Balobedu (ba Lobedu ba gaModjadji) is an African tribe of the Northern Sotho group. They have their own kingdom, the Balobedu Kingdom, within the Limpopo Province of South Africa with a female ruler, the Rain Queen Modjadji. Their language is known as Selobedu language which is a dialect of the Northern Sotho Language. The area in which they live is called Bolobedu. The Selobedu language (or Khilobedu) is grammatically similar to Sesotho and Tshivenda. The Balobedu are situated between Venda and Noprthern Sotho (or Pedi) speaking people, as well as the Shangana-Tsonga and others. Khilobedu has become more and more similar to Sesotho since that has been the language of the schools in the region. However, the Balobedu culture originated to the north, in what is now Zimbabwe, and their language contains sounds that do not exist in Sesotho.

Balobedu have their own traditional dances called sekgapa for women and dinaka for men. Dinaka is a traditional dance of all the Northern Sotho speaking people covering such areas as gaSekhukhune, gaDikgale and the Balobedu area They dance these kind of dances when they are happy, in most cases during traditional parties or traditional marriage ceremonies.

Balobedu have their own way of praising and talking to their God. They sit next to a traditionally designed circle in their homes, start calling the names of their ancestors. They use this way to ask for luck from the gods.

The Balobedu originally migrated south from Zimbabwe to their present location in South Africa. The central tribal village is Sehlakong in the district of Balobedu.

They have female rulers — known as "rain queens". The queen is believed to have powers to make rain. The Balobedu Kingdom consists of a number of small groups tied together by their queen. On 12 June 2005, the reigning queen, Queen Makobo Modjadji, died, leaving the kingdom without a queen.

The area of Balobedu consists of many villages and every village has a male or female ruler who represents Modjadji, the rain queen.

The Rain Queen, historically, was known as an extremely powerful magician who was able to bring rain to her friends and drought to her enemies. Visitors to the area always brought her gifts and tribute, including cattle and their daughters as wives, to appease her so that she would bring rain to their regions. The name Lobedu is thought to derive from this practice, referring to the daughters or sisters who were lost to their families. The rain queen extends her influence through her wives, because they link her politically to other families or villages. Her status as marrying women does not appear to indicate lesbianism, but rather the queen's unique ability to control others.

References

• "Bantu", GovernPub.com.
• Seleti, Yonah. Turning Points, SouthAfricanHistoryOnline.
• "The Balobedu of Modjadji"
• Krige, E. Jensen and J. D. Krige. The Realm of a Rain-Queen: A Study of the Pattern of Lovedu Society. London: Oxford University Press, 1943.