Mapulana | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 South Africa | +/- 800,000 |
| Languages | |
| First language Sepulana Second language English, Sepedi | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, African traditional religion. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tswana people, Pedi people, Lobedu people, Sotho people, and Lozi people | |
| Pulana | |
|---|---|
| Person | Mopulana |
| People | Mapulana |
| Language | Sepulana |
| Country | Mapulaneng |
The Pulana, or Mapulana, are a low-veld ethnic group found in Bushbuckridge near Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. Their language is called Sepulana (SeKutswe and Pai) and is considered a dialect of the Northern Sotho language group. although it is a northern sotho dialect (Similar to Sepedi-Sesotho Sa Lebowa) it also hugely influenced by Xitsonga,Swati,Afrikaans,English . and setswana
The area where the Pulana live is called Bushbuckridge; it stretches from Crocodile River in the south to the Swazi border (Mapulana of Mashego) in the north, from Crocodile to Olifants River (Limpopo) in the north, Lebombo Mountains in the east, and also includes the whole town of Hazyview, White River, Mpumalanga (Lepunama), Sabie, Graskop, Hoedspruit, Barberton, Lydenburg and Dullstroom in the west. In the Pulana language, or Sepulana, Mapulaneng means "Place of the Mapulana people." The tribe derives its name from their founding leader, Lepulana, who later changed his name to Chiloane. Mapulana are descendants of Morolong, and their origins can be traced back to the Kgalagadi before they settled in Thaba Chueu, in what is today eastern Lesotho and Shakwaneng (Carolina) in the 1500s. Mapulana of Matshwe I got their name from their leader, Pulane, and they are offshoots of Amazizi and of Nguni origin.