{"title":"African family knowledge centre","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","languages":[{"code":"st","name":"Sesotho","own_name":"Sesotho","region":"Lesotho, South Africa","sort":0},{"code":"tn","name":"Setswana","own_name":"Setswana","region":"Botswana, South Africa","sort":1},{"code":"nso","name":"Sepedi","own_name":"Sesotho sa Leboa","region":"South Africa","sort":2},{"code":"zu","name":"isiZulu","own_name":"isiZulu","region":"South Africa","sort":3},{"code":"xh","name":"isiXhosa","own_name":"isiXhosa","region":"South Africa","sort":4},{"code":"nr","name":"isiNdebele","own_name":"isiNdebele","region":"South Africa","sort":5},{"code":"ss","name":"siSwati","own_name":"siSwati","region":"Eswatini, South Africa","sort":6},{"code":"ts","name":"Xitsonga","own_name":"Xitsonga","region":"South Africa, Mozambique","sort":7},{"code":"ve","name":"Tshivenda","own_name":"Tshivenḓa","region":"South Africa, Zimbabwe","sort":8},{"code":"sn","name":"chiShona","own_name":"chiShona","region":"Zimbabwe","sort":9},{"code":"sw","name":"Kiswahili","own_name":"Kiswahili","region":"East Africa","sort":10},{"code":"yo","name":"Yoruba","own_name":"Yorùbá","region":"Nigeria, Benin","sort":11}],"words":[{"lang":"st","rule":"f","word":"Ntate","gloss":"My father"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.eb","word":"Ntate Moholoho","gloss":"My father's elder brother (Moholone wa Ntate)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.f","word":"Ntate Moholo","gloss":"My father's father (grandfather)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.f.f","word":"Ntate Moholoholo","gloss":"My father's father's father (great-grandfather)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.f.m","word":"Nkgono","gloss":"My father's father's mother"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.f.m.m","word":"Nkgonongono","gloss":"My father's father's mother's mother"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.m","word":"Nkgono","gloss":"My father's mother (grandmother)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.yb","word":"Rangwane","gloss":"My father's younger brother (Monyane wa Ntate)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.z","word":"Rakgadi","gloss":"My father's sister, younger or older"},{"lang":"st","rule":"f.z.c","word":"Motswala","gloss":"My father's sister's child (cousin)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m","word":"Mme","gloss":"My mother"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.b","word":"Malome","gloss":"My mother's brother, elder or younger (uncle)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.ez","word":"Mamogolo","gloss":"My mother's elder sister (aunt)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.f","word":"Ntate Moholo","gloss":"My mother's father (grandfather)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.f.f","word":"Ntate Moholoholo","gloss":"My mother's father's father (great-grandfather)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.f.m","word":"Nkgono","gloss":"My mother's father's mother"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.f.m.m","word":"Nkgonongono","gloss":"My mother's father's mother's mother"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.m","word":"Nkgono","gloss":"My mother's mother (grandmother)"},{"lang":"st","rule":"m.yz","word":"Mangwane","gloss":"My mother's younger sister (aunt)"}],"topics":[{"slug":"start-your-family-tree","title":"How to start your family tree","summary":"Begin with the elders, write down what they remember, and keep where each fact came from.","body":"Start with yourself, your parents and your grandparents, then ask the oldest people in your family what they remember.\n\nFor every person, try to record:\n- All their names, including family and praise names\n- Where they were born, and where the family came from (ko hae)\n- Their date of birth and, if they have passed on, the date of passing\n- Wedding dates, and who their brothers and sisters were, in birth order\n- A close relative the next generation can ask\n\nA remembered date is still worth writing down: \"about 1880\" is better than nothing. Note who told you, so the family can check it later. Keep old photos, letters, funeral programmes and church records: they often hold names and dates nobody else remembers.","lang":"en","kind":"guide","sources":"","updated":"2026-11-01"},{"slug":"birth-order-and-family-trees","title":"Why birth order belongs on a family tree","summary":"Who was born first can change what a whole branch of the family calls someone.","body":"Where relation words depend on who is older, birth order is not a small detail. If two brothers are recorded without birth dates, their children cannot tell from the tree whether to call the other Ntate Moholoho or Rangwane.\n\nWhen dates are lost, write down the order instead: first born, second born, and so on. Elders usually remember the order long after the dates are forgotten.","lang":"en","kind":"guide","sources":"","updated":"2026-11-01"},{"slug":"why-relation-words-matter","title":"Why relation words matter","summary":"One English word, uncle, can be several different people in an African family.","body":"English says uncle for many different relatives. Many African languages are more exact: the word tells you which side of the family someone is on, and often whether they are older or younger than your parent.\n\nIn Sesotho, your father's elder brother is Ntate Moholoho and his younger brother is Rangwane, while your mother's brother, older or younger, is Malome. Your father's sister is Rakgadi; your mother's elder sister is Mamogolo and her younger sister is Mangwane.\n\nThese words carry duties and respect as well as family position, so a family tree in English alone loses something. See the relation words page, and help add the words in your own language.","lang":"en","kind":"language","sources":"","updated":"2026-11-01"}]}