternal branches, and the marriage (wife-giving) alliances that bind our clans together across three generations.

The three clan hubs

The family is organised around three connected clan hubs:

Sekhoto Clan Hub (blue lineage)
Mashinini Clan Hub (green lineage)
Makhoba Clan Hub (orange lineage)

Arrows in the diagram show marriage / wife-giving connections flowing between the hubs.

Names recorded in the tree (confirm)

Grouped by the lineage colour they appear under in the diagram:

Sekhoto-derived (blue): Mutloung, Mabule, Makgalemele, Tsotetsi, Moloi, Mokwena
Mashinini-derived (green): Mnisi, Mhlongo, Modise, Rapetsoa, Khoza
Makhoba-derived (orange): Makhoba, Sithole, Sibeko

(The exact parent–child links and which generation each name sits in still need to be confirmed against the diagram and with the elders.)

Why it matters

This is the centre of Thuthokholo. Everything else we teach — money, study, work, health — serves the family. Knowing where we come from, and how our houses are joined, is the root the whole library grows from.

Things to watch out for

Spellings of names and clan praises must be exact — confirm with elders.
Inverted trees read differently from normal ones; we should add a short "how to read this tree" note once the layout is confirmed.

Where to learn more

The original family-tree diagram (to be added to the library as an image).
Family elders who hold the oral history.
A future companion article: clan praises (direboko / izithakazelo) for each house.