This paper aims to give a general outline of the peopling of Ngamiland (north-west district of Botswana), in which the delta is situated. A serious gap in the historiography of Ngamiland, and indeed that of Botswana generally, is the paucity of data relating to the origins and migrations of the various groups which constitute the present population. Judicious use of oral and written data together enables an attempt to construct the past of at least some groups in Ngamiland.