Serowe
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Serowe

Serowe

Bangwato royal village in central Botswana, set below rocky hills and tied to the Khama dynasty.

Serowe is one of Botswana's largest traditional villages, set against rocky hills to the east. It was the royal capital of the Bangwato people and home to three of the country's most important leaders: Khama III, Tshekedi Khama, and Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president.

The Khama III Memorial Museum houses exhibits on the Bangwato royal dynasty and the Bessie Head collection of manuscripts — Head, one of Africa's most celebrated writers, lived in Serowe for 24 years and set much of her work here. The surrounding hills offer good walks in the morning or late afternoon light.

From Serowe, travellers can head west to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve via Orapa, or continue on to Maun through the Makgadikgadi Pans. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary, one of Botswana's community-run conservation successes, is an easy half-day trip.

Guide

Books

Serowe is one of the most literary places in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks entirely to Bessie Head, who spent 24 years here. Head was born in South Africa, classified "coloured" under apartheid, and exiled to Botswana in 1964. She wrote three novels and a remarkable oral history of Serowe itself.

When Rain Clouds Gather (Bessie Head, 1968) — Head's first novel, set in a fictional Botswana village based on Serowe. A South African political exile finds a new life among the Batswana, working on agricultural development. Simple, honest, and luminous.

Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind (Bessie Head, 1981) — An unusual and wonderful book: Head interviews dozens of Serowe residents across three generations and assembles their testimony into a portrait of the village and its history, from the time of Khama III to the present. More intimate than any conventional history.

A Question of Power (Bessie Head, 1974) — Head's most difficult and autobiographical novel, exploring mental illness, exile, and identity. Not an easy read, but essential for understanding her and her relationship to Serowe.

Khama the Great African Chief (Edwin Lloyd, 1895) — An early biography of Khama III, written by a missionary who knew him. Dated in its assumptions but historically important and available in various reprint editions.

Guide

Things to Do

Serowe is not a tourist town in any conventional sense, but it rewards those who come with an interest in Botswana's political history and African literature. The Khama III Memorial Museum is the main sight. The surrounding hills offer straightforward walks, and the Khama Rhino Sanctuary is an easy half-day excursion. Most visitors use Serowe as a stop on the road north or east rather than as a destination in itself — though the town's connections to Bessie Head and the Khama dynasty give it more depth than appearances suggest.