In order to understand why there is a dearth of sesotho creative literature today, one has to understand the history of this literature and how its readership grew over the years. Sotho south sotho or basotho south african history online. The basotho cultural village provides an educational tour with authentic experiences against the backdrop of the beautiful maluti mountain range. In this public lecture we show an african origin of mathematics among the basotho as confirmed by the ambitious book project sesotho dictionary of mathematics. Lesotho nutrition and health system strengthening projectenvironmental and social commitment plan escp december 20, 2019 in health, important documents. South sotho culture, social organizations, ceremonies, language and. Stories of origin of the sotho people of qwaqwa munin. The culture is cohesive, with basotho comprising over 99 percent of the countrys. Muso oa lesotho, is an enclaved country within the border of south africa.
In examining basotho views on sexuality, the writer of this article will then discuss and evaluate the views of augustine, aquinas, luther and calvin with special reference to sexual intercourse. Religions ancient basotho with special reference to water. Originating in the vicinity of west and central africa, waves of iron age immigrants spread across the broad southern african peninsula, easily displacing the aboriginal stone age inhabitants of. Like after shaking hands two people greet by either say either saying lumela which means hello, or. Basotho gender roles and cultural norms i saw this boy walking home in village one night. The inability to attribute art objects to the basotho culture remains a problem for art historians and. Article pdf available in learning culture and social interaction march 2017 with 473. As a matter of fact, the name zulu means the people of the heavens. Most people erroneous believe that basotho people are only those from lesoth, free state and vaal area, southern sothos, bashoeshoe but alas the name doesnt apply. Writers and social responsibility sage publications. Games,gestures and learning in basotho childrens play songs.
The other herdersrealized that i could not read and write on my. The traditional basotho religious practices were influenced by christianity. The history of the basotho traditional blanket the. The sotho language, or sesotho, is a bantu language closely related to setswana. Basotho culture is centred on village life, and most traditions and festivals relate to local village life and the seasons of the year. Basotho lebolle initiate girl history pastoralist bantu speaking people settled in south africa in about 200500 ce. The tour guide was knowledgeable about basotho culture and different names used by basotho. Dual legal system, basotho culture and marital stability. Puo e sebedisitsweng mona ke e mathemalodi empa e totobatsang ka moo batjha ba kajeno ba pepesang maikutlo a bona.
Here is our list of interesting facts about lesotho. The basotho origin of mathematics a public lecture. The sotho culture enjoys a rich tradition of oral literature that is given expression in folk songs, proverbs, jokes, myths, and legends. The reflection of language in culture and identity. Setiloane has done good work, but he put bapeli, batswana and basotho together in the same basket, unaware that it is not everything that these people share in common. Numerous writers have recorded the names and locales of. Many church services include traditional lesotho rituals such as chanting. Recipes for ten traditional basotho breads were obtained during five focus group sessions. Short stories from sotho writers, including thabiso. Traditional music, dance, and literature combine in sotho cultural performances. In african life, indeed in western life and our lives in africa have become appendages of western life there is a mainstream and youd better get into it. Zulu is spoken by a small but significant minority. History of the basotho the emergence of basotho as a nation occurred around 1818 when king moshoeshoe 17861870 formed alliances with an amalgam of clans and chiefdoms of southern sotho people who occupied the area which is presently the northern and eastern free state and western lesotho from about 1400 ad. The cultural meaning of names among basotho of southern.
The main objective of this paper is to examine african culture and values. King letsi iii is the reigning king of lesotho since 1990. Basotho herders learn through culture and social interaction. Culture of lesotho history, people, clothing, women. While the sotho peoples history is not directly intertwined with that of bloemfontein, their history had an important influence on the history and development of the orange free state province. Customs and traditions there are many different greetings in lesotho. Basotho culture is centred around village life, and most traditions and festivals relate to local village life and the seasons of the year. However, its origins can be traced back to the european traders and missionaries as far back as the 1800s.
Books in sesotho books in sesotho jan 05 readers starter level readers the books in this list are in sesotho only, but most are also available in separate, paralleltext versions in some other south african languages and english. Nowadays the basotho tribal blanket seanamarena is such a common sight in lesotho, that tourists tend to assume that it was a local invention. The zulu people also trace their genesis to the heavens. Sotho south sotho or basotho people are concentrated in the free state, gauteng and eastern cape provinces, with small groups in namibia and zambia.
Basotho, who speak sesotho and practice sesotho culture and portray bosotho. Lesothos people plead with south africa to annex their troubled country this article is more than 9 years old popular campaign grows within the. As moshoeshoe came into increasing contact with white traders, he realised the strong impact that the western culture was exerting on africa and sent some of his. As of now, 90% of the basotho claim to be christian, most of them being roman catholic. Pdf in basotho culture men, women, girls, and boys each have. Before i moved to my permanent site, i received lots of training about gender roles in basotho culture. Sotho literature is dominated by folktales and praise poems.
The basotho have used mathematics in order to count, estimate, measure, philosophize, solve and model, among others. It is in this context of being a forerunner or precursor to lesotho literature that this article seeks to determine mofolos influence or noninfluence on writers who come after him. The culture is cohesive, with basotho comprising over 99 percent of the countrys population, the remainder being of asian of european origin. Of all our people it is the matabele who have preserved their traditions best, and their traditional dance ndlamo is now a great way to celebrate throughout much of lesotho, no traditional wedding is complete. Bangodi ba dipalekgutshwe tsena ha ba ngola ba etse hloko dintlha tsa bohlokwa tsa phedisano tse kang ditokelo tsa botho, bong, bodumedi le bomorabe. Along with the vatican city and san marino, it is one of only three independent states completely surrounded by the territory of another country, and the only one outside of the italian peninsula. There is a relationship between identity, culture and stories of origin. While a number of european manufacturers were designing and producing blankets for the south sotho market by the end of the 19th century, frasers limited took a leading role, and was the first to design.
Pdf basotho herders learn through culture and social interaction. The idea of tracing their genesis to the heavens is not exclusive to the basotho. The study reveals that the religious connotation of the ritual practices lies in how people seek transcendental meaning to life through the ritual practices. Basotho cultural village bethlehem 2020 all you need. Sotho is the language used by the sotho people and now it is one among the eleven languages used in south africa. Thus, the sound often changes which make the language known as an agglutinative language. Of all our people it is the matabele who have preserved their traditions best, and their traditional dancendlamo is now a great way to celebrate throughout much of lesotho, where no traditional wedding is complete without this colourful dance. The writer observes the excesses of the modem basotho, and also the timidity of the traditional group.
It is rare to see a male carrying a baby on his back. Sotho sesotho, a bantu language, is spoken by the majority of the population, though both sotho and english are official languages in the country. The division between southern and northern sotho people is based on the different dialects of the two groups. Culture of lesotho history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food. The rich culture of the basotho people is traditional africa at its best, with pride and protection of the land high on the agenda of. For example, some of the medicinal plants discussed in this article, for example, qhela, are known to some basotho as. It can be gathered from earlier writers of the history of the basotho of lesotho, that the divination process. The british influence of their religion is from the result of imperialism, which is the domination of culture over another. Save although the plains, plateaus and mountains of lesotho have been occupied over countless millennia, the history of the country itself is eventful, but comparatively brief. Early in the 1900s a masotho named thomas mofolo wrote the famous and widely read novel chaka. Basotho young girls in an initiation school doing the traditional dance sotho people make up one of the main tribes in south africa with an interesting culture, language, tradition and religion. The people of lesotho are called basotho plural and mosotho singular. African writer is a writer whose concerns are more or less tangential to the concerns of what we call tbe mainstream.
Lesothos people plead with south africa to annex their. In discussing african culture and values, we are not presupposing that all. Phuthi, a dialect of swati, and xhosa are also spoken in parts of lesotho. This section deals with previous and current writers views on language and culture. Sotho is rich in proverbs, idioms, and special forms of address reserved for elders and inlaws. If you arent in the mainstream, you are an african writer. Lastly, the writers of this paper are aware that some of the medicinal plants, if not all, discussed in this paper, are known by different names and are used for various medicinal purposes by the basotho. Basotho definition is a bantuspeaking people of lesotho. The embassy of the kingdom of lesotho in dublin is one of the youngest lesotho missions abroad. South africa have profoundly influenced basotho social life and their worldview. Peppercorn catalog 6, books in african languages books in sesotho e1 view sample pages at.
They believe that their ancestors originate from the heavens. How have these traditions and traditional values fared in lesotho. Basotho, local traditions and culture in lesotho how. Sesotho was transmuted into writing by the missionaries casalis and. Situated in the maluti mountain foothills in the golden gate park of south africa s free state, the basotho cultural village aims to promote basotho customs. Tsepiso lesenyeho, a painter whose work often depicts village scenes, has earned a following among the sotho as well as among visitors to the country. There were a number of conflicts between various tribes and, as a result of the mahlatule famine, some people were even driven to cannibalism. The basotho in the early 1800s there was a great deal of migration and upheaval in southern africa, mostly as a result of the mfecane. E loketse babadi ba ditoropong, metseng le mapolasing. Ena ke pokello ya dipalekgutshwe tse ngotsweng ke batjha.
Remorphed cultural renaissance against dysfunctional existence. Lesotho is ruled by a constitutional monarchy and is one of the 3 remaining kingdoms in africa the others are morocco and swaziland. Discover more truths about sotho south african culture, customs and practices writ large. Of all our people it is the matabele who have preserved their traditions best, and their traditional dancendlamo is now a great way to celebrate throughout much of lesotho, where no traditional wedding is.
1401 1069 350 328 997 1158 1064 1354 793 481 339 1265 630 1249 558 27 61 262 279 175 1117 176 396 541 900 522 457 949 1422 38 1218 168 1411 66 944 11 238 183 1088 1045 367 923 721 662 563 186 54 1247 935