Bophuthatswana (/ˌboʊpuːtətˈswɑːnə/, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (Tswana: Repaboleki ya Bophuthatswana; Afrikaans: Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a bantustan ("homeland"; an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity) and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa. Its seat of government was Mmabatho.