Senwabarwana Borkum Bochum
Senwabarwana Show map of Limpopo Senwabarwana Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 23°16′16″S 29°07′23″E / 23.271°S 29.123°E / -23.271; 29.123
Country	South Africa
Province	Limpopo
District	Capricorn
Municipality	Blouberg
Area [1]
• Total	23 km2 (9 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	12,306
• Density	540/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	98.83%
• Coloured	0.06%
• Indian/Asian	0.37%
• White	0.02%
• Other	0.69%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Northern Sotho	89.41%
• Tsonga	0.71%
• Other	1.43%
• English	1.41%
• Venda	1.21%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	0790
PO box	0790
Area code	015

Senwabarwana, also known as Bochum, is a town in the Blouberg Local Municipality of the Capricorn District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town is the seat of the Blouberg Local Municipality. It is located about 93 km northwest of the city Polokwane.

Etymology

The colonial name may refer to the German industrial city of Bochum or be a corruption of Bochim, a biblical name (Judges 2:1 and 5). The place was named by the German missionary Carl Franz and his wife Helene to a mission station they established here in 1890.^[2] The majority language group of the area is Northern Sotho people and they refer to themselves as Bahananwa. They call the town Senwabarwana, a commemorative name for an incident that took place in a pond where the Khoi people found and drank water in their travelling, thus passing by. Due to their height they are proclaimed dwarfs by natives which literally means Morwana in Northern Sotho (Sepedi) and in a plural form is Barwana, hence "Sen-wa-barwana".^[1]

History

German missionary Carl Franz and his wife Helene founded a hospital that used to cater for people with leprosy. The missionary station was part of the attempts of the Berlin Missionary Society to Christianize Southern Africa in the 19th century. The hospital is now known as Helene-Franz hospital.^[3] It has a bad reputation because of its high mortality rates and it is often referred to by old people as "the hospital of death".

The place is also known for its diverse people from chieftaincies such as Ga-Manthata, Ga-Matlala, Ga-Mmalebogo, Makgababeng, Moletši and the small town of Mogwadi.

Institutions of Higher Education

Institutions of Basic Education

Special Needs Schools

• Ratanang.^[11]
• Helen Franz.^[12]

Health Institutions

• Helen Franz Hospital.^[13]
• Blouberg Hospital.^[14]

Shopping Centers

• Blouberg Mall.^[15]
• Bochum Plaza.^[16]

Notable people

• Punch Masenamela, a professional soccer player.^[17]
• Clement Maosa, a popular SABC TV actor.^[18]
• Mamphela Ramphele, an anti-apartheid activist and politician.^[19]
• Tefu Mashamaite, former Bidvest Wits and Kaizer Chiefs defender

References