When discussing rules or modes of conduct, Tswana generally referred to them collectively as mekgwa lemelao (plural forms respectively of mokgwa and molao; le- is a conjunctive formative). In the standard Tswana dictionary, mokgwa is defined as “a custom, a habit, a peculiarity”, and molao as “a law”; and when used together in a single phrase they were usually translated “custom(s) and law(s)” or, since the word order was flexible, “Law(s) and custom(s)”. The following are some examples, taken from written texts:
In a Malete case (27.1938), a widow claimed and was awarded her late husband's cattle, but the judge told her that, kamokgwa lemolao waSeiswana, “according to Tswana custom and law”, she could not take them with away from her husband's ward.