SOTHO
The Sotho, or Basotho people as they are formally
called, live in southern Africa, where they have
resided since the 14th century. According to most
historians, they entered the southern region of
Africa from the north. Starting their migration
from the Great Lakes region of East Africa, these
adventurous people crossed the Limpopo into
South Africa, tested by their long journey and the
protection of their ancestors along the way.
However, it is generally believed that the his-
tory of the Basotho is split into two parts. One
part is the history before Moshoeshoe I, and the
second part is the history of the people after
Moshoeshoe I. Due to his brilliance as a strategist,
his integrity as a diplomat, and his generosity to
his enemies, Moshoeshoe became, even during his
lifetime, one of the most significant kings of
southern Africa. He was, in a sense, larger than
the times because the route to success that he
established for the Sotho outlasted him. He was a
historic leader, branded by the experiences of war
and diplomacy as a great statesman.
Indeed, the Sotho people gained identity and
direction from the political skill of their astute
leader. He provided land to the people he con-
quered and influenced them to follow the Sotho
ways. The people who had been scattered in the
wake of the Mfecane led by Shaka’s army of the
Zulus often came to refuge in Moshoeshoe’s ter-
ritory. It is because of the great scattering of the
Mfecane that Moshoeshoe established the king-
dom of Basotho and integrated the refugees and
victims into his nation. The people called him
Morena e Moholo,Morena wa Basotho, meaning
Great King, King of the Basotho.
The Basotho believe that the Earth is filled with
spirits. Children learn at an early age to respect
the environment because it is alive with the spirits
of the ancestors. Songs are sung to them during
infancy and repeated as nursery tales about the
traditions and values of the people. Most of
the fables, folktales, and songs were presented at
nighttime so the children could get the full benefit
of the still Earth. Furthermore, it was said that a
horn would grow on the head of the person who
told fables during the day. This was obviously a
way to manage the teaching of the young so that
they were instructed when they were most relaxed
and the evening was still and dark.
The Basotho understood death to be horrible in
any form. Theleqhofa, or house of the dead per-
son, particularly if the person somehow lived
alone, would be boarded up and left as a spot
unfit for humans to live in again. The Basotho
believed that evil spirits, those that may have been
left to wander because they were not remembered
or ritualized, often returned to the same place to
take the person. Moreover, if a person died sud-
denly because of lightning, which occurs often in
southern Africa, the people sought out seers and
diviners to make some sense out of the situation.
Family members would be told about the death of
a loved one only at night. The way the Basotho
spoke of death was to say that the person had
emigrated somewhere else. The word used was
ofaletse. The term for “he is dead” iso shoele. The
term was considered very bad, taboo, and even
vulgar in the Sotho language. In addition, there
was a taboo against mentioning the name of the
deceased. It should be said that “the late so-and-
so who lived down the street” was such-and-such.
One avoided at all costs the use of the person’s
name in connection with death. Funerals were
mostly held at night, and children were prohibited
from attending the funerals or seeing the dead
corpse. The aim of the Sotho society was to pro-
tect the living from the cruelty of death.
In past times, the Dead would be buried the
same day of the death. The community would
never leave an open grave dug for the corpse over-
night. The corpse had to be placed in it immedi-
ately or the grave had to watched by strong men
who were not afraid of the night or thebaloi, evil
doers who might come to destroy the grave so that
the dead person would have no place to rest.
The Sotho believed that the Dead should
be buried inside of their cattle kraals. The
stones of the kraal would often have to be reset
if it were necessary for the grave to be made
outside the existing walls. The Sotho dug their
graves as round holes in the Earth. The body
was not laid out in the grave, but rather it was
buried sitting up. Besides the body, the family
placed food, seeds of maize, mabele, sugarcane,
pumpkin, and some dog grass. Sometimes a per-
son’s possession such as a pipe or snuff box was
also buried. Earth was thrown into the grave toSotho 625