X1 basotho clans have inhabited that country for centuries. An understanding of our past will dispel certain myths outright so that we can focus on discussing real issues. Basotho definition is a bantuspeaking people of lesotho. As early as 1904 there was an independent, basothoowned printing works. He graduated from the university of oxford in philosophy, politics, economics and law. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information. Free basotho movement wants lesotho to merge with sa the. Lesotho was formerly called basutoland, until it reached independence from the united kingdom in 1966. The book includes genealogies going back to 1450, a history of the basotho people from their origins to 1833 when the missionaries arrived, and an account of the rise of moshoeshoe i circa 17861870, the founder and first paramount chief of the sotho people. The basotho made their way down as various tribes settled in different parts of the country. The only part of basotho history that i could take in doses longer than ten pages at a time dealt with its most recent history, its time as an independent nation. Pdf afrocentricity seems to be emerging as one of the potent critical tools that could be used to. Whatever your take on history, history can never be erased. In the early 1800s there was a great deal of migration and upheaval in southern africa, mostly as a result of the mfecane.
T t raditionally the basotho had different ways of dressing, depending on the age of an individual and or the occasion. The basotho, also known as sotho speakers, are said to have originated from the north of southern africa. Step one dumelang when the basotho say dumelang, they are actually saying, we seek the agreement of the collective. History of the basuto, ancient and modern world digital. View version history from within a microsoft office document. These remittances from basotho migrants are a vital source of income in lesotho contributing to poverty reduction.
The narratives told are diverse in their content and context however they play a similar role in. They are helpful, although adults usually cant speak english. Through a critical analysis of various basotho cultural elements, oral prayers, sayings, beliefs, songs, rites of passage and other customs, a picture of early basotho religion begins to emerge focused around the supreme being, water snake, and his different manifestations. Aug 11, 2015 basotho culture is centred on village life, and most traditions and festivals relate to local village life and the seasons of the year. Bereng is the first mosotho poet to come out with a collection of poems. Basotho history arts and crafts of the basotho basotho.
The kingdom of lesotho, a land of sunny skies and pleasant climate, was formerly known as basutoland. View the version history of an item or file in a list or. Part i establishment and composition of the council the director of veterinary services. A sesotho version of ellenbergers history, histori ea basotho, was published in 1917. Sotho people make up one of the main tribes in south africa with an interesting culture, language, tradition and religion. Extending the mission of archives, libraries and museums. The core of the book deals with life in the compounds, focusing on leisure time, missionary societies and the problem of death at the mines. The basotho people trace their history back to the 1800s when the unrest caused in. Basotho is also and primarily an ethnic tribe of southern africa but since 99% or more of lesotho is comprised of basotho, when you are a national of lesotho you also are considered basotho even if you are not ethnically basotho.
The birth of matsieng royal archives, museum and information centre paramount chief constatine bereng seeiso became his majesty king moshoeshoe ii in 1966 when lesotho attained independence. For the few thousand expatriates that live in lesotho that actually are nationals by having. Lesotho celebrated its semicentennial in october of this year but at the time of publication the country had only had twentyseven years of independence. A historical and heritage studies of indigenouslyowned. They all make wonderful souvenirs of a visit to lesotho. Basotho in lesotho sotho speaking peoples have been in southern africa since around 1400 after moving to this area from central parts of africa. It is also polite for a host to invite a business partner for a drink or food. However, the basotho pony is ideal for local transportation and so breeding and riding these surefooted ponies is very important. Jun 21, 2017 arts and crafts of the basotho basotho people are renowned for their crafts. Molaole montshoana the group wrote to sadc calling for a referendum on the merge. The traditional basotho blanket still plays a very important role in the daily life of the basotho people and despite urbanisation they remain loyal to their tradition and treasure it. The modern basotho identity emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of moshoeshoe i who gathered together disparate clans of sothotswana origin that had dispersed across southern africa in the early 19th century. In regard to leisure, maloka provides basotho variations on a familiar theme.
The basotho origin of mathematics a public lecture at cu. The basotho greet one another using a threestep process. For those who know anything about basotho history this will come as no surprise. In colonial orthography, basotho was spelled basuto. Lefisoana is a small clay pot used by women and girls for fetching water from the well. Ever in the history of lesotho there have been only 24 basotho nationals who graduated as veterinarians.
The pdf is now an open standard, maintained by the international organization for standardization iso. In this article the author will use basotho mosotho to refer to native traders. A dissertation presented to the faculty of arts in the. A short history of lesotho from the late stone age until the. When wars swept southern africa during the late 1700s and early 1800s. A short history of lesotho from the late stone age until. Clarens history clarens accommodation and tourism in. The research will examine the history of south africa and the events that led to the emergence of a territory that became a chiefdom known as basutoland land of the basuto basotho people and, ultimately, became the kingdom of lesotho. Lesotho was previously the british crown colony of basutoland, but it declared independence from the united kingdom on 4 october 1966. Ellenbergers classic work of synthesising the early history of the basotho is here provided with a comprehensive index of names, an introductory essay. The cultural meaning of names among basotho the arrival of the missionaries, the establishment of a mission station in morija in 1833, boer settlers and the gradual incorporation of this society into monetary economy including migratory labour to the mine and industries in south africa have profoundly influenced basotho social life and their. Free basotho movement leader letsema morolong wants lesotho to merge with south africa. The majority of basotho migrants in south africa work in the mining industry, and the bulk of remittances sent to lesotho comes from these migrants.
The cultural meaning of names among basotho of southern africa. If you do not understand your history, then i wonder from which reference point you can make assertions on matters of faith. These three wars were fought over the territorial rights in the area. The basotho have used mathematics in order to count, estimate, measure, philosophize, solve and model, among others. A tiny mountain country, lesotho is completely surrounded by south africa, and lesothos history is closely related to that of its powerful neighbor. People and history the basotho nation was formed in the beginningof the 19th century by the amalgamation of a number of independent basothoclans which occupiedboth sides of the upper caledon river.
Basotho people are predominately rural, and getting around in mountainous areas has always been difficult. Pdf documents can contain links and buttons, form fields, audio, video, and business logic. Perhaps it is in memory of moshoeshoes heroic feats, in times of peace and war, that the present head of state in lesotho is styled moshoeshoe 11. These leaders proved that the world could become a better place for everyone through their leadership styles and generations to come will learn a great lesson from the retold stories about leadership styles of such leaders. An obscured narrative in the political economy of colonial. 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. History of lesotho lonely planet travel information. And what uniquely describes clarens history of its geological and architectural features, is what the town is built on, sandstone formation from the many buildings in the town of homes, restaurants, and nature reserves, places of activity or accommodation and.
With the exception of two biographies of frasers, a company owned by british immigrants,2. Arts and crafts of the basotho basotho people are renowned for their crafts. Drawing of joshua nau makoanyane, moshoeshoes close friend and military commander, made in 1845 by francois maeder. En dan bosko, social organizational aspects of religious change among basotho, new york university, 1983, 356 p. Basotho, local traditions and culture in lesotho how africa. There were a number of conflicts between various tribes and, as a result of the mahlatule famine, some people were even driven to cannibalism. History in lesotho lesotho pronounced lesootoo, officially the called kingdom of lesotho, is a landlocked country entirely surrounded by the republic of south africa. Using archival documents, oral histories and ethnography at the lesotho chamber of commerce and industry, carried out in 20, the study documents and utilises the history of basotho in business to question the dominant postsecond world war development ideology. Each design has a storybadges of the brave, from the victoria england. A short history of lesotho from the late stone age until the 1993 elections gill, stephen j on. Traditionally young girls would be dressed in a neckpiece made out of clay beads known as sefaha sa letsopa and a dress made out of clay beads known as thethana ea banana. Later came the bantu tribes and eventually the sothotswana peoples. The world today still celebrates legacy of great leaders such as moshoeshoe, martin luther king and mandela to name but a few. The following 59 files are in this category, out of 59 total.
An object presented by the ethnographic departments at morija. Basotho history was almost annihilated by, first, the french missio. A a s a nation that boasts about its rich culture, the basotho can trace their origins to the prehistoric age. Ideally to the individual they may serve to promote a positive selfimage as one was born during an important event and a critical period in basotho history.
The customs and religion of the basotho, and the career of sebetoane are explored in appendices, together with copious genealogical tables for various basotho clans and influential chiefs. Basotho will yell through the door after knocking to let the host know who it is. Lesotho was originally inhabited by local tribes of huntergatherers called the khoisan. History of lesotho the history of lesotho, once called basutoland, began when the basotho nation was formed from the remnants of tribes scattered by zulu and matebele raids in the early 1800s. The basotho nation emerged from the unification of a number of smaller southern sotho clans by king moshoeshoe sometimes spelled as moshesh at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Following the coming of age, a skirt would be made out of woven fibre or a cow skin skirt known as mose. The basotho have inhabited that region since around the fifth century and so are closely related to other bantu peoples of the region. Tourism is the new gold for south africa and became one of the biggest earners of foreign exchange. This document has been created for peace corps lesotho for use in language training. Description of moshoeshoes leadership style history essay. Kritzinger is a living repository of history regarding the blankets. The narratives told are diverse in their content and context however they play a similar role in their effect on the structure of society. The part of society that is most impacted by each story. Most of the time a host will allow their guest to sleep at their house if the guest lives far away.
Religion of the ancient basotho with special reference to. The basotho were formidable opponents, and the boers suffered substantial losses, as they were unable to penetrate the basotho mountain stronghold of thaba bosiu also called thaba bosigo. In 1822 king moshoeshoe i united the land under one rule for the first time. The rich culture of the basotho people is traditional africa at its best, with pride and protection of the land high on the a. The cultural meaning of names among basotho ages of their bearers who, in most cases, may be illiterate and without birth records. A history of indigenouslyowned business in postcolonial. You can find true basotho people dressed in the traditional style in small villages in the central highlands. The study reveals that the religious connotation of the ritual practices lies in how people seek transcendental meaning to life through the ritual practices. Pdf in basotho culture men, women, girls, and boys each have different festivities to engage in when praying for rain. History neighbouring south africa has always cast a long shadow over lesotho, fuelling a perpetual struggle for a separate identity on an everdiminishing patch of territory. Clarens, a small town situated in the eastern free state is today a tourist attraction and capital of everything from adventure to art. An obscured narrative in the political economy of colonial commerce in lesotho, 18701966 sean maliehe. According to coates 20, at its simplest, onomastics is the discipline which seeks to answer the semasiological question why is x called x. Basotho, like other africans, boasted an incredible mathematical lexicon long before the advent of the europeans.
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. Know about origin of basotho and other african bantu people. The number three among the basotho is a sacred number. Demonstrating the impact this format had on black south african. It is now a fully sovereign state that is a member of the united nations, the commonwealth of nations, and the southern african development community sadc. History of the basuto, ancient and modern world digital library. 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.
They have a universal appeal, and have helped to give lesotho a strong identity. African studies american studies ancient near east and egypt art history asian studies book history and cartography biblical studies classical. Government of lesotho official website for the kingdom. The following example is from the backstage view of a microsoft powerpoint. This is where they built a powerful empire in bopedi, by a skilful. Traditional products have a reputation for quality, individuality and variety. Public health covid19 amendment regulations, 2020 april 9. For more information, please contact the national african language. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. 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. Bantu is the plural of muntu, the kaffir and zulu word for a human being.
They can be signed electronically, and you can easily view pdf files on windows or mac os using the free acrobat reader dc software. If you are working with a microsoft office document, such as a word, excel, or powerpoint file, you can view version history from the app view rather than returning to the list or library to view the history. Scholarships for basotho scholars canon collins trust. The first inhabitants of the mountainous region that makes up presentday lesotho were the huntergatherer people known as the khoisan. The bapedi originated from the bakgatla and moved to the easterncentral transvaal.
The cultural meaning of names among basotho of southern. The first historical references to the basotho date to the 19th century. He was a wellread prolific writer and a leader of international. Basotho wars 1858 68 the conflict between the basotho people and white settlers consisted of three wars from 1858 to 1868. In this public lecture we show an african origin of. While that treatment has helped delineate a boundary of identity as basotho, the people depend on south africa fo r the material means to sustain homes in lesotho, and hence, their cultural.
Jul 01, 2015 basotho heritage blankets, despite being largely unavailable outside of africa for their 100yearplus existence, are of such quality and have such a colorful, storied history that they are easily. African studies association is collaborating with jstor to digitize, preserve and extend access to history in. In the event of a reproduction of this document in part or in full by a third party, peace corps lesotho appreciates that the third party indicates that this is a peace corps publication. History of the basuto, ancient and modern description david frederic ellenberger 18351919 was a swiss french protestant missionary who left for basutoland presentday lesotho in 1860 as a member of the paris evangelical missionary society. African studies american studies ancient near east and egypt art history asian studies book history and cartography biblical studies classical studies education. A sociopragmatic analysis of sesotho greetings dele femi akindele university of botswana, botswana abstract this paper is a study of a very significant aspect of daytoday interactional discourse of the basotho sociolinguistic community. This could be a particular talent or passion you have, something about your family history or anything of which you are proud. Introduction literature on the history of lesothos1 local business is still in its infancy.
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