Basotho definition is a bantuspeaking people of lesotho. Sesotho was transmuted into writing by the missionaries casalis and. Culture of lesotho history, people, clothing, women. In discussing african culture and values, we are not presupposing that all. 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. The tour guide was knowledgeable about basotho culture and different names used by basotho. Short stories from sotho writers, including thabiso. Life in lesotho basotho gender roles and cultural norms. The division between southern and northern sotho people is based on the different dialects of the two groups. Peppercorn catalog 6, books in african languages books in sesotho e1 view sample pages at. 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.
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. 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. Games,gestures and learning in basotho childrens play songs. Sotho sesotho, a bantu language, is spoken by the majority of the population, though both sotho and english are official languages in the country. Sotho is the language used by the sotho people and now it is one among the eleven languages used in south africa.
Before i moved to my permanent site, i received lots of training about gender roles in basotho culture. However, its origins can be traced back to the european traders and missionaries as far back as the 1800s. The history of the basotho traditional blanket the. As of now, 90% of the basotho claim to be christian, most of them being roman catholic. There were a number of conflicts between various tribes and, as a result of the mahlatule famine, some people were even driven to cannibalism. Basotho culture is centred around village life, and most traditions and festivals relate to local village life and the seasons of the year. Remorphed cultural renaissance against dysfunctional existence. They believe that their ancestors originate from the heavens. Discover more truths about sotho south african culture, customs and practices writ large.
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. As a matter of fact, the name zulu means the people of the heavens. 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. 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. 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. 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. Lesotho is ruled by a constitutional monarchy and is one of the 3 remaining kingdoms in africa the others are morocco and swaziland. The people of lesotho are called basotho plural and mosotho singular. South africa have profoundly influenced basotho social life and their worldview. The main objective of this paper is to examine african culture and values. The study reveals that the religious connotation of the ritual practices lies in how people seek transcendental meaning to life through the ritual practices. Stories of origin of the sotho people of qwaqwa munin. Lesothos people plead with south africa to annex their. Sotho south sotho or basotho people are concentrated in the free state.
Basotho cultural village bethlehem 2020 all you need. The culture is cohesive, with basotho comprising over 99 percent of the countrys. The culture is cohesive, with basotho comprising over 99 percent of the countrys population, the remainder being of asian of european origin. Like after shaking hands two people greet by either say either saying lumela which means hello, or. It can be gathered from earlier writers of the history of the basotho of lesotho, that the divination process. The embassy of the kingdom of lesotho in dublin is one of the youngest lesotho missions abroad. How have these traditions and traditional values fared in lesotho. 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. Ena ke pokello ya dipalekgutshwe tse ngotsweng ke batjha. The traditional basotho religious practices were influenced by christianity. The zulu people also trace their genesis to the heavens. Article pdf available in learning culture and social interaction march 2017 with 473. The idea of tracing their genesis to the heavens is not exclusive to the basotho.
Thus, the sound often changes which make the language known as an agglutinative language. Dual legal system, basotho culture and marital stability. The basotho cultural village provides an educational tour with authentic experiences against the backdrop of the beautiful maluti mountain range. South sotho culture, social organizations, ceremonies, language and. The cultural meaning of names among basotho of southern. Lesotho nutrition and health system strengthening projectenvironmental and social commitment plan escp december 20, 2019 in health, important documents.
For example, some of the medicinal plants discussed in this article, for example, qhela, are known to some basotho as. Recipes for ten traditional basotho breads were obtained during five focus group sessions. 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. The inability to attribute art objects to the basotho culture remains a problem for art historians and. Muso oa lesotho, is an enclaved country within the border of south africa. Bangodi ba dipalekgutshwe tsena ha ba ngola ba etse hloko dintlha tsa bohlokwa tsa phedisano tse kang ditokelo tsa botho, bong, bodumedi le bomorabe. African writer is a writer whose concerns are more or less tangential to the concerns of what we call tbe mainstream.
If you arent in the mainstream, you are an african writer. The writer observes the excesses of the modem basotho, and also the timidity of the traditional group. The sotho culture enjoys a rich tradition of oral literature that is given expression in folk songs, proverbs, jokes, myths, and legends. Basotho lebolle initiate girl history pastoralist bantu speaking people settled in south africa in about 200500 ce. 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. Basotho culture is centred on village life, and most traditions and festivals relate to local village life and the seasons of the year. 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.
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. The british influence of their religion is from the result of imperialism, which is the domination of culture over another. Phuthi, a dialect of swati, and xhosa are also spoken in parts of lesotho. Sotho south sotho or basotho people are concentrated in the free state, gauteng and eastern cape provinces, with small groups in namibia and zambia. Many church services include traditional lesotho rituals such as chanting. 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. It is rare to see a male carrying a baby on his back. Pdf basotho herders learn through culture and social interaction. The sotho language, or sesotho, is a bantu language closely related to setswana.
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. 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. Basotho herders learn through culture and social interaction. 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. Sotho literature is dominated by folktales and praise poems.
Basotho, who speak sesotho and practice sesotho culture and portray bosotho. There is a relationship between identity, culture and stories of origin. Culture of lesotho history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food. Customs and traditions there are many different greetings in lesotho. It has different suffixes and prefixes in a sentence construction. 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. 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. Lesothos people plead with south africa to annex their troubled country this article is more than 9 years old popular campaign grows within the. The reflection of language in culture and identity. 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. 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. Pdf in basotho culture men, women, girls, and boys each have. 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 other herdersrealized that i could not read and write on my.
Sotho south sotho or basotho south african history online. Puo e sebedisitsweng mona ke e mathemalodi empa e totobatsang ka moo batjha ba kajeno ba pepesang maikutlo a bona. Traditional music, dance, and literature combine in sotho cultural performances. This section deals with previous and current writers views on language and culture.
Religions ancient basotho with special reference to water. 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. Early in the 1900s a masotho named thomas mofolo wrote the famous and widely read novel chaka. 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. Basotho gender roles and cultural norms i saw this boy walking home in village one night. E loketse babadi ba ditoropong, metseng le mapolasing. Zulu is spoken by a small but significant minority. The basotho have used mathematics in order to count, estimate, measure, philosophize, solve and model, among others.
338 135 502 1403 831 1477 615 1334 356 1521 1437 1229 1456 352 1556 870 1582 308 1093 356 514 553 114 688 772 76 1024 8 418 699 1345 1469 1016 110 1090