Thekiso in the Sotho–Tswana languages, is the name of clan or family. Translation A literal meaning of "Leboko" is the plural of Maboko which literally translates to praise (poetry), from the verb "bokang" meaning praise (verb). There is a strong and tight relationship between Seboko/Sereto (clan name) and the associated praise poem. The two are not distinguishable from each other in their usage and one would rely on context to tell the one apart from the other. As an example: If a person queries someone's Seboko (clan name), the answer might be recital of their praise poem or a simple one direct answer. Description In the Southern African Sotho–Tswana languages (Sesotho, Setswana, and the Northern Sotho language) and the traditions of the clan speakers, different groups identify themselves with certain clans. The groups believe in the existence of "Modimo oa Khale" (God of the Old) or the "Invisible One." As legend has it, they came out of a marsh called "Ntsoanatsatsi" (the place from where the sun emerges) and each clan was assigned a totem where each totem is symbolized by a 'dignified' animal. Explanation The selection and assignment of these animals is based on either one of two things or both: the wildness of these animals and how dignified they seem to the group. This was done to symbolize the "Invisible One". It is because of this that these totems are sacred. In the meditation of the spirits of the deceased are also believed to give guidance and direction in the groups' under takings and dangers. Unity in this group of people still exists, although the practicing of rituals is not as strict as it used to be. The practicing of different rituals is specific to a clan: all rituals - from marriages, to circumcision, to births and burials. This also happens to be one of the ways in which the clan names are preserved. Another is the naming of children after their predecessors as a way to make sure that the names of each clan are commemorated and kept within each family in each group, in effect keeping the clan intact. The Sesotho name for this is "theellano," naming a child after their grandparents or great-grandparents. A further important way of keeping the clans intact was reciting the clan's Seboko (singular form of Liboko). Ralets'abisa Motale, from the village Likhelekeng, in Butha-Buthe, Lesotho, who has studied the Basotho