The focus in this paper is on the Bugakhwe in eastern Ngamiland, northern Botswana. Throughout my fieldwork research, the San concept of territoriality has shown itself to be in conflict with that understood by other ethnic groups and even more by government officials and tourist operators. This conflict of perception is manifested in the history of Moremi Game Reserve and lack of knowledge about San/Khoe geographical locations in what my informants refer to as "Khwaai" (Moremi Game Reserve and its vicinity). This study aims to understand the substantive issues concerning the history of "River Basarwa", and their interpretation of settlement history within the Okavango Delta. The area that the Bugakhwe elders claim as their territory is much larger than where they have been confined to over the last thirty odd years. Through oral testimonies and sketches of maps drawn on the soil, the Bugakhwe explained their movement from one place to another and reasons for movement. The paper, therefore, argues that counter-maps can serve several critical functions in addressing issues related to the protection of indigenous peoples' land rights and local knowledge.
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